Mermaids Cafe

We stopped by at this cute place for lunch. The vibe here is peaceful with variety of food options. We ordered poke bowl and fried veggies with chicken. Both dishes were refreshing with fresh ingredients, but we found the flavor to be quite mild. They have limited outdoor seating. The place was not busy when we went so we could easily find a spot to dine in. It's a self-service restaurant where you place your order at the counter, and they call your name when your order is ready. The staff didn’t engage much, but they were not unfriendly either.

Mike at the Mermaid Cafe is phenomenal... he was working all by himself as four different groups of two walked up. Mike didn't short-cut a thing and was super pleasant to everyone even though I suspect he was stressed. The wait wasn't long at all considering he was single-handed. My husband ordered the Ahi wrap with brown rice... Mike left the wasabi ayoli off as my husband can't do spicy. I had an AMAZING poke bowl WITH the delicious wasabi ayoli. The "bowl" was really a large dinner plate that was big enough to share. The poke was fresh, delicious, with lots of fish expertly cut into precise cubes... a sign of a great chef! Next time we are in Kauai... we'll be back to find Mike.

We had the vegetable stir fry with tofu. Veggies were fresh, perfectly cooked and seasoned! Light, not too heavy on the sauce/salt, which was exactly what we were looking for. The portion was a bit smaller than I expected for the amount we paid. Workers were warm and friendly!

My favorite meal when visiting Kauai! Incredible vegan options. The tofu satay plate was delicious and nutritious. Appreciated the clean cooking. Nice chill atmosphere as well.

I ordered the coconut curry, the chicken stirfry, and the island tacos. It was more food than I expected, presentation was fantastic. And the taste was great. I have a short trip, but I’ll be back. I am really happy. I stopped here at this restaurant. Even my kids loved it.

10/10!! Huge delicious portions! Will definitely be back!

I could literally have this pesto chicken salad everyday of my life! 🔥 It’s so good! 😋

Amazing food. Friendly happy staff. Great portions.

First time eating here and it didn't disappoint! We watched her make our food and she has some serious skills! It was perfect and satisfying! Thank you, Ruby and Sherai! We will be back for sure and bring the kiddos! Quaint spot with tables and bar seating! Island vibes for sure!

Amazing Poke bowl. Beautiful presentation and amazing flavor. Topped with red Japanese bbq sauce and a wasabi cream that had the perfect kick.

OMG!!! So amazingly good. We've had lunch here two days in a row. Great selection of you like fresh fish and vege. Everything has great flavor and you can tell fresh ingredients. Super nice people working here too. I would definitely recommend

We were so happy to see that this tiny gem of a restaurant was still here from when we lived here 20 years ago. We had their seared ahi tuna wrap with brown rice and it was fantastic. Mahalo

This place was recommended by a friend and we stopped here on our way to Princeville. It is most definitely worth the hype. The tuna wrap was delicious...the wasabi aioli brought everything together - this was a large wrap and left me very full. The poke bowl was fresh and delicious. The prices were very reasonable for Hawaii. I would suggest to anyone looking for a quick bite!

It was such a pleasant surprise to see Mermaids open again. We were also pleased that the menu has not changed.....all great things including the ahi ori wrap and the island tacos. We enjoyed our food, fresh and prepared perfectly. Unfortunately when we went the next day it was CLOSED! Oh my, so disappointing.

Great tasting food, reasonable prices, and friendly staff!!! We had the ahi wraps one with Asian flavor the other with pesto Italian flavor. Both were delicious! We are going back this week.

Everything is so fresh and made to order! It was absolutely delicious! We could eat here everyday!

This is definitely one of my favorite spots on the island! I've had their Ahi Nori Wrap, Poke bowl, and Cilantro Pesto Wrap with Ahi and everything was exceptional! I'm not even a fan of wasabi but their wasabi cream sauce is great! Everyone I've spoken to is very nice and I love that they have tables with umbrellas to sit outside. I find I'm making excuses to go to Kapa'a just so I can eat here! Absolutely love this place!

My sister and I ended up passing through the shopping district in Wailua a lot during our recent trip, and so Mermaids was going to be an eventuality. It was on our list to visit before our trip, and I'm glad we were able to make it happen. Looking at their menu beforehand, I thought we would be able to choose from a variety of veggie-friendly options, but we were limited to some "customized" wraps. The owner (I assume) seemed like a chill and friendly guy, and made a spinach wrap for me (with his secret Aloha sauce recipe, lol!) and a black bean burrito for my sister. The wraps were definitely filling and the cost for our wraps was relatively cheap compared to what we were paying for meals at other places around the island. My only "complaint" was that I wish we had more shade coverage in the limited outdoor seating, as that made it difficult to eat at the spot (eating while sweating is not fun, haha).

Looking for a bite at dusk, just after a pleasant rain, was drawn to the turquoise and coral colors of this little sidewalk cafe. Had the poke bowl with marinated ahi, a delicious and filling meal, the hibiscus lemonade was good too.

I was served by a friendly chef and his daughter this evening. I had a refreshing hibiscus iced tea and a poke salad. Broke da mouth!

Found this place early when I was scraping yelp for places to grub at while here on vacation. I ate here three times over the time I was here and I got the same thing every time. I know boring but that's how great the food is. Bean and cheese burritos are dope and make for great road food while you are out exploring. The like salad is great and my favorite is the Ahi Nori wrap with brown or white rice. That's the winner all day long. The people who helped with my orders are awesome super nice and have smiles on their faces. I love this place.

Amazing place -- best food in Kappa'a. Satay salad, cilantro pesto wrap, hibiscus lemonade.

Amazing food! So much care & love put into the ingredients & preparation! The portions are big, the ingredients fresh, the sauces and flavors are outstanding! 10/10 on the healthy food scale & we were jamming the whole time to B-52's radii with Troy the Chef! Our singularly best meal during our visit to Kauai!

The freshest fish & quickest service on the island! Stopped by the last several days of my trip and had the ahi nori wrap, poke bowl, stir fry's and some ono tacos with lilikoi mayo and everything was cooked perfectly and very affordable. For the quality this restaurant serves the pricing is incredibly competitive to everywhere else on the island. Rather than sitting at dinner and spending hundreds of dollars on just ok fish I would much rather take some super fresh fish to go and eat on the beach or on their little patio. I saw some reviews that the seating was not covered and was too hot but when I was there there is a little bar area to sit at as well as tables with umbrellas in the heart of town. The owner is so helpful at finding you the perfect dish and will make custom orders if what you're heart desires isn't on the menu. Definitely a must try when in Kapaa especially if you want amazing fish on a budget. Everything is fresh, locally sourced and made to order!

Best food in Kapaa over the decades, this place has had its ups & down, but right now (June, 2024) is an Up: the Ahi salad I just had was the best meal in Kapaa. Fresh, local, interesting lettuce mix, perfectly seared and seasoned Ahi, and an outstanding balsamic. I'll be back... a lot!!! really friendly service too...

Very fresh and absolutely delicious, with fast and friendly service. We had the ahi tacos and ahi poke with hibiscus lemonade, and loved every bit of it. We've found our new favorite place to eat on Kauai.

AMAZING!!! Very cute little hole in the wall spot. The cooks were very nice and chatted with us while we ate. Food and drink were very yummy, I wolfed down my wrap in like 5 minutes lol. I'm not from the island, but if I ever come back I will 100% eat here again :)

Food was amazing but what made it even more amazing was "Mike" was working alone when FOUR groups of two rolled up at the same time. No panic... Mike handled it like a PRO! We didn't have to wait long for our Ahi wrap or our poke bowl. The Ahi was perfect and came with a fabulous wasabi aioli. The poke "bowl" was really a huge dinner plate sized portion with perfectly dice fish for only $14.00. We WILL be back!

Soooo yummy! The ahi cilantro wrap is my go too. It's light and refreshing but still filling.

Bursting with flavors and a good-sized sandwich! Great service! Food is different but so delicious

The power went out through the whole island and we went everywhere, and this was the only place that would cook for us! Their food was pretty good, especially their Pacific burrito. Would eat here again.

This place is a little gem! Tucked back on main hyway. We had poke bowl and ahi burrito! It was soo good my kid to a bite and I lost half to him. This is a new go to when here. Simple play great music ( Stick Figure) had tables , umbrellas and an outside bar style eating option. No indoor eating. Folks are supper nice and checked on us a few times. Super cool. My 24 year old is not easily impressed and he decided it was his new spot for sure

Mermaids has been one of my favorite places to eat my entire life. Been eating there for over 20 years and they absolutely knock it out of the park. The Ahi Nori wrap has been a favorite of mine since childhood, have yet to find anything remotely similar!!

So happy Mermaids is back! Original owner has revived the business, same great menu, and a cute new paint job and mural. Food is fresh again and employees are smiling! This place has been part of Kapaa for so long, it's great to see a special place like this live on over the years. Go support this local business, order a nori wrap and enjoy it in the sunshine on their sweet little patio. Congrats on the reopen!

If you're in Kauai you have to go to this place! The best ahi burritos ever! Such a cute place , supercasual , sit outside or grab something to go but either way it's a must eat at in one of my favorite places in the island.

Mermaids is back. It is so clean and the crew is outgoing and ready to serve you. We always get the Ahi nori wrap. We've been going for 30 years. So glad it's reopened and the Origional menu is back. Make sure you stop by. We look forward every time we're on island (2-3 times a year)

Great place to grab a bite! The wait is a little long but the food is cooked to order and worth the wait. I highly recommend the Ono Wrap. On the menu it is the Ahi Wrap but Ono can be substituted if you ask.

The ahi nori wrap is to die for. I've been getting it for 20 years or however long Mermaids has been open, I don't miss a visit there at least once whenever I'm on island. Yeah, sometimes they aren't open when I wished they were, but it's worth coming back the next day...

Mermaids recently opened back up, finally! Such an amazing hole in the wall in the town Kapa'a. Food is always great! Go check them out! My favorite was the special Wasabi Ahi Tacos.

The coconut curry with tofu was a vegan life saver for me when in Kapaa. it was delicious and soothing to the spirit, a very healthy vegan alternative. I saw many vegan and vegetarian offerings on the menu. The staff was always friendly and helpful. This cafe definitely has a loyal following. One thing to note for nearly all the cafes of this kind in Kapaa is that there are very limited restroom options. When we were in Kapaa, the only bathroom for many restaurants to share was out of business. My husband also thought the coconut curry was delicious. This coconut curry with tofu is a great way to ge more coconut and veggies into your lfe. This dish also can be served with meat, and several other dishes were with ahi or meat.

I know running a little restaurant by yourself is a tough job. We ordered the Tropical Tacos. They were ok. The ahi was a little overcooked. It came with a side of house-made black and pinto beans. We didn't get the rice and green salad others mentioned in their review. The owner made clear he didn't make accommodations for any food allergies. He basically said you get it how I make it. Although, he did agree to cook one of the taco orders for my kid without spice. After advising me to introduce my 9 year old to spicy food of course. C'mon brah. Don't you think I've done that by now? LOL. Anyhow, the owner was pretty friendly and he had his kids there hanging out. So even though I am happy to support a family run business, understand my next comments are strictly about the cost to quality ratio. It was surprising a little stand like this didn't want us to pay until after we ate. Once we got the bill, I knew why. 2 Tropical Tacos, 1 Sesame noodle stir-fry, a keiki burrito and two drinks came to about $90 with a tip. The food was ok, but not almost $100 ok. Honestly, if you're wanting fish tacos go somewhere else. Yesterday we ate at a restaurant actually called Tropical Taco and it was bomb! Seriously, the fish was so fresh and the meal was so satisfying. Go there instead. I absolutely love a proper fish taco so this is just my two cents. I wish the Mermaid Cafe luck trying g to survive this crazy post pandemic madness. Ingredients arent cheap. But if your gonna charge premium prices, you gotta provide premium offerings!

When I was previously living in Kauai for 3 months, this place always had a line and I never bothered to wait, but was I wrong. This place is worth the wait!! We came here right as they were closing and they were kind enough to stay open and cook our meal. I got the chicken satay wrap and my wife got the Nori ahi wrap. First off, these things are jam packed and you will not leave this place hungry. Both wraps were phenomenal (maybe because we were both hungry) and super tasty. Don't expect to be served right away, as the wait is worth it. We told our friends who are coming next week that they have to stop here. Hopefully you take the time to as well and enjoy as much as we did.

Kelcie has brought back Mermaids....so stoked!! Always get the Ahi Nori wrap and it never disappoints. Thank you so much for the yummy grinds!!

This is a small hole in the wall cafe. Cute space with outdoor seating. The tropical tacos with beans were good. I will be going back to try the ahi noir wrap next

Amazing food!!!! The ahi nori wrap was delicious!!!! Super great customer service, I am so glad I was able to support a wonderful small business!! The ambiance is really incredible, in the little beach town. Ahi Nori Wrap

Randy made me the best Ahi Nori Wrap today! Delicious. My new go-to place while in Kapaa on my layovers. Organic & so fresh.

The food is delicious! We had the poke bowl and shrimp tacos. Lots of flavor and delicious! So glad we tried it

I honestly just made an account to rate this place.. I have always wanted to eat here and I am absolutely disappointed and outraged. We got the Ahi Cilantro wrap and Coconut Chicken Curry. For the price I expected so much more. Absolutely NO FLAVOR and again for the price I expected to at least taste the fish but what I got was just unflavored rice in a spinach wrap. The curry had absolutely no flavor as well. It tasted as if they just used some curry powder and slapped some veggies inside with a few small pieces of chicken. The price was absolutely not worth it. I feel completely unsatisfied and eating here makes me never want to try anywhere ever again. Continuing to cook my own meals from now on. What a waste of a space. I wish I could give negative stars.

15/15 ONO! Amazing every time!!!!! The mermaid sandwich is to die for!!! They also have amazing poke and their specials are always delicious as well! My husband and I always make this our first and last stop when coming to the beautiful island of Kauai!

Delicious and fresh food. Made to order so a short wait but worth it. Sat on a table just outside the order window. Grilled shrimp tacos were delicious and were the daily chalkboard special. Small local spot you must stop and have a bite!

A staple. Everything from the fresh ahi, to the homemade sauces. This is our favorite place to eat and get that real Aloha vibe every time!

My boyfriend and I love this place for their wraps but we tried something new. Can't help but laugh at these tourists giving a bad review on mermaids. Nothing but a Debbie downer but you know people have time for these kinda slander these days. This place has been here for ages and they do not disappoint both in food and service (lovely people), if you're ordering a black bean burrito I'd say your taste in food is already naturally bland to begin with (ask for recommendations) and you could just ask for extra sauce. And I've been coming here long enough to know that they'd tell you that you gotta wait as it's usually packed and plus there's usually one or two cooks so do the math people. My favourite items on the menu would be, the AHI NORI WRAP, especially when it's seared wrapped in brown rice shoyu and cucumbers and that wasabi cream sauce really brings it all together. My second fav is The POKE SALAD/BOWL is absolutely delicious, if you're looking for a freshly cut/made saucy poke here's the spot besides Pono market! What I love about this place is that they cut up fresh fish everyday, and they'd come up with specials like the poke tostadas I posted/coconut shrimp tacos and stuff. Sometimes they aren't open which sucks cos you already know what you wanna have for lunch but you know what they open when they open and I believe that when you catch them it's meant to be. As for the drinks I really dig their lilikoi water and freshly squeezed grapefruit juice (wish it was on the menu all the time) and for something sweet the Thai Iced tea with coconut milk. Anyways can't wait to try their anahola wrap heard from a buddy its back on the menu after awhile and he said it was fresh! Hopefully this helps you guys when you're ordering at mermaids, much love aloha HERE ARE MY RECOMMENDATIONS : 1. Ahi Nori wrap sometimes they have ono too 2. Poke Salad/bowl 3. Peanut satay wrap 4. Sesame stir fry noodle 5. Their coconut shrimp tacos 6. Lilikoi water

their phone number is disconnected! i am trying to cancel uber order put in 1:30 pm. it is now 3:45 pm. no food. do delivery. no service!!!

Best food I had in Kauai. Simple, delicious and GREAT housemade sauces! Randy is an awesome guy - owner and chef! He has great vibes and it transcends through every bite! Support local and Mermaids is the spot! Much happiness

Best meal I've had in a week on the island! The poke salad is to die for! Mermaids is super quaint and cute spot to stop for a bite, tasty food too!

Inconsistent hours of operation. Not sure why hours are even listed if it doesn't open at the time listed. Tried twice on different trips and no luck

Fought Kappa traffic 3 times to visit this place. Closed despite posted hours on website and their Facebook page. DO NOT WASTE YOUR TIME! No one answers phone and no message. Not even capable of updating their Facebook. Sad. We were so looking forward to a Ahi Wrap on during our visit.