Mermaids Cafe can be almost as hard to spot as its namesake. Tucked tightly between buildings in downtown Kapaa, the little cafe draws attention to itself by brilliantly colored art and murals, featuring — what else? — underwater scenes starring a certain mythical creature.
“It’s the best-kept secret on Kauai,” said owner Randy Charter of the cafe that was opened in 1999, and which he bought in 2008.
A brightly painted surfboard against a street sign draws northbound customers into the small space on the makai side of Kuhio Highway. A wooden deck just off the sidewalk houses two picnic tables, shaded by umbrellas, in front of a busy order window. To the side, a counter runs along the length of the kitchen, where people can sit on wooden stools and watch their food being prepared.
“For as small a space as it is, we put out a lot of products,” Charter said. “But we do it because that’s what the people want. Otherwise we’d just sleep in.”
Those products range from wraps and organic salad to satay, stir fry and tacos — tropical tacos, that is.
“We have a very unique menu. We’re trying to stick with local ingredients,” explained Charter, who estimated that 80 to 85 percent of the ingredients used at Mermaids are local.
“We buy everything from farmers markets: fresh salads from local growers, fresh fish from local commercial fisherman.”
All that fresh stuff is put to good use: “We make our own sauces, salsas, sautes, wasabi cream, aioli and pestos … all made daily,” Charter said.
That commitment to “fresh” is serious: the cafe doesn’t have a freezer or a microwave.
Working with that much fresh food does mean the flavors may change from day to day, Charter said. “There are variable changes,” he said. “We work with what we get.”
And that also means the menu can be — well, a bit fluid, if you’ll pardon the obvious pun.
But there’s a good reason, Charter said: “If we’re out of something, it’s because it’s not fresh.”
For example, the cafe gets salad greens three times a week. So if they run out on the days in between, they’ll offer wraps instead of salad.
One of those wraps, the ahi nori wrap ($13), is billed as the “local favorite.” Next in popularity are the tropical tacos ($12).
The wrap was made from a 12-inch spinach tortilla lined with nori. It was a thick, solid roll of brown rice filled with seared ahi and cucumber, well-doused with a spicy wasabi cream sauce.
The tropical taco plate featured two good-sized tacos filled with chunks of seasoned ahi on top of crunchy cabbage. Mounded on the side were black beans topped with cheese and more brown rice, as well as a organic lettuce and salsa fresco.
Both meals were substantial, delicious — and certainly healthy.
“We’re trying to be very health-oriented,” he said, by offering brown rice and quinoa, and no longer using canola oil. And, Charter pointed out somewhat proudly, you won’t find French fries or onion rings on the menu.
“We are not fast food, but some people seem to think we are,” Charter said. “We like to put it out as quality as possible, but at the same time, we do take a few minutes.”
That means, if you only have half an hour for lunch, Charter said, “better phone it in.”
Or take your time and admire the artistic stylings of local artists, including Santos Santiago, Tazroc and Don Zen, whose artwork both large and small adorns the walls.
After all, the mermaids don’t mind the attention.
Mermaids Cafe is located at 4-1384 Kuhio Highway in Kapaa.
For more information, visit www.mermaidskauai.com or call 821-2026. The cafe is open seven days a week, but the hours (listed on the website as 11 a.m. to 9 p.m., and painted on a coconut at the cafe as 12-8) might be as variable as the menu at times.
“We’re open until we’re closed,” Charter said. “If there’s people around who are hungry, we’ll feed ‘em. If not, we go home.”
Drinks menu fluid
Mermaids Cafe in downtown Kapaa can certainly help quench your thirst. But it helps to be spontaneous.
“Our drink menu changes every day,” explained Danielle Brauel, one of the crew members referred to as “mermaids” by owner Randy Charter. “It’s more about what’s fresh, what we have in stock.”
For example, if they don’t have any fresh ginger, they won’t offer ginger lemonade, Brauel said. “It really just depends on the facts.”
Fortunately, they had plenty of ginger on the hot, sunny day I stopped by. It was refreshing and surprising, as minced ginger pieces swirled among the pulp and juice from fresh-squeezed island lemons.
While the menu lists a number of cooling drinks for $3, from tropical hibiscus sun tea and lemonade, to organic spearmint and lemongrass iced tea, two you can always get are the Thai iced tea and Thai iced coffee.
“They’re both just really unique beverages that go down real smoothly,” Charter said. “They’re just a little bit different from our neighbors.”
The Thai coffee is made with oolong coffee served over ice; coconut milk is floated on top. Stirred throughout, it made for a rich and creamy drink — and the only coffee drink served at Mermaids Cafe, which is located next to Java Kai.
“It’s a quick pick-me-up,” Charter said.
The slightly sweet Thai iced tea was a vibrant orange color (ironic since it is made with green tea). “You have a choice of coconut or evaporated milk,” Charter explained. “It goes incredibly good with the coconut milk.”
