A Merriman's Hawaii location in Poipu, Kauai, known for its farm-to-table approach with 90% locally sourced, sustainable ingredients and an elegant Old Hawaii Plantation setting.
Award-winning chef and pioneer of farm-to-table cuisine, known for fresh island flavors.
Insights
SteakhouseFrenchMoroccanAfricanVegan-friendlySeafoodUpscaleDinnerFine DiningFarm To TableCocktail Bar
Last updated: 7/6/2026, 7:36:16 AM
Key Information
Merriman's Hawaii (Kauai) is a pioneer of Hawaii Regional Cuisine, founded by Chef Peter Merriman. The restaurant is committed to sourcing 90% of its ingredients locally, ensuring a fresh, farm-to-table dining experience. It offers an elegant yet relaxed ambiance in an Old Hawaii Plantation setting, making it a popular destination for special occasions in Poipu, Kauai.
Customers consistently praise Merriman's for its outstanding dining experience, phenomenal food, and incredible service. Many highlight the Mai Tai with lilikoi foam as the best they've ever had, and dishes like the Ma Kai, tenderloin steak, and lilikoi mousse receive high acclaim. While considered pricey, guests generally agree it's well worth the cost for the quality and memorable atmosphere, especially for celebrations. Minor service inconsistencies are occasionally noted but do not detract from the overwhelmingly positive feedback.
Additional Details
Merriman's Hawaii (Kauai) is part of a collection of Merriman's restaurants located across four Hawaiian islands, all dedicated to Chef Peter Merriman's vision of Hawaii Regional Cuisine built on fresh, local ingredients and sustainability.
Vegetarian options availableFocus on fresh, locally sourced ingredients
Best Times to Visit
The restaurant is open for dinner daily from 5:00 pm to 8:30 pm. It is particularly recommended for special occasions due to its upscale ambiance and exceptional dining experience.
Awards & Recognition
Award-Winning Cuisine (General Recognition)
5
Merriman’s delivered an absolutely outstanding dining experience from start to finish. Our server, Ashlyn, set the tone with her positive, welcoming attitude — genuinely warm, attentive, and clearly proud of the food she was serving. She made the entire evening feel special.
We ordered the Ma Kai and the tenderloin steak, and both dishes were phenomenal. Perfectly cooked, full of flavor, and beautifully presented. It’s rare to have two entrées hit this level of quality, but Merriman’s nailed it.
The restaurant itself has a great atmosphere — relaxed, elevated, and full of that Kauai charm without feeling forced or overly polished. It’s the kind of place where you immediately settle in and know you’re in for a good night.
Overall, an incredible meal, amazing service from Ashlyn, and a restaurant that truly gets it right. Highly recommend.
Went for my birthday dinner and the whole dining experience was near perfect! Our waiter and Merriman’s truly went above and beyond to make me feel very special on my birthday.
The food was absolutely incredible! Top 10 favorite meals I’ve ever had (and we are foodies). The Mai Tai with the lilikoi foam is the best Mai tai you’ll ever have. We had the poisson cru, macadamia nut crusted fresh catch, makai and then the lilikoi mousse. From start to finish, every bite was delicious. It’s definitely pricey but WELL worth the price. I will be dreaming about that meal for years.
Merriman's Kauai was spectacular! The ambience was calm, peaceful and beautiful as we sat in a special spot on their lenai. We celebrated our 35th wedding anniversary and Jared, Mgr. made it even more special. Our waiter Daedryn was attentive but not overly. He took excellent care of us! We had 2 appetizers, special japanese mushroom soup & Moroccan spiced shrimp. main course, I had the tuna with shrimp dumplings and Bok choy, my husband had the pork shank & accompaniments. The Lilikoi mousse superb. We took a piece of pineapple bread pudding to go. A must go to when you're in Kauai!!
Food Perfect - Service Not Quite!
All in all an excellent meal but a few thoughtful service improvements would put in on par with the best restaurants in the islands. Cocktails were very good. My wife and I ordered the Octupus Escargot appetizer to share. It came but we were not immediately provided share plates. This is pieces of octopus in a hot escargot dish with melted butter, garlic, and parsley. The plates soon came, but they should have been there before the food. Then when they took my appetizer plate, they took my fork and did not immediately replace it. So when the main came, the attractive Makai (fish with fresh vegetables) all I can do is stare at it for another minute or two. It was delicious. We also talked to our server when initially ordering about what wines by the glass would pair with the Makai. But the wines did not show up until we were half finished. So I think better communications between front of house and back of house would help. Because it was my wife's birthday they comped a dessert - the lilikoi mousse which she would have ordered anyway. I ordered the pineapple macadmia bread pudding. Both were very good.
Tbh one of the best food experiences we’ve had in Kauai. More on the “pricey” side sure but we’ve had some other meals similar in price that did not compare to the food & experience here.
We ordered the crab cakes & grilled shrimp appetizers, the salad that had papaya in it and the special of the night “ma Kai” & wow everything was divine. Taste buds were so happy here - we even ordered the crab cakes a second time before dessert if that doesn’t tell you enough lol. The passion fruit mousse was the perfect end off - the dessert wasn’t too heavy or filling but still for flavorful and yummy.
Server & manager we spoke with during our time - Ashland and Jared were both super friendly and kind, even gave us some local recommendations we were looking for!
We’ll definitely be back :)
