Merriman's Honolulu

September 25, 2025

I’ve been to monkeypod on outrigger and Merriman’s in Maui. I expected this place to be closer in style to the Maui location and I was dead wrong. It seems to be a little more upscale than monkeypod but with worse food. I had the surf and turf which had flavorless fish with a terrible bolognese sauce paring. The wagyu sirloin was requested medium rare but came out well done, overcooked due to its size no doubt. I also had the table side poke which had just fish, avocado, onion, and a soy sauce. Not terrible but not worth $25 for a few bites. The taro chips were the best part. My partner had the mushroom ravioli which was so underwhelming. Zero mushroom flavor due to the overwhelming butter sauce. We had two decent drinks out of the 4 we ordered. Finally the desert was overfilled with macadamia nuts and not enough bread to call it bread pudding. Our sever was our only salvation but he could only do so much when the whole place felt like it focuses on its “aesthetic” rather than food quality. Bill came out to $300, would have been better spent at monkeypod!

August 20, 2025

Update: we came back to try its happy hour menu. The farm to table cocktail of water Mellon and tequila was quite good. Now I don’t feel guilty drinking alcohol anymore because it’s now “farm to table” fresh! The food was tasty as before, with creative combination of ingredients. The Kailua pork quesadilla served with poi and kimchee was a good example of how Merriman’s made it work. Our server was superb and the ambience was relaxing and comfortable. Not only our server was good, I also noticed how every employee was really into his or her job. The management did a very nice job training and motivating its staff. We sat in front of the kitchen and had a great view how the kitchen and the wait staff all working together. Kudos! The food was excellent and the price was reasonable. The taro hummus appetizer was one of the best hummus we have had and the it was garnished with bits and pieces of fresh vegetables, a great combination. The burger was very tasty (but just a tad on the salty side) and it came with some very good fries. The buttermilk dressing for the fries was one of the best. The fish sandwich was also quite good. The Nerrimen’s Maitai was just okay. We will return to try other dishes and its desserts.

September 1, 2025

We don't get reservations when we visit this restaurant, because we can always get a table every time. Today as any other days, we were seated right away. Waiter was very friendly and prompt with orders. This restaurant is not the cheapest in town. I really don't mind paying for the food, as long as its made properly. The reason for 3 stars on the food, I wasn't impressed with what I've got today. Although the steak was flavored, the meat was too well done and tough for what I wanted. The fries shouldn't be included with the steak since it get soggy from the juice of the meat. My salad was too soggy as well, too much dressing for such a small amount of lettuce/ingredients in them. Butter should be serve room temperature not hard so it's easy to spread on the biscuit.

October 20, 2025

This place lived up to my expectations. Our server was beyond helpful in giving us recommendations on what to order, and my mouth watered as he described the dishes to us. I ended up enjoying a perfectly cooked medium rare steak with fries. For dessert, I had the chocolate purse with vanilla ice cream. Everything was brilliant!

August 5, 2025

Finally stopped by for lunch for two today. Seated promptly and service throughout was efficient and very friendly. Wife had a mai tai, which she liked, but didn’t loved in its defense she leans sweet and this was pleasantly tart, so I thought it was great. She had the special which was salmon in a soy, chili and seasame oil sauce with fresh noodles - all outstanding - she loved the sauce! I had the fish sandwich, which was probably the best fish sandwich I’d ever had! Fish wasn’t even battered, but grilled. Fish was super fresh and the bun was even delicious, all along with a nice spicy aioli. All in all, been meaning to come here for a while and will definitely be back!