Muddy Waters Espresso

I enjoy this place. It’s very relaxing and for a business just starting out in the last couple of years they are amazing.

Terrible if you are in a rush or need to go somewhere. Literally took 12 minutes to make two coffee drinks. Never again unless I have absolutely nothing else to do.

This place is like the anti-Starbuck’s with its open-​air building (more like a shed) and indoor and outdoor seating. It has a very relaxed, old-​school local atmosphere, and no one but no one is going to care what kind of car you drive up in, what kind of phone you have and whether or not you’re wearing designer clothes. More important, they won’t hold it against you (much) if you walk in while texting, but you may hear a bit of a chuckle, especially when you stumble up a step.
The service was friendly but not too quick to go with the laid-​back attitude. My café mocha was delicious, but I didn’t have anything to eat. I will the next time I venture there, which will be very soon.

Low review because they use SO MUCH styrofoam and single use packaging. I would love to see a transition to paper products or at least post-​consumer recycled materials. The coffee is good. I literally live across the street from this place and I wish I could call it my go-​to coffee shop, but the aggressive styrofoam usage always deters me.
On a separate note, the guy working always looks exhausted and is prone to forgetting when I order a scone. Poor dude. Get some sleep, man.

Love this place! It’s peaceful enough to read a book or just enjoy some breakfast and coffee. They have great breakfast sandwiches and the coffee is just how I like it.

Staff here are really nice!
The shave ice machine, is ok — not the best in the world, but you do get a decent variety of flavors. Would highly recommend to the store people getting azuki beans!
The owner is a proud supporter of our troops.
It’s a hole in the wall sized place, but you have a drive through window you can order stuff! Inside there are a couple of coffee lounge sofas, small coffee table, and a lil sit down ‘ice cream parlor station’. There is a movie and book lending area: want a movie/​book? Take a movie/​book! Have a movie/​book? Give a movie/​book! I will be taking advantage of that soon!
May even pop over for a cup o Joe! They do have a frequent flier card applies only to coffee, not the shave ice.
They do have a turtle living in the premise. The kids got a kick watching him attempting to escape his oasis.

I love my hot soy chai from muddy waters. I come in a few times a week. I love the location and that I never have to stand in a long line. The service is great, quality is consistently great and the price is good. Thank you

The man serving me was so rude. I don’t think I been treated this badly in Kailua EVER! I felt like I was bothering him. I ordered the Mocha and it was not worth 6 $. Very disappointed. I have to say beside the awful customer service the place is very adorable. When I did walk in I thought this was going to be my new coffee spot. Guess not :/

It’s a nice little shop but non smokers won’t feel comfortable probably .
Very friendly service when I was there last.
Just be aware that they seem to invite smoking. The smoke was pretty terrible when I was there (both cigarettes and cigars).
I wish is was non smoking since I live close, I would love to be a regular but I’ll be getting mine to go!
I haven’t been back since there was so much smoke when I wood have come back 5 times a week!

I’ve been there about 5 times and love the place but only when the super cool friendly lady server is there. Unfortunately, I didn’t catch her name. I’m bad when it comes to remembering names. Anyway, during my last 2 visits though, instead of the super cool friendly lady, there has been this guy who acts like he doesn’t want to be there.
Anyway, I really enjoy the atmosphere sitting outside having a delicious breakfast bagel and coffee, cruising the net using their free WiFi. Hope the super cool friendly lady will be back again soon :)

I like coming here. Its cute and very unique.
In response to a lower review, yes there are the same group of middle aged men sitting outside and swearing every afternoon, but like everything else in the shop it gives character. Sometimes they have live music or bbq on site. Its kinda nice to see :)
I sit here for hours and use their wifi, no one ever bothers me. I usually get a hot mocha or an iced coffee. The staff has always been friendly and curteous to me. Which i appreciate sometimes seeing them so early in the morning.
If you are expecting a five star establishment, then maybe go to a five star establishment? I’d recommend this place.

I only get espresso so I can’t really ever vouch for flavor of any coffee place, but it was a nice place with very nice staff. If I’m in Hawaii, I’ll come again.

Friendly staff, owner has great sense of humor even if he does have weird thing for elephants. Total local place, very Kailua and great place to relax. Same group in afternoon but always welcoming new folks. Great mocha, and music Saturday night jazzy free flowing guitars and food is fresh off the grill. Five stars only cause I can’t give more. If you can’t relax here, go back to mainland…

Blehh… I feel bad because this place is cute, cool atmosphere and the staff is friendly. When it come to the food I would avoid it at all cost. I ordered a breakfast wrap and was quite disappointed. I watched her pull tupperwear out of the fridge and just microwave the pre cooked bacon and pre cooked eggs. The wrap was just something I could have made in my kitchen and better. They threw a slice of fake cheese on there, microwaved it and done. It was pretty gross. I can’t say I expected much seeing as how there is no oven or anything in the place so lesson learned. The coffee is nothing spectacular. My bill was over $ 10. So overpriced and not worth it.

Muddy Waters — An interesting name for a coffee & tea shop! The outer décor (aside of the actual name itself, & realizing this is a new spot) slightly intrigued me, because it seemed crowded for such a small shop. & it’s outside décor seemed like a real miss mash of things that just. Sort of did not make sense together. & I really just wanted coffee!
Anyways, if you can picture a small, SMALL coffee shop that almost has a mini liquor store appeal, with a somewhat country, Louisiana bayou type of look and feel. That is Muddy Waters.
My first time here was extremely rushed due to the fact that I had to be at a class in an hour, so I only ordered a club sandwich and a 16oz iced white mocha that came out to roughly about $ 12.
The clubhouse sandwich was nothing special! It is literally a sandwich you can make in your own kitchen with items you can buy at Costco! Literally! It was multi grain sandwich bread from Costco, with 3 thin deli slices of turkey (probably from Costco), 1 tomato, some lettuce, 1 slice of deli ham (also, probably from Costco), 2 slices of bacon (that was probably fried earlier & just microwaved for warmth on the spot), with the options of mayo and/​or mustard. Onions come with this sandwich too, but I chose to omit the onions. I did appreciate having more than one thin slice of turkey, but I told myself that if I had waited another hour I could have made this very same sandwich at home for cheaper! AND FRESH! Not worth buying again.
I did not get to see the young man make my iced white mocha, but it was rather good. I don’t know if it was already pre made or an original recipe by them, but like I said it was good.
As I was walking toward the shop, I did see the young man get up and walk in to get ready to serve me… At first I thought he was a customer, but I do appreciate him getting up right away to serve me. I will note that there was nobody else there, & business seemed very slow. They have a stamp card for customers; After so many purchases of your favorite drink you get it for free. I asked the young man after paying if I could have one and get it stamped. He acknowledged me, but did not stamp my card & just took on the next customer soon after. It wasn’t a big deal.
My overall experience was 2 star worthy; from food quality, to service, to prices. Their teas & coffee may possibly be the only reason I’ll ever come back, but other than that this is DEFINITELY not a place to go out of your way for, or that you will ever have he urge to crave.

I stumbled upon Muddy Waters actually in search is shaved ice. I was just about to give up when I saw their sign. I thought «well hey I’ll give this place a shot.» Best idea! The shaved ice was absolutely wonderful and the girl who helped me was so kind and helpful. Definitely a place to try! Service and food is great!

I’ve been to this café five times over the past month.
Pros: nice relaxed atmosphere with
Plants and tiki décor. Outdoor patio is cool and inviting.
Cons: Cigarette smoking somehow allowed and encouraged (ashtrays are everywhere). Does the law against smoking in commercial food establishments not apply to this coffee shop?
Same group of loud, profane middle aged men sitting on the lanai, smoking and cursing, every time I have visited.
Way too expensive for the prepackaged pastries, stale bagels, etc., and the menu on the wall shows no prices.
One star.

It’s an ideal location with a cool setup inside. The staff is friendly and cheerful. However, and this is most peculiar, there are no prices listed next to the items on the menu. I asked for a paper menu with prices but they don’t have one.
I ordered the iced mocha which was un-​memorable. Not good, not bad. The food was the same — it won’t give you a tummy ache but you’ll forget it a few minutes later.
My gold standard for coffee and breakfast places are, «could I have done better at home in the amount of time it took to drive here and order?» For Muddy Waters, unfortunately, that answer is yes. Stop here only if you’re in a rush.

Pros: good music playing
Cons: coffee is horrible. They wouldn’t know what «gourmet» was if it slapped them in the face.

HORRIBLE OWNER… Negative stars if I could…
I visited Muddy waters yesterday and watched a disturbing event.
A man was walking through the store, seemingly intoxicated, cursing at top volume. The F word used indiscriminately. A customer, there with his young daughter, told the cursing man to watch his language in front of his daughter. Words were exchanged, tempers rose and finally, the cursing man yelled at the customer, «If you don’t like it then get the F@$# out of my shop.»
THAT was the OWNER?
Then the cursing man walked behind the counter, so I guess he was.
Such a lack of self control and respect for those around him, especially where children are concerned, has prompted me to NEVER set foot in this establishment again.
Such a sad, sad testament to a lovely neighborhood. I like to spend my money in small business, but witnessing this event has soured me to Muddy Waters.