16 Best Mexican Food Spots in Oahu You Should Try
If you’re looking for a delicious Mexican meal on Oahu, look no further!
We’ve compiled a list of the best Mexican restaurants on the island – from casual eateries to fine dining establishments, we’ve got you covered. We can assure you all of them will leave you wanting more!
There are an array of restaurants on Oahu – each with their own unique dishes and some representing cuisines from various cultures – making travelers feel at home when they visit the humble state. Without further adieu, here are the 16 best Mexican restaurants on Oahu.
1. Los Chaparros Mexican Restaurant
- Hours: 11:00 AM – 2:30 PM, 5:00 PM – 8:30 PM daily, except closed on Weds
- Location: 2140 S Beretania St, Honolulu
- Price: $$-$$$
Maria and Lisa, co-owners of Los Chaparros Mexican Restaurant, opened their doors in 2005. They both share a love of cooking and, of course, Mexican cuisine! Customers seem to love the concept and dishes of the restaurant.
Los Chaparros has an assortment of Mexican appetizers, entrees, soups, salads, and tortas. They have daily lunch and breakfast specials like Huevos con Chorizo. They are popular for their fresh homemade fire-roasted salsa and horchata.
While enjoying a nice, warm Mexican meal, you can order wine, tequila, margaritas, or Mexican beer from their bar to complement it. Ensure you leave some room for their delicious bread pudding, banana flautas, flan, or churros to end your dish on a sweet note.
2. Serg’s Mexican Kitchen
- Hours: 11:00 AM – 9:00 PM daily
- Location: 2740 E Manoa Rd, Honolulu
- Price: $
Sergio Arellano established Serg’s Mexican Kitchen, and he brought the traditional Mexican cuisines all the way to Oahu, Honolulu. The restaurant is well-known for its delicious flautas and unique dishes.
Customers have no complaints based on the positive reviews. Before you visit the restaurant, you can have a look here for the menu.
3. Surf N Turf Tacos
- Hours: 9:30 AM – 9:30 PM daily
- Location: 2310 Kuhio Ave, Honolulu
- Price: $
Fresco. Fantastico. Fabuloso. This is the mission they live by. In 2020, Surf N Turf Tacos was recommended on Restaurant Guru, a guide that assists customers in finding the best restaurants in countries and states.
Surf N Turf Tacos is only a few steps away from Waikiki Beach. This is the perfect ambiance to relish in beer-battered fish tacos and burritos.
This is one of our favorite restaurants to order from if we are in a rush and don’t feel like waiting long to eat. It’s also a good spot to get to-go food if you feel like eating at home.
4. Oahu Mexican Grill (OMG)
- Hours: 7:00 AM – 11:00 PM daily
- Location: 2520 Kalakaua Ave 2nd Floor, Honolulu
- Price: $
Customers love Oahu Mexican Grill mainly because of their large and tasty food portions and excellent pricing. They offer an assortment of dishes that you can enjoy while overlooking Waikiki Beach.
This restaurant has an upbeat vibe with music and TVs. OMG is vegan and vegetarian-friendly too!
5. Mexico Restaurant
- Hours: 10:00 AM – 9:00 PM daily (closes at 10 PM on Fri and Sat)
- Location: 1247 N School St, Honolulu
- Price: $$ – $$$
Tingle your tastebuds with Mexico Restaurant’s mouth-watering dishes and numerous toppings! They have colorful décor to make their customers feel vibrant and happy. Order yourself a margarita or cold cerveza with your meal to ensure the best of times (and tastes)!
6. Alejandro’s Mexican Food
- Hours: Mon-Fri, 11:30 AM – 7:30 PM; Sat, 11:00 AM – 4:00 PM; Closed Sunday
- Location: 2831 Kalihi St E, Honolulu
- Price: $
The founder, Alejandro Alvarado, was born in California and shared his love for Mexican food with his father. He now runs a popular Mexican restaurant in Oahu in hopes of making others share his passion for the delicious Mexican cuisine. Alejandro’s Mexican Food’s meals are always packed with flavor and freshly made.
Enchiladas, Pupas, Tamales, Arroz Con Frijoles – Alejandro’s Mexican Food offers it all!
7. Kono’s Northshore
- Hours: 7:00 AM – 9:00 PM daily
- Location: 2310 Kuhio Ave #1-A, Honolulu
- Price: $
Kono’s is a fast-casual restaurant that customers describe as being simply “yummy,” and they keep coming back to enjoy breakfast and supper. Kono’s serves handcrafted milkshakes, delicious refreshments, bagels, wraps, sandwiches, and so much more.
It made this list since they serve the most amazing breakfast burritos on the planet! They also have 12-hour slow-roasted Kalua pulled pork tacos that are a must-try as well.
8. Jose’s Cafe & Cantina
- Hours: Sun, 11:00 AM – 9:00 PM; Mon-Thurs, 11:00 AM – 9:30 PM; Fri-Sat, 11:00 AM – 10:00 PM
- Location: 1134 Koko Head Ave, Honolulu
- Price: $$ – $$$
Opened in 1973, Jose’s serves their family recipe enchiladas, Spanish rice, salsa, beans, and much more. They have been in operation for decades, and even after all these years, people cannot get enough of their delicious Mexican dishes.
You can book a few tables for events such as graduation, birthday, or wedding parties too.
9. Maria Bonita Restaurant
- Hours: Tues-Sat, 11:00 AM – 3:00 PM; Closed Sunday and Monday
- Location: 15 N Hotel St, Honolulu
- Price: $
One customer who got the opportunity to eat at Maria Bonita Restaurant defined the food as “onoliscious” (Hawaiian slang for incredibly good tasting, really delicious). Their colorful Mexican dishes are mouth-watering and are served in large portions. It is enough to keep your tummy full for hours.
Maria Bonita Restaurant has a simple menu like beef enchiladas, carne asada street tacos, and chicken flautas. Overall, it is a family-friendly restaurant with a great and uplifting atmosphere.
10. El Burrito
- Hours: Mon-Sat, 11:30 AM – 7:00 PM (closes at 6:00 PM on Sat); Closed Sunday
- Location: 550 Piikoi St, Honolulu
- Price: $
El Burrito makes flavorful meals, but their friendly staff really sets the mood. this authentic Mexican restaurant is run by the family, and customers are very pleased with it whenever they visit for a quick meal. They have lovely enchiladas, salsa, and chimichangas that seem to get all the glory.
11. Señor Pepé
- Hours: Mon-Sat, 11:00 AM – 7:00 PM, Sun 10:00 AM – 6:00 PM
- Location: 1450 Ala Moana Blvd, Ala Moana Center, Honolulu
- Price: $
Señor Pepé has a nice appeal to it – between their colorful menu with delicious looking options and the speed of service (it’s a food court restaurant), you’re sure to enjoy it. On their website, you can view a few photos of their dishes, like the Birria Tacos and Quesadilla and their unique Carne Asada Fries adorned with the most flavorful toppings. This restaurant is always brainstorming ideas on how to make their Mexican dishes more exciting and tasty.
12. Tio’s Tamales
- Hours: Tue-Sat, 8:00 AM – 2:30 PM; Closed Sunday and Monday
- Location: 1329 Nuuanu Ave, Honolulu
- Price: $
Tio’s Tamales is the go-to place for an early morning breakfast. Travelers also cannot miss the chance to eat their popular lunch option: the Green Chile Burger! Their Green Chile sauce is a favorite among customers and contains just the right amount of “hot” ingredients, enough to leave your tongue tingling and begging for more.
Their tamales are also incredible, as is everything else they serve too!
13. Taco Del Mar
- Hours: 11:00 AM – 7:45 PM daily
- Location: 333 Keahole Street #2B1, Honolulu
- Price: $
Taco Del Mar is like a Chipotle or Moe’s in that it is a counter-serve restaurant. Many customers did not expect much from Taco Del Mar but were pleasantly surprised to find out their food is loaded with flavor! This small, fast food restaurant has a vast selection of dishes on its menu, and you can taste the freshness of the ingredients. You can choose from various options to “decorate” your plate and customize it to your exact liking.
14. Taco’Ako
- Hours: Tue-Sat, 11:00 AM – 3:00 PM; Closed Sunday and Monday
- Location: 675 Auahi St #129, Honolulu
- Price: $$ – $$$
When you’re on Oahu, you want to be part of all the fun; that’s why Taco’Ako features on this list. It is a small but lovely taco eatery. Like other Mexican restaurants on this list, Taco’Ako has its own unique take on tacos. Although the tacos seem small, they ensure they fill them with fresh and delicious meats and ingredients. This, together with their friendly and helpful staff, equals a lively and joyous atmosphere you can enjoy while out with your family.
15. Ono Loco Tacos
- Hours: Mon-Sat, 9:00 AM – 8:00 PM; Closed Sunday
- Location: 4561 Salt Lake Blvd Ste 110, Honolulu
- Price: $
You can brighten your day with a breakfast burrito, grab a few tacos for lunch, or end a long day full of exploring with their tasty selection of Mexican food dishes. Ono Loco Tacos is determined to bring “the real taste of Mexico to Oahu.” They go the extra mile to ensure this happens. Sometimes, they ask family members to ship a few authentic ingredients all the way from Mexico to their eatery.
Ono Loco Tacos also caters for birthday parties, family gatherings, and other celebrations. This restaurant is the only restaurant in Hawaii that owns a Certified Angus Beef license. They want to ensure their meat is the best of the best. Therefore, all their proteins come straight from Los Angeles.
16. Tlaxcalli
- Hours: Mon, 5:00 PM – 8:30 PM; Tue-Wed, 11:00 AM – 2:00 PM, 5:00 PM – 8:30 PM; Thurs-Fri, 11:00 AM – 2:00 PM, 5:00 PM – 9:00 PM; Sat, 11:00 AM – 2:00 PM, 5:30 PM – 9:00 PM. Sun, 9:00 AM – 2:00 PM, 5:00 PM – 8:00 PM.
- Location: 1128 Smith St, Honolulu
- Price: $$ – $$$
Tlaxcalli is most famous for its homemade tortillas since that is the base for many of their Mexican dishes. You can say they are “fancy” with their colorful and well-presented dishes, such as the Ceviche de Atun bowl that includes tomatoes, sliced onions blended with citrus sauce, and Ahi cubes, topped with a flavorful Salsa Macha.
Other popular dishes from their menu are the King Mushroom Mole, Oxtail in Chile Pasilla, Cochinita Pibil, Tacos de Camaron, and Rib Tips Chile Verde. You can enjoy their Taco Tuesday and Sunday Brunch specials as well. They also throw a Cinco de Mayo party (only by reservation) where you can mingle with others, listen to music, enter raffles, and drink specials the entire night.
RELATED ARTICLES
Best Restaurants in Waikiki You Need to Try
13 Best Sushi Spots in Oahu You Need to Try
19 Best Restaurants in Honolulu With a View
The Best 16 Places to Get Breakfast in Honolulu