42-1027 Hawaii Belt Road Paauilo, Big Island Hawaii Legit. I know now what a delicious tamale tastes like. Thank you Reinaldo for opening my eyes and taste buds to the best tamales in Hawaii. Masa from a bag but not dry or hard. The tamales here are flavor FULL with very tasty fillings of beef, cheese and green chile, chicken and pork. At $5 each they are expensive compared to what you can find in LA. But hey! We live in the middle of the ocean and it's cheaper than a plane ride. Reinaldo honed his skills while working at the Frontera Grill in Chicago. Not in the kitchen as he will humbly tell you, but as a server...Still, he picked up the needed knowledge to really turn out truly delicious offerings. Cash only! So I ended up driving 9 miles to the nearest ATM and back to buy more tamales to take home to Oahu. Looking forward to my next meal here and a little storytelling about Reinaldo's world travels. Park out front next to the sign that says tamales! read more

COBA - a menu for a mexican restaurant - Mexican Near Me - Paauilo, Hawaii

My family and I stopped by this spot due to the excellent reviews we saw on Yelp. Let me tell you that the 5 star reviews are all legit. The food in this place is by far the best Mexican food we ever had. We had the guacamole along with a steak burrito and some tacos. We were full till the next day as the portions were very generous for the price. Don't be fooled by the location or the look of the place, the food is excellent and the service from the owner was amazing. Everything we ordered tasted fresh and healthy. This restaurant is definitely a must try. A+ for the service and A+ for the excellent food read more

COBA - Entrance to the restaurant - Mexican Near Me - Paauilo, Hawaii

We were pleasantly surprised by our lunch stop today. Thank goodness for Yelp search because we'd have no idea this place existed otherwise. It's definitely disorganized inside, but once we got our fresh guacamole and chips- we no longer cared. We enjoyed chatting with the owner and hearing his stories. We got chicken tamales and were very happy with them. We even left with a fresh avocado! read more

I'm so happy to have found this place! Wow! What a delicious burrito I got! The steak burrito, but I can't eat beans because of my acid reflux. The owner Renaldo is so kind and offered chicken instead. And the way he crisped up the cheese and rolled the burrito was perfection! We also got his chicken tamales. PHENOMENAL! His banana chocolate chip bread was so good, especially taken home and warmed up a bit in the microwave. The flavors were so professional! I could tell Renaldo was a professional chef. Sadly we aren't on this side often. But I promise Renaldo, we will stop by if we are. read more

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Excellent tamales. Masa is light and flavorful. Trained in Chicago and now has this little roadside stop Taquitos we're also delicious. Has the guac and chips. Very fresh and made to order. Could be spicier for our taste but also had verde and hot sauce so we were able to make it hotter ourselves. Owner is friendly and delightful and made our body even better. Highly recommend! read more

Outstanding Mexican food. We ordered steak and chicken burritos for take out. The ingredients were fresh and delicious, the size of the burritos were massive. The restaurant is in Paauilo on the side of the road, mauka side. Inside of the restaurant is an eclectic blend of the owners artistic touches, very cool. Glad this gem us so close to home. read more

I was never expecting to find one of the best tamales I have ever eaten in Hawaii. I have had many Mexican meals but this one was memorable for many reasons. The food was fantastic but the chef and business owner Reneldo made our stop extra special. He shared stories of his time in both Hawaii and Chicago where he got his culinary start. The delicious food was why we came but meeting Reneldo was a gift! Make the stop if you are driving through. It is worth it! read more

Stop by at least once a week if I can. Pretty much everything is made to order. I always get the black bean tostada. My family and friends have gotten the tamales, and enchiladas AMAZING! FRESH COCONUT WATER! Renaldo, the owner, is so nice, and I love hearing his stories, and stopping for food and chatting. The food always tastes so fresh and delicious, if you want HOT sauce, just ask. He makes his own and it is BURNING hot. i couldn't take it, but my friend loved it. His banana bread (regular or chocolate) is the best I've tasted, I ate it so fast I choked and then kept eating . read more

It's like.... Going over to your Uncle's place and he cooks you some food. No pretense, no frills. Just some really, really good food and if you're lucky and it's slow - some great stories. We had the steak burrito (huge) and an enchilada plate. I'm not a huge enchilada fan but I tasted my husband's and wished I'd ordered it. I would have found room. Some chips and fresh guacamole to start - perfectly seasoned. It's a bit cluttered - low points for ambiance but that's not what we came for. read more

Very small Spot serving you authentic dishes straight from the heart of Mexico. The owner is a charm and, with his stories and incredible cooking skills, the atmosphere makes you feel at home. I spent time in Mexico, learning from a professional chef to cook amazing Mexican cuisine and this instantly brought me back to one of my favorite destinations in the world. For my main dish I had Empanadas, which were truthfully the best I've had since Mexico. Pro tip: try the Tamales. They are out of this world and will leave you longing for more. read more

I ordered 2 tacos & a fresh coconut. They were delicious! His guacamole was excellent & I am very picky about what I would call good guacamole! I liked that he used sliced cherry tomatoes instead of Roma tomatoes on the tacos. It definitely was a nice surprise. As I was carrying a baby, the owner offered to help me to my car & gave me a bucket to prop up my coconut while I waited for my food. This was very considerate. I'm only giving 4 stars due to the high prices, but maybe they're higher right now due to less customers because of COVID. And he is in the middle of nowhere. read more

Fresh homemade food. Great ceviche and chicken tamales! Wonderful owner. We will definitely go back

We ordered couple chicken and steak tacos here. Food was hot and pretty good. Quiet place. Owner was nice and friendly.

Authentic,Festive, Friendly Reneldo aims to please. Fresh and tasty. The Big Island at its best! You are able to order in advance Should not be missed read more

Must try! Don't let the exterior scare you off. This whole in the wall is worth the stop! This is what makes small town hawaii so awesome. The owner is the chef, server, bus boy and the host. Truly cares about the experience and is a craftsman with his food. We tried the steak tacos, chicken taquitos, chicken enchiladas, and the turkey tamiles. This guy made everything fresh and everything we ordered was delicious. Seriously, give this guy your business. Support local and eat well doing so. Check out my video of the up close taco. Art with food! read more

Very kind owner! Their food looked amazing, unfortunately we arrived when it was closed. The owner rushed across the road to give us complimentary banana bread. Let me tell you, this was some of the best banana bread we've had in a while!! Will definitely stop by again! read more

My fiancé and I thought the Chicken tacos were Delicious! Totally hit the spot. Very authentic :) Mahalo!

Great food Great Service! Ronaldo is a gem. Don't drive by and miss this place- located on side of road- very unassuming location but so incredibly flavorful! read more

We hiked in the morning and we super hungry- almost missed this place. The outside looks a little weathered, the inside kind of looks the same but the food was FANTASTIC! Seriously so delicious- 6 of us had tacos, guacamole and an enchilada- everything was unique and delicious!!! Great find! The food was gone so quickly I forgot to get more photos. Nice owner too! read more

COBA - Hard shell beef taco - Mexican Near Me - Paauilo, Hawaii

Must stop when visiting waipi'o! Taquitos and tamales were delicious. Some of the lightest and fluffiest tamales I've had (coming from a Californian). Even better Reneldo (the owner), took the time to hang out with us, give some great recommendations, and all around nice guy. Highly recommend. read more

Wow! Great food, great service. One of the best tacos I've had! Going back for more. read more

One of my favorite places to stop by when I am on the Island. Everything I've had at COBA is delicious and memorable. Ren is amazing! Looking forward to going back again soon. read more

My husband and I were taking a road trip around the Big Island and stopped here for organic coconut water. It was amazing and refreshing and so much different from what you find in the grocery store. The owner Ren used a cleaver to break open the coconut nut for us to enjoy the fresh coconut. We chatted for several minutes and learned he was also the chef at this Mexican restaurant. He said his specialty was Tamales. My husband is an excellent cook especially Mexican cuisine. He ordered 6 tamales to take back to our hotel. His assessment, "These were the best tamale I ever had. They were meaty and flavorful. The masa was very tasty. They were just like my Grandma used to make." This place would be worth the long road trip just for the tamales. Excellent!! read more

COBA - Ren cracking open our organic coconut! - Mexican Near Me - Paauilo, Hawaii

The food was fantastic and such a gem to find along the highway. The cook and owner is very nice and we enjoyed it so much we went back twice. read more

My husband and I were visiting from San Diego and were spending the day driving the island. We found ourselves hungry and pretty far from other food. We decided to take a chance on this place, knowing that we're pretty harsh critics of Mexican food. Man, I'm glad we did!!! This place is seriously solid - a quintessential hole in the wall Mexican spot. Reneldo, the owner and chef, made us his grandmas pork tacos which were delicious. But the star of the show were definitely the tamales - don't pass these up! read more

COBA - Mexican Near Me - Paauilo, Hawaii

Unassuming little place along the highway, keep your eyes open or you might miss it! Being from San Diego, I wasn't sure about Mexican food in Hawaii, but this was fantastic! The owner is an experienced and very down to earth chef, his food was superb. We had guacamole, a chicken tamal, and enchiladas, so so sooooo good! I definitely recommend stopping by if you're in the area. read more

Do yourself a favor and meet this neat proprietor and have some damn good food. We had a delicious beef burrito, interesting flavor/seasoning, more interesting than standard Mexican fare. Owner is very affable and welcoming. And when you're done and if it's open, get some yummy, buttery cookies nextdoor at Donna's Cookies. Their good size container of broken cookies is an absolute steal. read more

This place was gas. I recommend the tacos and the chips and guacamole. The owner was nice and extremely friendly. Fast service. I would recommend this place. read more

The tamale are just perfect. Ratio of masa to filling is balanced. NOT too much masa with little filling. Steak taco is very flavorful. Not like common asada, it's got smoke. I'll be back. read more

My spouse and I tried this gem based on Yelp reviews and are SO happy we did. Being born and raised in LA, I know good Mexican food and Coba's is EXCELLENT!! When you walk in, you're warmly welcomed into Reneldo's kitchen to savor comfort food with a unique flair. Do yourself a favor and make it a point to go here. You won't be disappointed! read more

Stopped here for steak and chicken tacos during lunch. Nothing fancy on the decor but my kids said they were the tastiest tacos they've had. Authentic food and can't beat the prices. Owner very friendly and gave us some free travel advice to boot. read more

Best Mexican food on the island!!!! Everything is excellent!!!!! Rin was such an awesome host! Definitely bringing my family back in the regular! read more

One of the best steak tacos I've ever had in my entire life and the tamales and guacamole were delicious as well. Definitely stop by if you're in the area. The owner is very sweet and has great stories as well. read more

Great food and conversation. Unique spot worth a drive. Relax and have the guac and a tamale or two. Eclectic convo from Etta James to Ek Balam. Enjoy the island here and slow down with some Mexican goodness. read more

We stopped in on our way to Akaka Falls for a quick lunch and loved it! The steak taco and chicken enchiladas were so good. The owner was very friendly and shared stories of his love of cooking and his travels. I'm glad we stopped! read more

Great little Mexican restaurant with very little signage on a busy road. Great flavors and sauces. Delicious tamales, steak burritos, chicken tacos, and ceviche. The owner chef was very friendly and accommodating. The whole family including two little kids all enjoyed our food. The flavors of the various dishes were significantly better than most Mexican restaurants in this off the beaten path location. I highly recommend this place! read more

One word.. WOW!! Renoldo the owner was absolutely amazing and very personable! Place is definitely a hole in the wall, but MAN! He can cook up some food! We had the steak burrito, chicken enchilada, and chips and FRESH guacamole! Absolutely delicious! read more

We had to get the steak burrito again! It's an awesome dinner to share with Ceviche. The Ceviche is also a winner with lots of flavor:) if you want it spicy you can get spicy pickled red onions on the side. Love the spice level. You make it hot if you want it hot. Again Mexican food at its best on the Big Island. A hole in the wall restaurant read more

Best Mexican food we ever ate. Covid 19 has disrupted the service and food that Ren is known for. I've never had anything that wasn't thoroughly enjoyable and Ren is a joy. His banana bread is delicious although not always available. We have given him stalks of bananas hoping that the bread would be there following his great meals and juices. Come back Ren - we miss you! I highly recommend COBA, you won't be disappointed. Mahalo and Aloha , Rick Jones read more

We were extremely fortunate to have stumbled across this wonderful hole in the wall. We had the best tamales in the country. Their tamales had generous portions of pork meat inside and were wonderfully wrapped in a corn husk. The tamale had an absolutely stunning flavor that left your palate wanting more. I only wished I had ordered a couple of dozens to take home. Ren who was the chef spent the time to visit with us and was very generous with his company. read more