Getting closer to being able to write a review, I found the location. It is at the shops at Mauna Lani above Tommy Bahamas,will be trying soon and will then leave a review. read more

Finally, an authentic Mexican restaurant that uses FRESH ingredients on Big Island. My husband and I went for lunch on a Saturday. We had the ceviche and salsa sampler with a side guac and it was so good. I love fresh guac and this is a close as I have had aside from making my own at home. My husband had the steak and I had the mahi baja tacos. I don't know how they fried the fish so light and crispy, but it was the best I have had on BI and I have lived here 36 years! We all really need to get out and support this local business so we continue to have an authentic Mexican food option in the future. Go check them out! Ono!!!! read more

See all

This place would be 2.5-3 stars in SoCal or TX, but I'll give 4 stars due to its location. The menu is a bit atypical but overall fine. The guacamole was over-processed, making it mushy and questionable whether it was freshly made. Tried 3 different margaritas. They did have a fair amount of alcohol (not watered down), but none of them were appropriately flavored. The server was very nice, but unfamiliar with the menu. The main course dish was good - a solid 4 stars for me but 3 stars for my wife. While not cheap, the overall price was actually reasonable compared to the other sit down restaurants in the Mauna Lani resort area and other ones near by on the coast. Also Mexican food across all of the islands is pretty weak, so you have to lower your expectations. read more

Espectacular toque para el real sabor de la cocina Mexicana. Ayer cenamos aguachile negro, quesadillas de champiñones y taco trío... todo buenazazazo ! Volvimos hoy por los molletes con chorizo y enmoladas uffffffff de rechupete. Recibidos como reyes por los dueños Douglas y familia con un gran staff de su Chef y personal. 100% recomendado ! Ahhh y el pastel de 3 leches sin igual nadie podra igualarlo... Gracias y mucho éxito ! read more

See all

Amazing food, amazing service, and amazing cocktails. I'm from Los Angeles and this place can hang with any of our top Mexican restaurants. Owner is super nice and kind. Went above and beyond. If you are on the island check this place out it's a hidden gem. read more

Tequilas - Mahi Tacos - Cocktail Bars Near Me - Waimea, Hawaii

The sauces made the meals. So happy to have some flavorful Mexican food on island! Drinks were also generous.

First off one of the best experiences I have had on the big island. Hands down. They are open daily 11-9. Don't miss their happy hour from 3-5. With that being said their food is absolutely the best when it comes to authentic Mexican food. From their service to the ambience they were able to capture the true essences of eating in Mexico. We were fortunate enough to catch them right when chef Doug finished his updated menu! From the fresh ceviche to the amazing enchilada plates you cannot go wrong with anything on the menu. You can tell that they use fresh ingredients and prefer quality over quantity. Overall a 10/10 experience and would recommend this place to locals and any tourist. We will be back! Thank you Doug! read more

Authentic super tasty dishes!!! Good cocktails, great guacamole, excellent kalua pork!!

Worst Mexican food you can ever eat. Avid it at Any cost. Oil used for chips and other stuff had a bitter taste, may be they are using the same oil for the whole day . read more

Made a reservation for 6:15 and we were seated. We were asked if we wanted drinks. We ordered a beer and soda at 6:20. We had our 5 year old grandson with us. At 7:05 pm, we walked out as we STILL had not been served drinks or even placed our ordered. Worst dining experience ever, anywhere!!!! read more

Food was great - best Mexican place on this side of the island. Tried several items from the dinner menu. Customer service is even better. Visited twice for our 5 day stay at the big island. Located on the second floor - but not too difficult to find. Excellent place. Will highly recommend. read more

Bland food, limited menu, service is good but overall food is not up to par! Fish tacos were bland - perhaps some sauce. The enchiladas also lacked flavor read more

Went twice before writing a review.Im not a Mexican food expert but I love this place.I love the black bean option!Everyone both times enjoyed everything.Vegetarian, chicken beef and pork dishes are available.It isn't cheap but it feels like quality food.It seems to be regional and a little different than what usually is offered but many familiar items.Fajitas,tacos,guacamole,...etc. read more

Just incredible food and the kindest servers. We both loved every sip, every bite. Between us we had the mushroom enchiladas, the divorciados (similar to huevos rancheros), horchata iced coffee and a pineapple juice with jamaica. A bit pricier than your standard cantina but SO good. read more

See all

Although short staffed, they were extremely helpful and friendly to our group. We understood the situation and chatted comfortably over margaritas until we could order. Food was delicious. We had vegan tacos, enchiladas, posole and sopes. Excellent award-winning choices for vegetarian and vegan diners. Highly recommend. read more

Had breakfast here this week. Friendly service complemented delicious food. The hue is rancheros was so good that I asked for a soon to get the last bits. Chilaquiles with red and green sauce was perfect. It's a bit pricey for Mexican fare but this is Hawaii so you expect that. We will be back soon. read more

Pretty decent and fresh food. Incredibly overpriced, especially for locals. Makes sense it's in the Mauna lani shopping center... but personally wouldn't return due to the price vs what you get. read more

First, I'd like to say that the food and service are excellent for this newcomer to the area. The reason I gave it three stars is because they charged $28 for three tacos and didn't even provide any sides like rice, beans or chips, seemingly cheap accompaniments. I was still hungry when we left. We live in CA and can get 3 tacos for $10, so this was a little bit of sticker shock. I get the island premium, but come on! My friendly advice to the management is to be a bit more generous. I'm happy to pay the price because the food is good, but with what you offer, the value is just not there. Unless, this establishment provides more value, I would not recommend it. Just go to Los Tres Mex at Waikaloa Village. read more

The ambiance was great, but food was lacking flavor. The chopped salad had way too much onion over any other vegetables and my tortillas from my tacos felt cold and did not seem home made like the website says. read more

Food, service and ambience are all excellent. I liked the vegan options, the salad was excellent, and my husband enjoyed the chicken tacos.

The food was absolutely amazing!! Highly recommend the carne asada tacos and sopes. The owner was very friendly and welcoming. Beautiful restaurant with great vibes!! read more

Tequilas - Carne asada tacos - Cocktail Bars Near Me - Waimea, Hawaii

Good Food and Drinks,Steak Tacos are must try!!! Also loved the quick service.If you just go for drinks, do try their Pink Guava Margarita.

What a blessing to find an authentic Mexican food place on the Big Island. By far the best Mexican food on the island. The food is authentic Mexican not Tex Mex. Fresh ingredients, handmade tortillas. The chicken sopes were amazing, reminded me of Mexico City sopes, the margaritas are incredible. Douglas was super friendly and accommodating. Highly recommend Alebrije for authentic Mexican food. read more

We tried Alebrije as an alternative to resort dining. Wow! We were so glad we did! We went for brunch/lunch and loved the divorciados dish. It was so flavorful! Highly recommend. We loved lunch so much, and since they won't be open for the other days of our trip, we are returning tonight to have dinner. read more

Food was not good at all. Do not go here. We literally had to hop to a different restaurant right after because we weren't satisfied with the food. Menu was limited not too many options. Seems like it is more on vegetarian side. Service was not too bad, just wish there were more people helping to take orders. Take them awhile to come up and take your order. Ambiance is not bad. I am not coming back here read more

Excellent food and service. Very clean inside. Even my kids loved it. Guac and chicken enchiladas were great. Must try!

To start, I would highly not recommend this place. The first thing you notice is the understaffing. The person on the floor was working as host and server so everything was automatically slower. We ordered an appetizer (guac and chips) and it took a surprising amount of time. It lacked flavor, lots of it like salt or cilantro. Later when our food came out it was just an overall theme of lack of flavor. It was good quality food but for that price they are asking it was no where near expectations. The drink menu was okay but when I went to order they did not have most beers available and that was not said upfront. Overall this was not a great experience, overpriced food for the service and quality you are getting, lack of flavor, and it was chilly inside. The location was good and the server was great but I will not be taking my family back. read more

Disappointing food. Bland. It's Mexican, where's the spice? Even the guacamole was boring. The mexican cheese was too dry, tart and skimpy. Creme was very skimpy. Tacos and sopas were dry. Sauces and salsas were bland and/or tart. Certainly don't need pickled onions on top of all the other tart ingredients. The corn tortillas and masa sopas were good. But I really wanted more creme to balance the tart, cheese that melts and a lot more richness in spice. Doesn't need to be hot but a tiny bit of heat and full flavor is missing. We really wanted to like this place as good Mexican food is missing on this island. Service was better than the last time we were here. Doubt we will return. Sad. read more

This restaurant was subpar and disappointing. They advertise "creative Mexican food," which we probably should have paid more attention to, but we wanted something other than a smash burger. No one in our group enjoyed what we ordered. A couple of the dishes were shockingly picante, but otherwise flavorless. And I almost broke a tooth on rock-hard sopes and burnt rice. This is one of those restaurants where they won't make substitutions or serve anything on the side, per the waiter, "because everything is premade." (Everything???) The hostess seemed nice, but she seated us at a corner table, against the wall, at the very back of the restaurant. The waiter appeared to resent our presence and annoyed to take our order, even though there were only two other people in the whole place. After we began eating, a strange banging repeatedly came from the wall we were pushed up against. It was so bizarre, and sounded like someone was stuck inside the wall and trying to get out. After our group left the restaurant, we joked that they must have decided that they hated us as we walked in, and were doing everything they could think of to make us leave! read more

Really nice place. It was great it was raining and not super busy. They have a lot of great vegetarian/vegan options for those of you that so desire. Otherwise there are plenty of meat options as well. It is very apparent that the menu is on my opinion based on made fresh in house. There is standard Mexican fare but also some unique twists like a Pablo Palmer with jamaica and fresh made limeaid. The food was really good albeit the achiote pulled pork tacos were a bit light in the achioteb for my taste but that's a personal preference and they were really good nonetheless. One thing they might have had of I had asked would be a taco sampler... like I wanted to try several kinds but it was 3 of one. I should have asked. Also drinks had lots of ice which isn't my thing either because you're essentially paying for water for a full glass of ice and not what really matter in the mocktail. I'd dintel come back however to try more menu items. read more

Great food and great service. Lots of vacant shops and not a lot of traffic here at The Shops at Mauna Lani, but I think it's worth going there for the delicious food. We also enjoyed the ambiance and the Mexican covers of popular songs. read more

We arrived on the Big Island this afternoon and were looking for a place for dinner near our destination. This new spot popped up with some initially promising Yelp reviews, so we overcame our skepticism about Mexican food in a strip mall in Hawaii, and gave it a shot. We're very happy that we did and that we can now add to those early great reviews! My wife has celiac disease, so I called in advance to ensure that they could prepare gluten free food for her. I spoke to the chef who went through his whole protocol and what she would need to avoid. He then called me back (!) to provide some further information. We felt entirely comfortable and at ease thanks to that effort. Our server Kaylah was super-friendly and warm. She took great care of us and our kids, checking in frequently. And the food itself was excellent. We got a variety of things, all of which were really good. I particularly enjoyed the yellowtail tiradito (shared w/my wife) and the Baja fish tacos (not shared thanks to the gluten, though chef said he could make a non-fried version). My wife also loved her tortilla soup (minus the fried strips). Prices were reasonable for the area too. Overall an excellent experience and I'd recommend it to anyone in the area! read more

We had a great meal at Alebrije. The Pozole was a. Incredible delight. Try the salsa sampler- delicious way to start. The STEAK ARACHERRA was amazing. We also enjoyed the Poblano Chicken Tacos, Carne Asada Tacos and Poblano Pepper Rajas Tacos. The rice and beans were also expertly prepared. After dinner, the executive chef came out and greeted us. He wanted feedback on the meal. He told us that the recipes were authentic recipes taken from different regions of Mexico. He told us not only were the ingredients fresh but they were grown in Mexico: e.g. the avocados and poblano peppers. We had great food, great service and a great time read more

Avocado toast is awesome and french toast is the best I've ever had. Drinks are awesome as well. Totally recommend. read more

See all

Excellent food and drinks. The skinny margarita was as good as if it was from a great restaurant in Mexico City. Perfectly balanced. The ceviche was fresh and delicious. Tacos will be a favorite. The owner and the staff have so much passion. This is a keeper. read more

We loved our breakfast here! My husband ordered the eggs with mole, I ordered the poblano omelette, and my kids each ordered pancakes! Everything was incredible, and our waitress even made a special iced decaf coffee for my 12 year old!! We also loved the music and atmosphere! Auntie Tina was our server and was amazing!! read more

See all

This is a good choice if you are looking for some Mexican food. Being from California and having so many opportunities for true Mexican dishes, this is the first place we've had a good experience. The carne asada steak taco was great. The Habenero salsa was fabulous and their classic margarita was fantastic. read more

This is a cool little spot, and a welcome addition to the offerings in this beach resort area. I travel far and frequently, so I can attest to the fact that the seasonings on the black Agua chile shrimp are as they claim... Yucatán traditional with a modern flare. Pork and chicken tacos were also delicious. Fresh corn tortillas are always the best. It is a newer place, however, and 3 stars is my top score due to some apparent growing pains... for example: 1. Bottled beer was not cool but not cold. Easily fixed with an ice bucket, but that shouldn't happen. 2. Agua shrimp Is a ceviche, we did request raw... However, it needed a little more time in the acid to firm up a tiny bit. Also, if there were grilled avocados, radishes and microgreens as stated on the menu, I didn't find them. Same for the passionfruit on the house ceviche. Also, house ceviche menu price is $22, but it rang up at $25 on the receipt. 3. We each ordered a pork and a chicken taco. They came plated with 2 chicken on one plate and two pork on the other. Not thrilled to have to fix this ourselves. Chicken taco could have been a little more full. 4. Cocktail napkin instead of dinner size. I'm sure they will improve on the details, but I really liked it overall, and hope they are here when we return in 9 months. read more

Great food. Fantastic service. Drinks were very tasty and unique. Server was able to recommend items we would like. Food made with fresh ingredients. read more

CRAZY EXPENSIVE!!! Who pays 25$ for 2 tacos!! Go up to Waikoloa Village food mall for really good Mexican food at 1/3 of the price