Delicious upscale Mexican food for a reasonable price compared to some of the other places in Kauai (everything is a bit pricy here). Beef was juicy and tender and pork was nice and crispy. Verde sauce was indeed flavorful and spicy. House chips and salsa were also delicious. Highlight of the evening were the $3 house margaritas which had great flavor, good tequila, and were strong! read more

I was so excited to find this place! It's a rather small establishment with about 7-8 tables so come early or get take out. As many fellow yelpers have noted, their fish and shrimp tacos are AMAZING. Each order comes with two tacos and each taco was about the size of my face so it's not a bad idea to share! You can taste the fresh ingredients. And the crispy tortilla chips sprinkle on top of each taco gave it the necessary crunchy factor. Our server was friendly and patient with us. He came by every so often to make sure our glasses were always filled. Highly recommended if you're in the area! read more

Bomb.com! It is located in a strip around chain restaurants, so we almost didn't go in because we wanted something authentic (and from the outside we weren't sure). I'm so glad we still went in because this plane was so yummy!! I got the ultimate chicken tacos and they were incredible! A little pricey, and the location kinda sucks, but if you're looking for some bomb Mexican food, this is your place! read more

My husband and I live on island and we are total foodies...so there are a couple of restaurants we frequent, and Verde is usually our Sunday lunch after church - def get into a food coma and go sit on the beach afterwards! LOL Josh and Maris and their team are amazing! We love them! :) My favorite is the ahi fish tacos or stacked enchilada - the chips and salsa bar are awesome! Let's not forget about the margaritas! Cute little cozy atmosphere and you won't go away hungry just w/a full belly :) read more

Verde - BFF Group Therapy @ Verde - Mexican Near Me - Lihue, Hawaii

This is one of the best places I've eaten in the 4 days I've been here. Don't come here if you are looking for a traditional island feel. But if you like good modern Mexican food, this is a must. Everything is clean and delicious. read more

Verde - Beef tostada. - Mexican Near Me - Lihue, Hawaii

The food is good but over priced. The drink special margarita was definitely over priced at $17. The price was not on the menu and the waiter did not tell us how much.My bad for not asking. Dinner for two tonight including tip cost $80 for the taco special and a burrito. I am local and will not dine here again read more

This place has the best tasting Mexican food on the island. My wife ordered the Ultimate Chicken Burrito and I had the Taco Salad with Chicken. The vegetables are super fresh, the taste is truly unique, and the salsa is We'll be back again and we wish we had this in the mainland! read more

Very good! Would like more cheese, cheese options...loved the tea. Had the layered enchilada, with pork. Seasoned very well, would have liked more green sauce. I am looking forward to trying the chicken, heard goid things about it. Very friendly service. Great location and parking. Will definately go back. read more

Verde - Mexican Near Me - Lihue, Hawaii

Great lunch spot. Where there is a line to get food, always a good sign there is great food! Restaurant opened at 11 and there was a line to get in! We were in a rush but got our order in and we were out fast. Lots of yummy choices on menu. Fish tacos and a taco salad bowl were tasty! read more

We had nachos and fish tacos- both amazing! Place is small and packed. Service is attentive. Full bar. Highly recommend.

Highly disappointing! We drove from South shore to east with some excitement to try Mexican place that we've never been. We started with margarita for hubby, which was nice. As soon as we sat,we got menu,water and chips. Drink came really fast. We ordered appetizer shrimp quesadilla as my meal and verde verde burrito for hubby. Quesadilla was very bland,very little shrimp,not much flavor. The worst part was burrito... OMG!!! We've never seen so much broccoli in burrito. I'm not kidding, 2/3 of the burrito was broccoli. Very little meat, potatoes, some green beans and lots of lots of lots of broccoli. That was TERRIBLE. The only reason I'm giving 2 stars is fast,friendly service. We still tipped 20% for the server, however we expected better food. Definitely not the burrito with tons of broccoli. read more

Verde - That big burrito is filled with whole broccoli,,,oh my gosh:( - Mexican Near Me - Lihue, Hawaii

My first trip to Kauai and we stumbled upon this cute little place. Staff is friendly, awesome food and good portions. We ordered the garlic shrim burrito and stacked carne enchiladas. Definitely recommend!! read more

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This was our first stop during our family trip to Kaua'i and it definitely kicked it off to a great start. I got the fish tacos (one Mahi Mahi and the seared Ahi Tuna) and it did not disappoint. The tacos had the perfect balance of the crunchiness from the greens and tenderness of the fish. If you're not too hungry, this plate is can certainly be shared! Definitely recommend. We noticed the service was a little slower, but that's what happens when you've got two people working the front and they're both working their bums off. Extremely kind staff and it was a wonderful experience. read more

Verde - Mexican Near Me - Lihue, Hawaii

Had some high hopes for this place but I think I'm more used to traditional Mexican food...I'm rating this low just because the taste of the food was very bland...if I based this on the service of the workers they were super awesome no complaints there...I think this place is more of a modern American twist on Mexican food read more

Verde - Was excited for the lime cilantro rice but it was tasteless and tacos had too much going on - Mexican Near Me - Lihue, Hawaii

Great lunch spot. The fish tacos were great. Hubs had the pork tacos and said they were flavorful. This place is really small (no air conditioning but a nice size fan on the wall!) and we had a party of 5, but they moved some tables around to accommodate us. The bar seats 6. The wait staff is very friendly and fast! Our server kept our water full. Very attentive. Cute place. read more

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This place had such kind service, a great menu and easy to get to. I did a single mahi taco and it was so perfectly flavored and cooked with just the right amount of spice. My hubby had the stacked enchilada with the Kaua'i beef and both sauces, as the call "Christmas" sauce. We'd definitely recommend and come back for sure! read more

Verde - Mexican Near Me - Lihue, Hawaii

We came here for our last meal in Kaua'i before we flew out to come home Sad to leave Kaua'i but we did really enjoy our lunch! Waitress was very attentive and gave suggestions about the menu items etc. Husband ordered their version of the mai tai which was delish. I had the garlic shrimp tacos which was good. There were only 3 shrimp on one taco which I did feel was a bit stingy. Son had garlic shrimp burrito which was great! Sauce was so yummy. Daughter had the stacked enchiladas with pork which was also great! We did splurge and had the churro fries which were so yummy!! I would definitely recommend this place! read more

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Service was really good. Kind of on the pricy side. Smaller portions. Rice was really good. Nothing really stood out for me. New Mexican style Mexican food. read more

The food was amazing!!! Authentic Mexican all the way!! Great service as well. Every thing was so fresh!!! Highly recommended fajitas!!

We got there after a flight from Maui. We were hungry and the food was excellent-very fresh tasting. I had the beef tostada and wife the ultimate chicken burrito. Good portions and we didn't leave much. We also got the Margarita Monday special and would recommend the $5 fresh juice version read more

Ok the service is slow, but you have to remember we're On island time. That's the only bad I can say about this place. I easily looked over that because the food was simply amazing!!! I'm from California, I have lived in both north and south California. We for sure have the best Mexican food! With that being said, this Mexican food is so incredibly good. There is a unique taste that I can't quite describe but for sure compliments the overall ingredients in the more traditional Mexican food. When we entered it was packed. Not much seating but we got to sit wherever we wanted. The menu didn't have a ton of choices but enough to please anyone. I decided to try the Garlic Shrimp burrito, wet style, with beans and rice. The fiancé got the garlic shrimp tacos with beans and rice as well. OMG! The flavors were wonderful. The cilantro rice and beans were also a great addition to the plate. My taste buds were going crazy. I wish I wasn't so full so I could try a dessert. For anyone who enjoys Mexican food this place is a must do! UPDATE; Went one more time before we left for home. The food was good once again. Can't wait to come back. read more

A definite must try! A night of being impatient and hangry turned into pure satisfaction. The garlic shrimp taco was total euphoria! It had a strong garlicky note that was pierced with and acidic guacamole and lime. The tortilla was toasted to add a smoky note that paired with the deep fried shrimp. The slowish service was completely forgotten as I was intoxicated with flavors that I never experienced in a taco! Do yourself a favor and don't skip a visit to this gem! read more

Verde - Garlic shrimp tacos are a must! - Mexican Near Me - Lihue, Hawaii

Bland and overpriced food. Also, the cheese in my enchiladas wasn't even melted! Came here due to the great reviews... Very disappointed. If you are used to good Mexican food then skip this place. read more

Awesome, delicious, filling food. Great service. Locally sourced. Small business feel. Worth it!!! read more

Never disappointed with this hole.in the wall spot. It's b becoming a fav. Fl favor of food is perfect. I think they could do better on margaritas but still not making a big thing over it. Probable will return soon read more

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The food is amazing! I love getting the fish tacos and chicken nachos! Always fresh and tasty. Get the ulu tortillas when visiting too, you won't regret it! However, for the past months i've been going with my husband, it seems they need more workers. The bussers are doing majority of the work such as running food or cleaning/setting tables. I see the stress on them when people keep coming in and out as it's hard for them to do 1,000 things at one time. Seems like the servers or managers need to step up more often as it seems that they only make drinks and deliver them to the table. I give my 100% kudos to the bussers! Great job. My rating remains a 3/5 because they should prioritize more staff members to enhance the customer experiences to keep the restaurant working as a whole. Waiting time for food or a table is sometimes long due to short of staff. This can be easily fixed when adding at least one more person to help run the food to the table. Sometimes I even see one person working in the kitchen. Yes, the pandemic may effect the amount of staff available, but it is important to prioritize less stress of the employees as they are the key to success of the restaurant. read more

Food is just amazing. We are vegetarians so usually it's down to rice and beans thrown/wrapped on a tortilla or taco. This place had fresh veggies that you could actually taste. To top that, the ambience and the attitude of everyone was quite relaxed and happy. It rubs off. It's not authentic Mexican but they don't claim to be. The changes to the dishes we ate were tasteful and quite welcome. Will be back. read more

All I have to say is you MUST eat here while on Kauai. THE BEST. My boyfriend and I visited for short weekend get away from Maui. Maui doesn't have the best food and our friend who grew up on Kauai told us we ABSOLUTELY HAD TO EAT HERE. So we did. This was our very first stop after getting off the plane and starting our drive towards Princeville. The food was absolutely amazing. My mouth is watering now just thinking about it. read more

Was very surprised at how great the ahi fish tacos are. We also had the special that was good but not as good as the fish tacos. read more

Verde - Amazing ahi fish tacos! Just get them... - Mexican Near Me - Lihue, Hawaii

Meh. It was ok. Service is very important to me and we were forgotten about during a busy time which dampened my view of the place. The food was good- we had guacamole and chips (smooth with a good flavor), Carne tacos ( beef was a little gamey and the pork was a touch spicy and very flavorful), and chicken sopaipillas (hearty and delicious). Do not expect a quick meal and sometimes you will have to remind your waitress you exist, but overall a decent meal. read more

Verde - Mexican Near Me - Lihue, Hawaii

I'm sorry to write a bad review but this was bland, mediocre and utterly inauthentic. My wife and I are baffled at all the 5 star reviews. We had vastly better Mexican food at various taco trucks elsewhere on the island. The salsa tasted like it was straight from a bottle at Safeway. The garlic shrimp burrito was 90% rice and had almost no flavor. My wife's beef enchilada was bland and served room-temperature. The portions were pretty big, which is the best thing I can say. Please - someone donate a good Mexican cookbook to the chef. :( read more

When I read a "bad service" review on Yelp I usually dismiss it. I'm cynical and figure the reviewer was probably difficult to please. If you feel the same, please take a moment to read my other reviews and note that I rarely comment negatively about the service and always make the food the point of the story. But this unchecked aggression will not stand, man. Overwhelmed by all the positive reviews I took my family of six here. My first impression was that, despite the strip mall it was very polished inside, with slick marketing materials and signage that makes it look almost like a chain. I asked, and apparently this is the only one, so kudos to the owner for focusing on the appearance of the place. Unfortunately, beauty is only skin deep. Yelp says this place has Waiter Service. That is not true. It is counter service with food runners. There is one menu and it's on the wall. At the register I placed the order, and the guy taking the order was very cheery and moved his hands across the POS quickly. I became suspicious that he wasn't getting it all, but I let it go and returned to our table. The first two plates arrived and the order was correct. A moment later two more came out and they were served as tacos, not the burritos I had ordered. I asked the kids if they could be flexible about it and they agreed they could. Shortly after my wife & I were served, also in taco form and not burrito. I can understand screwing up one, maybe two of the orders, but four? So we sent it back. Without a word he picked up all four plates and returned them to the kitchen. The kids are confused, because they've never seen us do this. As my wife is giving them the "no big deal, everyone makes mistakes" speech the same guy comes back to our table, crouches down and tells us that he's overheard us and doesn't appeciate our "belittling him"! He also insists that he's been "doing this a long time and definately heard me say I wanted tacos". As I write this I am realizing how absurd the whole affair was. Assume for the moment I did screw it up and misspeak, where is the customer in all of this? BTW, I didn't screw it up. My wife was there and hears all of my screw-ups. Believe me, the mistake would have been corrected before it got to the kitchen. A few minutes later he returned and set down two of the new burritos in front of our kids. "Thank you, thank you" they both said. No reply. He set down our plates. "Thank you, thank you" we said. No reply. His intentional rudeness was enough for the Mrs. She marched back to the kitchen to ask who who in charge. Our server replied that it was he. She told him he was rude and that we were done and to refund us. He happily (really?) did, and we left without having a single bite. I cannot comment on the food, Yelpers. I insist you avoid this place. We took our $93 (yes, for 6 burritos (tacos)) and drove 2 blocks to Tiki Taco. There I expected to get tacos, and we did. And the service was great and it was $45. read more

We came in a couple days ago and had a great time during our meal, read on..... 5 stars for Kai our waiter -10 stars for the manager. My daughter is extremely allergic to milk. They served her tacos with cheese ( these things happen and we understand sometimes there are mis-communications) My daughter was so sick from the food once we starting driving back to our hotel. She threw all night , had a fever and extreme reaction to the food. I checked the food we brought home for her and indeed it had cheese under the cabbage shreds. I called the next morning just to inform of the situation and to let them know to be more careful but didn't ask for anything from them, just simply for them to be more careful. The cashier on the phone was very sorry for what happen. 2 mins later I get a call from the manager. I thought they were going to apologize for what happen to my daughter. The first sentence that came out of the manager's mouth was " What do you want from this and why are you complaining when you ate your food to go?" First of all I had a party of 10 and I ate there at the restaurant, I took my daughter's leftover home. Her next comment was " well how can I offer you anything if you're lying, you said you had the food togo when you really ate here, why didn't you tell us when you were here" I was thinking myself, I don't control the exact time my daughter reacts to the cheese, it started in the car on the way back to the hotel. at this point I had no idea what to say, all I wanted to point out is that they need to be more careful and I didn't ask for anything at all. The manager said, how do you want me to resolved this, well why don't you come in for another taco on us. I was baffled at this point, are you kidding me, my daughter could have died from this and all she can do was called me a liar and offered another taco?? how about a simple apology and sorry for what happen to you daughter. I told her I didn't want a taco! however I wanted to know why she would call me a liar, so she hung up. 2 mins later the chef John, called and apologize and I accepted. Bottom line is the manager has no customer service skills at all and I would never come back here or recommend anyone to come because of how our family was treated. I was simply telling them what happen so it doesn't harm other people in the future and this is how I get treated. Wish we never ate here. read more

First off, I've never had such bright and effusive service in a taco joint. If the staff was any friendlier we'd be playing twister in our leopard print spandex thongs in between all of the taco- and salsa-chipping-ing. That being said the food was just OK and the drinks were...abominable. Like, sub-TGIF, Applebee's or Azteca. Bad mixer type margarita with low-grade tequila. (We had the House Margarita, not the Cadillac.) I understand there's an all day margarita happy hour on some days, but these seriously tasted like the drinks from the HH, but we had to pay full price. Actually, I wouldn't even pass these off as HH margaritas. I had the Al Pastor Tacos and my man the Stacked Enchilada. Both were very good-sized portions and tasty and fresh - well done for Kauai - but nothing out of the ordinary, nothing worthy of the 4- or 5-star raves that some other Yelpers are giving. The free salsa was a nice touch, but the salsa and chips were average. In addition, the bill for 2 people with 2 drinks came out to be around $40.00, while the bill for 4 people, 4 drinks and 4 fish entrees at a very good seafood place several days earlier came out to be around $60.00. If the drinks were a bit stronger maybe my memory of the place would be warmer and fuzzier, but as it stands, even with the promise of underwear twister, I'm not sure I'd return. read more

In the past we have eaten at the Kapaa location which is no longer there. The food was SAD to say the least. We stopped here to grab some lunch while running errands in town. My grandsons ordered Kids Nachos with beans and cheese. They came on a desert size plate with maybe a handful of chips and a 1/4 cup of beans. My husband ordered the stacked enchilada. Super soggy and so so. Mexican food is some of the cheapest to make and portions should be just a little better. Most definitely will not waste my time again. To end this on a positive note.... The Employees were all GREAT super friendly and attentive. They make the place. Not the food. read more

We were only a party of two, seated outside, waited a while to place our orders and never even got a chance to order. Three other larger groups seated WAY AFTER us ordered before us. I can understand one group ordering ahead of us but three!?!? This is on top of a long wait! So... We left. They lost our business and instead earned my first one star review. Good Mexican food on this island is a dime a dozen. In fact, go eat at either tiki tacos or mermaids instead. read more

The food was ok until I was on the 2nd shrimp taco on my plate and i noticed a black bug/baby cockroach chilling on my half eaten taco. Since I was sitting at the bar it was easy enough to discreetly push my plate towards a few servers to point out the little visitor on my food. The reaction I got was an absolute disappointment, horrible! 2 server's dialogue: "oh yeah, oh he's alive. He's just a little one. Yeah on the island that kind of thing happens, we'd just eat it." Where I come from I'd assume an apology or at least to swiftly take away the plate. Nope, didn't happen. Another server-a third one eyed up the plate, made a funny look, and finally took it away. At the end of the meal, feeling disgusted, disappointed in their customer service, and paid $2.50 less for our entire bill. Server- "2.50 off for the little bug thing." read more

I'm torn. We had such a great experience in Kapaa 2 years ago at the Verde there and were greatly disappointed by this Lihue experience. A beer, fish taco platter, and "shrimp" burrito ended up being over $50!!!! I put quotes around shrimp because it should have been called "lettuce, rice and 4 teeny shrimp burrito" I was so hungry after, i partook in the 2 items for $10 special. Biggest. Waste. Of. Money. Ever. Don't fall for it. With tip, $75. The couple sitting behind us also were grumbling. Save your money and try anywhere else. Guaranteed it'll be a better bang for your buck. read more

This was one of our favorite eateries during our 8 day trip in November. Although it was not authentic Mexican (yeah I am an LA born gal and love the Mexican food in the SF Bay Area) it was tasty enough to satisfy the palate of picky Mr Rinky, a vegan. I had the Crispy Taco Salad made with mixed greens, tomatoes, guacamole, sour cream, pico de gallo, cheese with chile lime dressing in a crispy flour tortilla shell--very yummy and the tortilla shell was fresh and crispy compared to others I've had where the shell has been languishing on a shelf for ages. Mt Rinky had the vegan tacos made with sautéed veggies, lettuce on corn tortillas. He loved it. We also the very decent chips, salsa and guacamole. I liked the fact that a lot of locals were easting here. The friendly staff greeted them and us very warmly. Although at $10-$12 per entree the prices seems a little steep for us Msainlanders, this place is relatively inexpensive by Kauai standards. We would definitely have eaten here a second time but wanted to try dome other restaurants. btw the name sounds a little upscale but the restaurant is very down to earth, comfy and unpretentious. We did not encounter the service issues by some Yelpers. The service was great and the place was very clean. read more

Avoid this place. The server was very rude, messed up our order, and refused to bring more chips even though the sign at the counter says free chips with each alcoholic drink (we had two margaritas). Its hard to believe they'd leave an upset customer angry over a basket of chips that costs the restaurant 25 cents. Advise you take your business elsewhere! read more