El Mariachi 2

Finally getting around to writing a review for this place even though we've been coming regularly for a couple of years now. We LOVE the ground beef nachos and it's our go-to item when we're craving Mexican food. We usually each order an entree for ourselves and end up taking leftovers home for another meal. The chips and salsa are great too. And the staff is very friendly and work really hard!

11/2024 I cannot believe that I had not written a review on this place yet. This is one of our favorite Mexican go-to restaurants that we've eaten at for years for either dining in or take-out. It is a locally owned, hole in the wall restaurant tucked away in the heart of Aiea in the Aiea Commercial Center, just across the street from Times/Aiea shopping center. They have a few locations on Oahu. We first ate at the Kaneohe location & loved it. We found out about this location afterwards, even better, since we live in the area. This is truly a hidden gem. We've tried so many things on their menu. You can't go wrong with any of the choices. It was hard to find good Mexican food nearby after living in Southern California for a long time. Not only is their food good, but their customer service is outstanding & consistent every time we come. Friendly and courteous staff, well-trained. If you dine-in, go early because they do get busy. We try to get there about 5'ish. By the time we leave, tables are nearly full & it's not just the weekends or holidays, but every day! I like to call in the order & pick it up or you can order off of several food delivery apps. I don't know which ones still do this restaurant. Call in orders usually take about 15-20 minutes. Have not had a wrong order yet for pick-up, nothing missing, well-packaged/bagged. They also do a good share of pick-up orders. The parking lot is good size since they share it with the other businesses there. Food - ONO! And they do not skimp on the quantity. Flavors are right on, not spicy, but always hot & cooked to order. The tortilla chips are warmed up served with salsa sauce. When dining in, the first round is complimentary, if you want more, is when they charge you. There are probably about 8 - 10 tables, clean place, & colorfully decorated & festive. Hubby's favorite is the Carne Tampiquena. So much food, took him a couple of days to finish. My favorite is the steak taco salad in the shell or the steak fajitas taco salad in the shell. This nite, I got the seafood burrito - it was huge! They don't skimp on the protein by filling it with rice & beans. They include it, but the protein outweighs it. This had big pieces of shrimp, fish, & crab. It tasted like real crab so wasn't sure if it was imitation, but overall - ONO You can't go wrong here & I highly recommend you give them a try for delicious Mexican food . You won't be disappointed.

I came in around 11:30am on a Friday and was greeted promptly by a friendly lady. She said I could choose any seat since it was just me and another table. Water, chips and salsa came out really fast and since I knew what I wanted, I gave her my order right away. It took maybe 15 minutes to get my food which was not bad. I had ordered the chicken enchiladas and carne asada tacos w rice and beans. The beans were REALLY AMAZING. The rice was a little dry but flavor was good. The meat in the taco was seasoned really well. Like that meat in a mexi bowl would be so fire. The prices were good. It wasn't expensive. Wish they had some sort of soups during lunch time or a lunch combo plate would be nice I'd come again over lunch since the place was not so busy. Parking can be a hassle though.

pretty decent Mexican food in Aiea. coming from San Diego I had low expectations but they weren't too bad! it's a good spot for when you're craving mexican. the combination plate is such a good deal. big portions, and you can choose different meats and preparations to add some variety. I do wish the plate came with sour cream/guac/cheese without having to pay to add it, but even without it's good. it's byob. it can get pretty crowded on weekend nights, particularly Sundays when they have menudo.

lots of free parking outside. promptly greeted by a fine friendly local woman and seated. cozy place with the Mexican vibes. got water and ordered our horchata to go with our obligatory crispy chips n fresh salsa cuz we gotta have da good stuff when get mexican grinds... I ordered the shredded beef Chimichanga. wow this thing is massive and only cheap. crispy outside tortilla with flavorful moist juicy beef n cheese inside. guacamole, sour cream, n salsa. delicious. I couldn't finish. da roomate got da campeon Burrito. dat thing was massive too and buggah was quiet while she was pounding that. da mini is adventurous and ordered the Chile relleno with shredded beef. she said was mui delicioso. liked how soft the Chile was. Andele andele mami, E.I, E.I (uh-oh) el mariachi poppin' tonight.