I come here with my family during the day. We've never had a bad experience and the quality in taste of food has been consistent each visit. Their servers and host are friendly and quick. Often half the restaurant is blocked off during it's slow times. It's a pretty chill atmosphere and you'd be tempted to just hang out all afternoon. I had to put some bass in my voice to get my honey up and going. The Shredded Chicken Chimichanga is my favorite. Deep fried burrito filled with chicken and cheese covered in red sauce served up with refried beans and rice, pico de gallo, guacamole, and sour cream. Wsshed it down with guava Jarrito. Water is also good too. I think it's simple and a true filler up. Fact: i'm kind of sore right now and planning to skip dinner. Fighting the food nap. They take cash and card. I recommend not filling up on chips and salsa. read more

El Mariachi - Shredded Chicken Chimichanga - Mexican Near Me - Kapolei, Hawaii

I usually love coming here to eat but in my last food experience the tacos were tiny and dry. Chalking this up to a one time failure I called today from the parking lot to place a pickup order. I was put on hold, being told I had one person ahead of me. I waited 15 minutes and then the phone was hung up. I got out of the car and walked to the front door. Only one dine-in customer, several dirty tables, and two people ahead of me waiting to be seated. And only one service person in sight. I think there is a staffing issue because there is a For Hire sign at the wait desk for every position imaginable. Perhaps when they get that resolved they'll be able to service properly again. Meanwhile, I took my business a few doors down. read more

I asked the waitress if they had a spicy salsa, she pointed at a bottle of hot sauce on the table. Then preceded to walk away.

It was a Friday at around 3ish and looked empty so we decided to check it out!! When I've been in the area before they always looked busy and or closed. We are fans at the AIEA location! We use to live practically down the road and would eat there often!! But since moving to Waianae, the west side of OAHU we have been CRAVING good Mexican food!! We heard about the Kapolei location and We stopped by to give it a try! Like I said they always looked busy so we never stopped to eat or try here lol untill today! First of all the air conditioning was LOVELY and we were greeted by the host Susan who was also our sweet waitress!! We ordered our usual (THE CARNE ASADA with rice, beans, guacamole, and you can add on shrimp or scallops for $5 more which I did haha and we got 2 horchata drinks!! The best!! 2 steak corn tacos and side chicken tamales!!) I felt like we got pork tamales but we still ate it because it was so GOOD!! I'm the type to complain and send back food because I'm picky but everything we had today was MUI BIEN Seriously tho! Go ahead and give them a try! Awesome customer service with fast friendly service!!! I believe they got 2 SATISFIED NEW FANS!! I also liked how the restaurant looked CLEAN! Thanks MIGUEL for the Ono ONO grindz!! Mahalo to Susan read more

This is my Go-To Mexican restaurant in Kapolei. The food is so good and feels more like you are eating at someone's home instead of a restaurant. The staff are very friendly and attentive you really couldn't ask for anything better. read more

Food was SOOOOO GOOOD!!!!!!! The price was a little high for Mexican food and I don't think they offered a military discount. But the flautas were amazing. Omg. Soooo good. Flavorful and cooked just right!!!! Also the big burrito was yummy!!!! And the fried ice cream was good, wasn't truly fried but it was still pretty damn good. read more

El Mariachi - Mexican Near Me - Kapolei, Hawaii

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Best Mexican food on the island. So flavorful and cooked to perfection. If I could eat here everyday I would. Beef Enchiladas green sauce yummy!!! read more

Heard only good reviews about this place from friends. People said this place was the bomb and the food was soooo good!!! So of course just had to try this place since the reviews was so great and close to home. Located in the kapolei marketplace between Julie's and Jeans warehouse . When you walk in you see a cute Mexican themed restaurant. Bright color of orange and trimmed with brown. Satisfactory in cleanliness and attentiveness from staff. This place was super packed and there was only 2 staff plus the cook. You get served a complimentary chips and salsa. The salsa served was very good and was expecting the food to be supah good?!? We ordered shrimp ceviche, my favorite. It looked fresh and appetizing, until we tasted it. It was really salty. This dish could've been a winnah but it was so salty. Fajita steak came out sizzling and smelled good but again was another disappointment. The meat was thin and small and yes was on a sizzling platter but it was over cooked by the time I got it it was burnt from my picture u could see. Again supah salty. Served with beans, looked like canned and guacamole and sour cream, and a side of tomato and lettuce. Chili verde looke good but again supah salty. This place was packed and people coming in and out so I don't know? Maybe they like the saltiness? I've been to other Mexican restaurants and it was way better than here. I know what is salty and it tasted like the sea. I see the potential of this place but not coming back anytime soon. Byob, staff said they would get liquor license soon. Can give this place another try but just thinking of the saltiness makes my stomach turn. If they take it eazzzy on salt food would be 5 stars maybe? read more

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Best spicy shrimp ever! Love the steak fries and Chef Miguel is very charming and charismatic; very good customer service:

I was recommended to this place by my coworker. Brought my family here. Wasn't expecting much, but I was surprised. First of all, the workers, especially the waiter Miguel, he was wonderful. Always came to check on us, how we were doing. I also noticed that not only did he take care of us warmly, but did the same with the other guest. Second, I was blown away with the food. I'm not much a guy that go out for Mexican food, but the Campione burrito I order was amazing!!! Highly recommend!!! My wife and kid had the carne asada! They also loved it! The place is small, but the atmosphere is very friendly. Food prices are average, but still cheaper than buying 3 large meals from Mcdonalds. read more

The wait wasn't long at all, we went in on a Thursday around lunch time !!! The plates comes with lots of food and the price is right. Food taste great & there chips and salsa are to die for not being dramatic lol I mean if you like lots of cilantro !! Definitely recommend this place! read more

El Mariachi - Chimichanga & chillerellano & of course chips & salsa - Mexican Near Me - Kapolei, Hawaii

Authentic Mexican food is so hard to find on island and EL Mariachi is no homerun, but it definitely hits the spot when we want to eat "as close as it gets" Mexican food. (did I lose you already? Lol) Whenever we're in Kapolei, El Mariachi is always a first choice of places to eat, and they never disappoint. The customer service is great, but I guess it's a hit or a miss (based upon reading the reviews). And probably because it was only lunch time and it wasn't that busy. But honestly, there was about 4-5 servers that day, because every time they came around to check on us or fill up our drinks, it was always someone different! --I'm not complaining; this is great service if you ask me! The only thing we had to ask for was extra sour cream and more chips (even though it looked like we didn't need more chips! Haha!) Still, 5 out of 5 stars for their service! Party of 3 walk, we walked in and immediately got greeted by 4 workers. We got seated, we were given menus, and she asked if we've been here before. Of course we have, so she never had any explaining to do. After that she walks away and comes back with Chips and Salsa and 3 waters. Chips were crispy, and the salsa was a little bland... maybe because I like my salsa spicy with extra cilantro & lime. But nonetheless, it was good. We didn't take too long looking at the menu because we already knew what we wanted: Garlic Shrimp was delicious!! You could definitely taste the garlic! The appetizer came with about 8 pieces of shrimp. Taquito Appetizer was a hit or a miss - I've had better taquitos, but I guess you have to really love taquitos to actually enjoy it. Chicken Campelon & Steak Campelon - Hands down a great meal when you're really hungry! There's not much to say about a burrito, because well, you can't go wrong with a burrito! If I had to choose between the chicken and the steak, there's no doubt the steak is more flavorful then the chicken Campelon! Get the STEAK CAMPELON if you're really hungry! I can't review the Flauta because I never tried it. Although, it did look very delicious! This place is very spacious, very clean, and with a small liquor selection. They have your normal corona, horchata, jarritos and tapatio!!! Not to mention, a great selection in music! I heard 4 selena songs playing in the background, but it's probably because majority of the servers there are females! Haha! SELENASSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS!!!!! But seriously, if you're looking for a good Mexican meal, El Mariachi is a great place to get your fix! read more

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Vegetarian? No problem.. This place has an option for us non meat eaters no matter what we order.. I got this campeon burrito, all veggies and extra sour cream because..... sour cream... Every thing on this plate was amazing. The one thing I didn't like that was really pushing me to give a 3 star review waa the chips and salsa... usually in Cali or even Arizona.. when you go to a Mexican restaurant the chips and salsa are free.. ibwasnt going to be petty about this so I agreed to pay an extra $3 or something for another order of chips and salsa... sad thing happened.. our chips were stale... the free batch was fresh and the batch we paid for was stale lol I was so confused. All things considered, the service wasn't bad.. our main meals were delicious and contained zero meat.. parking was king of a pain and the price is... island price lolol. I'm coming back.. read more

El Mariachi - The veggie campeon burrito. No meeaat!! XD - Mexican Near Me - Kapolei, Hawaii

Excellent food, big portion, and great value. I will definitely return. The taco salad and burritos were great.

This one star is not for the food but for the horrible service! The food was good but with the service we received we won't be back. First I ordered a Merlot and water which was listed on their drink menu, waitress comes back and says they ran out of red wine the night before . Ok . Fine. She says they have white wine and I said I'll take a glass. Water never came. Ordered fajitas with extra sour cream on the side, plate come without the extra sour cream but ok whatever. Ordered another white wine . Never got it. Flagged down the waitress (the pregnant one) and reminded her and she drops it off with attitude and just walks away. Amount of wine is less than the last glass. Still no water. Ordered another glass of wine (don't judge) and water again from the waiter this time, he brings the water but tells me they ran out of white wine ... wait what!? Isn't Safeway right down the street? By that time I've had it... ask them to pack up our stuff and give me the bill. Bill comes and just as I suspected they charged me for 3 glasses of wine and extra sour cream! Flagged the waiter down and pointed this out to him, funny thing is he didn't even seemed surprised. It's almost as if they were hoping I wouldn't catch the extra charges! Left them a very small tip. read more

El Mariachi - Mexican Near Me - Kapolei, Hawaii

Love how they always give out so much food! The person that took our order was very friendly. This is my go to Mexican restaurant!

My husband and I enjoyed a fabulous meal and I had a peach Margarita which tasted very good. My husband ordered the fish tacos and I had a combo plate of pork enchilada and a crunchy shreddded beef taco. I really should have got a pork tamale since I don't really make tamales. We came at busy time around 7:15pm waited 15 minutes but it's worth it the food and service was great everyone gave excellent customer service . If you haven't given them a try your loss it's really good. read more

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I checked the hours of operation and saw they open at 11:00 am today. I get there and at 12:00 noon to find a sign on the door that said, " Today opening at 4:00pm." It would be really helpful and appreciated if this business updated their business of operations any time there's a change. read more

The friendly service was a bonus to the delicious food. Being able to have a private room for our celebration was awesome. The owner stopped in to check on our party multiple time to ensure we were happy and satisfied. read more

Good food. Horrible service. The first time I ordered take out, I had a hard time getting a hold of them onn the phone Had to call maybe 6 times bEfore they picked up. After finally getting through, I placed my order and picked it up relatively easily despite the crazy parking situation that ensues in their parkIng lot. The food was great compared to most Mexican food available on island. I decided to try again today. I called and got through the first time! Amazing, right? I was quickly asked to hold and was left waiting on the phone for 15 minutes. I decided to hang up and call back. Straight to a "not set up" voicemail. TWENTY-ONE TIMES! So I proceed to drive there to place my order and wait for it. I enter and tell the waitress that she left me oN hold for 15 minutes, and she just rolls her eyes and says "yeah, sorry, we were really busy". I said "I tried calling back and your phone might be off the hook". Before I could finish what I was saying, she cut me off and asked "do wanna order anything"? "Yeah, do you do that on purpose because you're busy"? I said. She just shook her head and said "what can I getcha"? Lesson learned. If you're going to eat here, don't attemptt Take out. read more

I like the one in Aiea mainly for their customer service and tasty food and I'm so glad to find there's another in Kapolei. I didn't get her name but I went on Saturday 1 pm and the lady who was working was very nice and attentive. I was nodding in pleasure while eating my taco salad and taquitos. The taco salad so huge I shouldn't have ordered another plate, but I made room cause it was sooo good. read more

Good, authentic Mexican food, good service and selections. Not a fancy place but clean and tasty foid

Delicious, authentic - everything tasted great! Service was on point! Combination plate with enchilada, Chile stuffed with steak and cheese, Tacos with pork and steak and burrito. El Mariachi is now my favorite Mexican place to eat. read more

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What a surprise my baby girl and her bday took us out for lunch to where ever I wanted and was craving for Mexican! Heard a lot from this place and decided to come here and it was pretty good. The environment was nice with the decor, service was really nice and the food was pretty good too. We enjoyed it and will be back again. Mahalo El Mariachi :) read more

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Checking out Mexican restaurants and saw this place on yelp so decided to check this place out. First of all chips were stale. Ordered Sopes.....they don't serve that any more, ok. My second choice was chili verde......not ready yet. It's already 1pm. Finally ordered carnitas.....ok too much char on pork, almost to point of burnt. Rice and beans are too salty. Will not return to this El Marichi in Kapolei. read more

This review is based on today's visit. Ordered taco salad and they forgot the cheese. The meat was also cold. There was a piece of plastic in the lettuce. I ordered the chimichanga and there was hardly any meat and I didn't see cheese in it as well. I did find a little bug in my rice. Will add the picture of the plastic and bug later. read more

El Mariachi - Piece of plastic from the taco salsa and the little black bug from the rice - Mexican Near Me - Kapolei, Hawaii

Came in hungry and was seated immediately. The man who seated us was friendly and quickly got us our drinks and some chips and salsa. Peaceful, comfortable environment. Clean, well-kept booths and authentic Spanish spoken here. The food was excellent as well. Glad we decided to take a moment out of our busy day and sit down for a good meal. Delicious! read more

The food here is really good. I think it's one of the closest I can get to true and authentic Mexican food in Hawaii. I go here quite often and the food is always good but the service is not. When I came in and sat down to eat with my family the service was fantastic but every time I order takeout I am met with rudeness and a lot of attitude. Luckily for them the food is good and I come back every so often. I wish they were a bit nicer, I would come back more often. read more

LOCATION: Tried this place for lunch. It's conviently located in the shopping center which is great. The sign was promoting their taco Tuesday special of $2 tacos so we decided to try it out. The place has the usual Mexican decor, and had some good Mexican music playing. Upon entrance I noticed it smelled like bleach a LOT which was kind of off putting. SERVICE: The waitress was really nice, and made sure to take our dirty menus off the table when she opened them to point something out, (again kind of fun putting.) FOOD: I hate having to leave shitty Yelp reviews sometimes but this food was below sub par. The salsa tasted similar to Tostitos salsa (not joking,) so if you're looking for something super flavored and authentic don't even bother. We tried carne Asada tacos and a chicken burrito. The meat was actually okay, but for the price, we could've gotten WAY better Mexican in the area. At $17 for those enchiladas, super bland rice / salsa, we won't be back. read more

My sister and I have been to this location twice. The first time we liked the food although it was a while ago, so I don't know what I had. We thought the service was slow considering bit wasn't busy. It has a nice large dining room with nice decor in a convenient spot in Kapolei. We also had been to the Kaneohe spot awhile back too. That's not as nice but the food was good and the service was ok. If you want authentic Mexican food try his place. We went again in Nov.2020 and they were very busy although we didn't wait to long to be seated. The waitress was quick but not overly friendly since I was so busy. I had two servings of Chile Relleno(my favorite!) and I ate all of it, it was so good! My sister had a tostada which she enjoyed. Overall I would consider going back again definitely! read more

Craving Mexican. This is certainly a go to place. The food was good. Just enough spices and not watery. If you want something spicey they offer a house made habanero sauce. You have to try it, no for your avid Tabasco lover. So be careful not to put it all on your plate. The service is great. Food comes in a timely manner. Workers are nice too. read more

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For being one of the few Mexican food places in Kapolei, I'm surprised I haven't been here sooner. Living in California for 5 years, and coming back home really makes one miss the vast amount of options for Mexican food. Anyway, we came here for lunch on a Sunday and we were seated right away. We were asked what we wanted to drink and got our waters and Horchata quickly. They also brought out the complimentary chips and salsa at the same time. The chips are housemade I think because they were still warm and crispy when we got them! The football games were playing on a couple of TVs that they have so my husband was more than happy that we could eat and he could watch at the same time. We ordered the chicken burrito and carne asada quesadilla. Both come with Spanish rice and beans. They were both pretty good. Not the best I've had, but so far the best in Hawaii so that's saying something. Service was great when we went. Our food came out quickly and our drinks were always filled. They had a sign that they're now serving margaritas so we'll have to check that out next time. read more

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Mediocre food. So sad to contribute to what people often say....that there's no good Mexican food on Oahu. (Have yet to try Alejandros.....). What happened? I'm assuming this Kapolei location is connected to the Kaneohe location, which I've been to many, many times over the years. I used to really like to go to El Mariachi--loved their guacamole, chips, tacos.....It's been a while since I've been to this place and I'm thinking there's new management or something to have changed the taste. Chips and salsa still tasty. But the tacos, beans, rice and tamales were so bland and tasteless. Service was friendly and the restaurant is comfortable. But the food is not worth the price. read more

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Since living here in Hawaii for 2 years fron cali I finally found a Mexican restaurant I love. My daughter loves the nachos and I love the rellenos. My husband loves the carne asada plate and rice and beans. Try the habanero sauce it's the bomb. We will be a loyal customer forever! read more

Wanted to check out a different Mexican restaurant here in Oahu. First off the wait was long. I understand there was a big party ahead of us, but it wasn't that busy. I've seen busier restaurants who still manage to function. It looked like there was only on cook in da back. The food was pretty pricey and was just ok. They also wanted to charge us for another salsa. They said the 3rd one they charge. Not out go to Mexican food. On to da next. read more

At first we were a bit annoyed because our waiter disappeared. So we were waiting to order for a while and finally flagged someone down. And we waited what seemed like a long time for our food. BUT once we received our food it was worth it. I was going to give a 3/5 but instantly changed it to a 4/5 because my carne asada burrito was delicious. The steak was tender and juicy, not chewy and hard like some places make it. I loved the guac and used the left over salsa (from the complimentary chips & salsa) to add into my burrito. I'm glad I requested for my burrito on the side from the beans and rice because it was less messy to eat and the burrito wasn't soggy from the beans. Everyone else in my party enjoyed their food. We all agree that we should have gotten more chips for a party of four compared to two people.. it was a very small amount and so delicious! We wanted more :( read more

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Enjoyed our meal Good service Hot food Just what we wanted The food was hot and the beer was cold And plenty parking too Aloha Gerry read more

Fantastic hole in the wall Mexican place in kapolei. When you sit down they immediately bring you some fresh home made salsa and home made tortilla chips. We ordered the Campion Burrito and the shredded beef Quesadillas. The veggies were fresh, the meats were cooked perfectly, and the flavors all come together perfectly. Dont forget to ask for some hot sauce on the side too! We tried the "Hot" level sauce and it had a good kick to it. Will probably try the extra hot next time. Also cannot forget the GREAT service we got too! Jonathan is a great server. He actually made this an comforting and enjoyable experience. We will definitely be back again to get our fill of great mexican food! read more

El Mariachi - Campion Buritto - Mexican Near Me - Kapolei, Hawaii

Ate at the other El mariachi 2 two years ago. This place didn't disappoint either. This satisfied my Mexican food craving. My wife approved and she's mexican!!! Had the combo plate taco and cheese enchilada with beans and rice loved it. read more

Update: well it's been a while and we noticed new faces and asked where the owners were? Well it seems our fav cooks and owners had to move back for family reasons so new owners though extremely nice folks. Their food pales to original! So sad everything was too salty especially the carnitas! Second time back and still disappointed in the food. So I guess we're back to the quest for decent Mexican food! Nothing beats the Cali food when we lived there! read more