La Cucaracha Mexican Bar and Grill

Food and service was good. Happy hour was lacking significantly, so don’t come here for happy hour. Prices were high as well-​$ 12 for guacamole…

The food, a seafood enchilada, was nicely prepaired and presented. The rice and beans, so so, but not exceptional. For service, Ana, was superb. Attentive and answered my questions. Frequently checked back to make sure all was ok. In short, her service was great.
Now time for the bill, and the «Hospitality Fee «, of approximately 15%, automatically added to the bill. No Bueno. That’s my job to decide what percentage to leave, not the owners. Just say’n.

We stumbled upon this place by accident and had a great experience. Our waitress was excellent, including her advice on margaritas and food choices. The coconut pineapple margarita was fresh and delicious. It had Hawaiian flavors yet still tasted like a margarita. Three sizes are available. The chips and salsa was a small portion, but was tasty, not the best ever, but better than some, and they offer 4 bottles if you want to up the heat. Our food came in record time and was delicious. We had island fish tacos and pork carnitas. Both were excellently prepared and had great flavor. Understand that this is Waikiki; this place is a casual alternative to crowded fine dining, and it’s good Mexican food for Hawaii. It’s not the most authentic, but the menu is large and the food exceeded expectations. It’s reasonably priced given the location. We would definitely return.

We eat here every time we visit. Got to have my Mexican. Some menu items are definitely better than others! Enchiladas Suiza are really good. Fajitas not impressive. Their margaritas are good. Friendly waitstaff, view of the beach! They do a fine job!

Can i give no stars? Where to begin. We asked to be seated outside, but were told inside even though there were tables available outside. Food was un-​inspiring. Nachos stale and cold, food was delivered quickly, before drinks??? Then they add 15% gratuity to the bill (party of 5). It is suppose to be a Mexican restaurant, but were playing same old pop crappy music. We ate all over Honolulu with great results. Taco trucks on the side of the road offer better food and ambiance

This place is one of the few Mexican places in town. It’s a shame it’s such a dump. The food is mediocre on its best day. The service can be hit or miss. The cleanliness of this place is severely lacking. 4 years running this place doesn’t disappoint if you visit with the expectations that the food, service and pricing all suck you’ll be find.

Stopped by during happy hour. The place was dead, which should have been our first clue. We had margaritas and ordered their Uno, dos, tres to start — the chips were stale and the bean dip was bland. We looked over the menu and were shock to see almost all items were $ 20 or more.
We decided to try the nachos with Hawaiian pork. The portion was mediocre given it was $ 18. One companion ordered the chile relleno which was order $ 20 for one bit included rice and beans. Another disappointing plaster of food.
The wait staff was friendly and attentive. Drinks were nothing special. Food was below par. Drinks price were reasonable. Food prices were outrageous– come on, it is Mexican food. The ingredients is very cheap to purchase. It get tiresome to hear how expensive it cost to bring food from the mainland. That is all a smokescreen.
Lastly, it was rather insult to have the automatically added. You are the part of the United States this is not our custom.
Fours patrons having four alcoholic beverages, two small appetizers and one entrée for one of the guests over $ 90!!!
We won’t be back!

It’s called «The Cockroach» for a reason. The fajitas that we ordered were $ 25 each for beef, then an additional $ 2.50 each for a slice of American cheese melted on top. If the fajitas were amazing, I’d have no problem with paying $ 27 for each! Sadly, the meat wasn’t seasoned even a bit, and tasted like it was simply boiled plain in water. Portions were skimpy as well, with one fajita plate being just enough for one person to eat. Overall, I had no concerns with this restaurant’s safety or general ambiance, but the pricing and the outrageously bland, skimpily portioned food sent me over the edge. Avoid this restaurant at all costs.

Experience failed.
The first night in Waikiki.
Bad idea to search for food during dinner time. Everywhere is packed except for here. That’s a bad sign.
Should have checked Unilocal first but I was too hungry.
Cold service. Awful chips and salsa. Over-​priced salad and fajita. Nothing authentic. Poor quality value.
Tourists be aware.

Tourist Mexican Food. Had to collect our own cutlery and then the automatic 15% tip left an almost similar taste in our mouths to the food. If you think you are worthy of an automatic tip, please provide service to prove it.

Food wasn’t bad. Had the seafood enchiladas and the boyfriend had the chile chicken sandwich. We ordered drinks; bad mistake. They were over priced and weak. Server was prompt and attentive. Coming from Northern California; we know our Mexican foods. This again want bad, but don’t expect it to be AUTHENTIC. Honestly. It tasted more Cali-​Mexican than Mexican. Beware there is a hospitality charge/​fee. Wish we had known that. Everyone else we’ve eaten there hasn’t been till we came here. Only reason why I’m giving it a 2 star review.

Worst place ever we came from Seattle been to several states and this place is the worst so far
Service was horrible the server didn’t knew the menu she keep coming back asking for the questions to us, never checked on us, forgot things and mixed food
They charge a «service food» to the bill «automatic» even when the service is HORRIBLE
Tried to talk to the «manager «and was so rude didn’t even wanna listed almost yelling at me
Finally we paid and when the server came with the change it was missing over $ 10 please don’t go there

Pro’s:
+crisp fajita veggies.
+it’s close to Buhio Mexican Cantina which has much better food, service and ambience.
Con’s:
-$$$$ way overpriced even for Hawaii standards.
–small portions.
–15% gratuity automatically added for party of 2. was very off-​putting. (see photo)
Lots of other great food alternatives in Waikiki at this price point. This place is a total rip off.

This place is terrible just like all other reviewers have mentioned. It certainly is looking to only attract unsuspecting tourists and not to build a respectable and reputable restaurant. Our server was nice but the food was terrible and extremely overpriced. Who serves nacho cheese that you would get at a baseball game as «queso»? Stay away!

DO NOT EAT HERE IF YOU WANT ANYTHING RESEMBLING MEXICAN FOOD… The one star is for the ok margaritas. The queso was literally a bowl of flavorless cheese sauce, and at $ 19 for cheap plates like enchiladas or tacos it isn’t worth it. Taco bell has better food and I hate taco bell! Service was actually pretty good though, but the rest is rubbish. Run away.

When we entered a sign said «Seat Yourself.»
We definitely seated ourselves and I had to get up and ask for someone to take our order after 5 minutes.
We finally had a manager come over to ask what we wanted to drink. We had to flag someone else down to take our appetizer order, then instead of putting in the order himself he went to his manager.
Fast forward 15 minutes, drinks are done, appetizer is eaten and all the chips gone and we have not been asked what we wanted as our main dish.
Service is terrible.
Unable to really rate the food considering we really didn’t get to order.

I believe it was my second or third time here and usually come out for happy hour.
Came for dinner with some friends and for the style of restaurant the food is overpriced, also if you ask for any extra sauce they have fees for everything.
Portions and taste of food is pretty good but not worth the high prices in my opinion. I do know its Hawaii its near the beach but I’ve had better, cheaper, not up charging, on the oceanfront.
Wont be coming back and will be trying other restaurants in the area in future visits.

This was a last minute stop for us and boy are we glad we did! Prices were a tad high for Mexican but realistically, everything is going to be expensive in Waikiki due to all the tourists. They food was wonderful and they have the BEST deep fried ice cream! Our server was awesome as well! Cute blonde girl from Jersey who was very sweet and personable! If your looking for a good quick place to stop this is definitely the place!!!

We came twice because my dad insisted (cannot understand why). The food is plain and not good looking. The service is average and not very kind. We had to ask for the complimentary chips + salsa, because they «forgot». Reading at other reviews, it looks like it’s not the first time they do that.
At 21.30 they started cleaning the place and counting the day’s collected money, kind of letting us know that they wanted everyone out, although a sign at the entrance states that you can sit to have dinner until 10pm.

Fue una gran sorpresa encontrar un restaurante Mexicano justo a la vuelta de mi Hotel durante mi estancia en Oahu, Hawaii, despues de las tradicionales actividades diurnas me dirigi a La Cucaracha para cenar.
El area en si no esta mal, tiene una barra semicubierta en caso que prefieras estar a la interperie lo cual durante la noche no es problema, Pero hasta ahi es todo lo que puedo decir positivo de este establecimiento, los precios altos no me sorprendieron, nada en la isla es relativamente barato y con mayor razón al ser un lugar supuestamente especializado en cocina Mexicana.
El Menu, personalmente no me parece extenso y mi selección fue el plato de Mole, nunca, sin exagerar, NUNCA he probado un mole tan insipido y la guarnicion de frijoles y arroz estaban horrendos, si me hubieran servido un Mole de vaso Doña Maria, hubiera sido un banquete comparado con la basura que este negocio hace pasar por mole, fue tan terrible la experiencia que no intente probar algo mas y aun asi pague $ 30 dolares por una triste excusa de Mole y un refresco, jamas volvere a este lugar, no solo no lo puedo recomendar si no que al contrario no puedo dar sobreaviso suficiente para que lo eviten.

I found a questionable looking bunch of white spherical objects in my salsa (see attached photo). They were clumped together in a way I’ve never seen. My initial impression was some sort of insect eggs. I asked the wait staff if their salsa was homemade; to which they answered in the affirmative. I asked if they could please explain to me what the objects in question were. They took it back to their chef and responded with, «jalapeño seeds.» I’ve cooked with jalapeños and have spent the last 20 minutes looking at Google photos of them. With all due respect, those are certainly not jalapeño seeds. Please, general public, do me a favor and help me find out what I’ve put in my body. Until then, do yourself a favor and steer well clear.