Maui Tacos Kailua

Glad I was hungry when I went here, the fish tacos were huge, I could’ve made 4 tacos, but was too lazy (and hungry) to do so. The restaurant is a bit small and compact, luckily it wasn’t that busy when I wandered in there after the Thursday night farmer’s market. The salsa bar was deceiving and somewhat disappointing. Although there were 5 options, 3 were hot and the other 2 watery. The pineapple salsa had a curious taste of watery grass with chunks of pineapple, and the bright green color was disturbing. The latter the only one with an actual semblance to salsa, all others were more hot sauce than salsa.
All that said and done, if I were in the mood for fish tacos, I would go again.

Fish in the taco was great, but the sauce they put it with was too spicy. They should leave it to customer to doctor it up; my kids couldn’t eat it.

The fish taco wasnt that good at all. Im always out to find the best fish taco and this goes on the bottom 2 list. The burrito was huge and definetly worth the money for the proportion but the steak was very bland. A little seasoning goes a long way. Maybe cause they were super busy and didnt have time to season everything well in order to push out orders fast. The salsa was good but i was only able to try 3 out of the 5. No one took the time to refill the other salsas. I heard someone ask for them to be refilled but it was taking so long that i just ended up leaving. If your the one managing the salsa, you should know when your getting low and keep them refilled. Why is it so hard to find good mexican food in hawaii? I guess i have to keep searching.

Good eats. I like their salsa bar, especially the pineapple salsa so good. Chimichanga was done well and their taco salads are really bomb with the deep fried shell that they are served in.

This place is amazing. Costumer service was fantastic. Food was prepared quickly and it was really good

Love the shrimp taco! It’s my absolute favorite here. I’ve tried a few other things but always come back to this. They also have great home made salsas. Only part that’s a bummer is how little seating there is inside. I seem to always go on rainy days when the outdoor seating is soaked!

I love Unilocal!!!I should always stick to my gut on their reviews. We’ll Maui tacos in Kailua had only 3 stars and I usually like a restaurant to have 4 +. But I was desperate for something to eat, because I hadn’t eaten anything by 11 am!
So I decided on Maui tacos despite the reviews. It was very friendly and the atmosphere was very quaint. I ordered the pork tacos (#2). The pork was sweet tasting which I down right hate. It was unedible for my tastes. So I ate just the beans and rice with some hot maui salsa. The beans and rice were pretty plain, but tasted good with the salsa. I hope if I ever come again it tastes better. But I doubt it, as even the salsas had odd tastes.

Staff may not immediately come off as friendly, but are honestly SUPER friendly and fun! This rarely happens but one of the cooks made me a deal that if I do 10 jumping jacks in the rain (it was raining pretty hard) he’d give me a free meal: D Heck yeah I did it! Highlight of my day: D food is great too! Got «The Original» Maui Taco and the Baja Grilled Fish Taco. Highly recommend!

I always eat their burritos and they are so good. Usually I eat the grilled chicken. The two spicy salsas they have are pretty good. One of them has a little pineapple flavor which is pretty unique. There is just a hint of pineapple flavor so it doesn’t kill the salsa but it gives it a nice flavor.

Great nachos. We split two different nacho versions. Both were really good. And their salsa bar is pretty good too!

I know, I know, who goes to Maui Tacos, on Oahu? Well I missed a little bit of home I guess. I wanted a TACO SALAD drowned in salsa lol. Nah, my boyfriend I was were gallivanting on the windward side and got hungry so we checked out the area. Saw there were a few Mexican places on the strip mall by Time’s market, but my bf wanted nachos. So we went over to Maui Tacos.
I have to say, I’m impressed with this location. The Maui Tacos on Maui seem to be outdated. This location had LCD TVs that displayed their menu, and it looked modern compared to Napili, Lahaina and Queen Kaahumani Center (the ones I frequent a lot). Only thing that was similar to the other Maui Tacos stores is that the dining room is quite small, no really it’s crammed in here.
It was a conundrum while the place was full! Basically the line was single file and it blocked the salsa bar and the soda machine, on the other hand people getting their food walked down the same miniscule walk way. Omgerd.
When we first got in the line was to the door and the dining room was filled with people. We placed our order and found an empty table. That’s when people started clearing out, thank goodness. We had the dining room to ourselves.
I thought our order would have taken long — beef nachos & chicken taco salad, but the cranked out the orders in front of us really fast. It was probably less than 15 minutes despite having 4 – 5 orders before us. And the cost for two people, it was $ 23! I think the girl gave us kamaaina too, I did mention I’m from maui. :)
Overall, great experience here. On Maui it was often hit or miss. I’d definitely return.
P. s. I don’t like that the salsa bar, here, didn’t have onions, lemons, cilantro, and peppers. Boo! ;/​
PPS. The tables are often left with crumbs. We came during a rush so they weren’t wiped down. no biggie, there were paper towels and some water & voila. While we were eating the people working finally had time to start cleaning the tables. I’m sure people who are snobby would be quick to complain about crumbs on the table: P

Man, what a bummer. We used to come here every chance we’d get, but they have really changed things. I got the maui taco original with steak — over $ 6 and it was a tiny little street taco. They didn’t even put the black beans in it. They also didn’t have cilantro or limes in the salsa bar anymore.
Not the Maui Taco I remember.

I never really liked mexican food until recently. I even lived in LA for 3 years and didn’t eat much mexican food (I’m kinda regretting my delayed appreciation for mexican food). I tried maui tacos because it’s conveniently located in kailua town.
I really appreciated the specialty burritos on the menu because two of them don’t have beans. I think that’s what always turned me off by mexican food in the past – I really don’t like beans. So I ordered the wet Lahaina burrito with steak. The food is pretty pricey and my burrito came out to about $ 15.
I like that maui tacos has a salsa bar. I liked trying all the different flavors. For those who know me, I’m kind of a fruit snob and I actually really enjoyed the sweet pineapple salsa.
The burrito was huge and I could only eat half of it for lunch. I got a piece of tinfoil to take home my wet burrito plate, but since they use those flimsy compost able plates, my burrito turned into a huge mess in the plastic bag by the time I got home.
The cashiers are friendly, the food is good, but expensive and there is plenty of parking. I’ll probably be back for the pineapple salsa haha!

It was busy night but food took longer thank expected. The burrito was almost all rice with very light portions of meat. I have eaten here before and the ratio was much better last couple times. Guess it was an off night.
They did respond on Unilocal to my post about the wait so they are trying to improve and provide good service so that is a plus

Alphonso
Thanks for Hooking me up when I didn’t know what I wanted to eat. You’re the best. Thanks again

Being a native Los Angeleno, I know I may get hammered for saying this, but some of the best fish tacos and burritos I’ve ever had has been in Hawaii. Which island? All of them! I think it’s because their backyard is the ocean… literally…thus the seafood is fresh and tastes amazing!
Now I know this place is a restaurant chain, but I had their fish burrito here and it tasted amazing. Plenty of fish and a delicious house sauce made this burrito experience a winner in my book.
The downfall to this place is that the service was slow and the cashier couldn’t answer simple questions like «what kind of fish is in the burrito.» You would think they covered that in training on day 1… but maybe they skipped that part?
Either way, the burrito saved them big time, thus earning a solid 4 star.
Go get yo Hawaiixcan food grub on!
Cheers!

I got the mookipa fish burrito. Where the hell is the fish?!? It’s mostly rice and beans. If you are military, be sure to say so because they have a sign there but it’s not shown in the right spot. I saw it after I paid for my food. I asked the male cashier if it’s still possible to get the post discount but (and by all means I don’t expect royal service by being military) but how he answered it by saying, «no. It’s gotta be done upfront» with attitude pissed me off. He didn’t even seem like he cared or that he seemed too lazy to do anything about it. You can always think of something to compensate… and why the hell are you gonna have horchata on the menu and not serve it at «this location»??? Just take it off the menu.
Food is alright, service is crap but it’s not as dirty as a lot of people say it is. Who knows, maybe they don’t give a crap since a lot of just tourists eat here. I should’ve gone to fat boys across the street or the burger joint next door

I’m never disappointed here — regardless of what I try. The breakfast style plates are such a big proportion for the low price. Delicious egg/​sausage mix with rice, beans, chips, and 2 tortillas. A wonderful salsa bar with everything from pineapple salsa to some of the spicier varieties. It’s a great place to stop in with a casual inside and outside dining area and really friendly service.

The prices are great! Plus they offer Isle Discount card.
They ran out of potatoes so I got the burrito the cashier recommended. It was «meh».
The salsa bar was great and they have the drinks outside so you can get a bunch of refills (score!)
Inside is really cute and can make for a pleasant little date or quick outing.
Definitely had better (on the burrito) so I’m a bit disappointed but I was satisfied. But at the same time, I saw other plates that looked a lot more delicious.
Their prices, cut décor, free refills, big salsa lot, and satisfactory food make me a fan.

I suggested Maui Tacos for lunch after enjoying their food at the Royal Hawaiian Shopping Center.
The two stars are for the food.
The three stars that are lacking are for the service at this location. The female cashier seemed like she was bothered by us — no friendliness or warmth at all. The young man who called us when our food was ready simply said, «Order’s up.». No smile, no «Thank You!», no «Enjoy your meal!». I saw two other employees (but didn’t interact with them) and one seemed angry and the other didn’t seem too happy, either. The mood was so noticeable and a bit uncomfortable.
Such a shame, Kailua typically has friendlier and more attentive service than other areas…
Mmm, the tables needed a wipe down, too.
I don’t plan to visit this location again.