Don Goyo's Mexican Food — Restaurant in Hawaii

Got dinner on 18 Sep and due COVID was take out only. This was our first time trying Don Goyo's. I had the shreaded steak enchiladas and the Senorita had the shreaded chicken relleno plus chips and salsa. First impression was "Dang, did they just say it will be ready in 5 minutes?" Upon getting the order home, we were stuck by contrasts. My impression was the salsa for the chips and salsa had a fair amount of chili powder flavor in the salsa and the chips were a bit soft/stale. And then we ate the rice and our impression was "fabulous". Great flavor, color and texture. First bite of the chicken relleno was met with "average", but with each bite it was more pleasing and became "good". Apparently, the sour cream made the dish and was a key element. For me, the enchiladas were ok, and the red sauce did add favorably to the experience but I was confused by a small amount of strange pico de gallo on the side that had lettuce in it. All in all, I think we will repeat, but I would really like to repeat once COVID is over.

UPDATED REVIEW

So, we have ordered from here now 3 times since the original review and tried them again 29 NOV.. I have updated the review from 3 stars to 4 based on a couple of things. First off, there seems to be help now on the front end. Young lady was very friendly and pleasant. This is an improvement on some of my other visits when it was just one lady operating the cash box, answering the phone, bringing out orders and giving drink refills.

Second reason is the consistency. The good things remain good. Shredded Chicken Chili relleno was the exact same as was the shredded beef and shredded chicken enchiladas. However, one bad thing remains. The Salsa still remains flat and devoid of any tangible flavor notes. There are several reviewers that say it is the best salsa they have ever had and I can only assume they have only had Old El Paso home taco kits. There is no hint of any flavor profile other than a mild chili powder that just leaves you wanting...

First time eating here, I ordered the taco salad with shredded beef and some kind of drink.

The service was fine, no complaints on that front. Place is quiet, but I think I was the first customer of the day. Everything was brought to the table promptly and the waitress was attentive enough.

My issues are with the quality of the food. Firstly, the taco shell was room temperature and completely dry (no oil on it) which suggests that they either but pre cooked shells or make them in batches ahead of time. Please don't do this, make your shells fresh and to-order.

There were no beans in the salad. A proper taco salad has either refried or whole beans at the bottom (I prefer refried, giving customers a choice is ideal).

The salad itself was kinda boring. No dressing came with it, and when I asked for some I was informed they don't have it. It's a salad. Salads need dressing. Sour cream and guac are good, but not enough. Typically taco salads come with a dressing similar to thousand island (basically ketchup and mayo, maybe with a touch of mustard, and spices). It was mostly shredded lettuce and a sprinkling of pico de gallo. No red cabbage, no shredded carrot, no bell pepper. Boring, undressed lettuce and tomato/onion.

There was barely any cheese to speak of, and what little was there was obviously of the pre-shredded kind as it had an outer waxy coating. That might be ok for Taco Bell, but it's not acceptable for a $20 lunch.

The beef was alright, if a little under seasoned and bland. It was cooked well, but there was next to no Mexican flavor in it at all.

This is endemic of many restaurants in Havvai'i that cut costs by reducing the quality of the food. If you want great Mexican food, go to Buho Cocina y Cantina in Waikiki. If you want fast, affordable Mexican that's also tasty, go to Paniolos in Kailua.

Don Goyo's was a...

This was actually pretty terrible, I'm with the other people who have no idea why this place has the 5-stars it has. The experience was terrible from beginning to end. Inattentive waitress who had her pandora station playing and kept getting texts over the loud speaker. Chips were bland and stale, and maybe I'm spoiled, but this is the only Mexican place I've ever been to that doesn't refill salsa and chips. It's byob, also, no tequila or beer to purchase, though, which is weird to me, but we're margarita with Mexican dinner people. The food was ehhhhhhhhh. I was starving and freezing because of the AC in the place (something I normally look forward to in Hawaii), so I finished my food, but I was disappointed in myself for gorging on pisspoor Mexican food. The carnitas burrito was fatty and didn't have too much flavor to it, it was literally meat and cheddar in a flour tortilla. No pico on the side, and a tiny dollop of sour cream. Pretty sure the refuted beans were from a can, but at least the rice was decent. We will definitely not be going back for a second try....