Banzai Burger — Restaurant in Honolulu

If you’re traveling to Waikiki Beach and looking for an unforgettable dining experience that combines mouthwatering food, tropical drinks, and warm, friendly service, you must visit Tacos and Tequila La Panina and their neighbor, Banzai Burger! As a traveling family on our Christmas vacation, these two spots quickly became the highlight of our trip.

Tacos and Tequila La Panina: Let’s start with Tacos and Tequila. Their nachos? Out of this world! These aren’t your average nachos—they are piled high with so much flavorful meat that the chips are just the foundation for a true feast. Every bite was filling and bursting with flavor.

Special Shout-Out to Christine: While the food was amazing, the real magic of this place is in its people. Christine, one of the staff members, is an absolute gem. She made us feel like family from the moment we walked in. Christine embodies the warmth and charm of hometown USA—you know, that feeling of being back home, surrounded by friends. She’s so lovely, personable, and genuine, and her kindness added a whole new layer to our experience.

Banzai Burger: Next door at Banzai Burger, we found another treasure. My son couldn’t get enough of their double-patty burger, and I savored every bite of the Waimea Burger, which was packed with flavor and cooked to perfection. The affordability was the icing on the cake—you can enjoy a full, hearty meal for around $20, which is a rare find in Waikiki.

And let’s not forget the drinks! I tried the Dragon Fruit Margarita, the Orange Blood Margarita, and the Blue Lagoon Margarita, each one better than the last. Perfectly mixed and refreshing, these cocktails made me feel like I was truly in paradise.

Location: Both restaurants are conveniently located near the food court in Waikiki, just steps from the resorts, making it an easy walk for anyone staying in the area.

Between the delicious food, the tropical drinks, and the incredible hospitality—especially from Christine—these two spots are a must-visit. They made us feel right at home in the heart of paradise. Five stars isn’t enough to express how much we loved this...

This is from a local resident viewpoint. Spoiler: I had a bone and cartilage in the patty. Let’s start with the positive: customer service pretty good outdoor seating is nice so you can people watch

Now on to the negative: I ordered garlic fries with my mushroom and onion burger. When I received my order, I had normal fries so I had to go back up to get garlic fries. That’s not too bad, mistakes happen. The garlic fries themselves wets not great. They are slim cut fries with garlic salt on them. You can get better garlic fries elsewhere, for they use minced garlic at Teddys Bigger Burgers. The fries here weren’t worth the price paid ($5).

The main reason for this rating was the burger. I got the mushroom and onion burger. The mushroom was cold, which is odd for a hot burger with sautéed mushrooms. I’m assuming that they weren’t recently sautéed, which is unfortunate. The big point here is I had a bone and cartilage inside my patty. Picture attached as proof. At least you know it’s real meat…? However, I quickly lost my appetite after finding the bones as I was eating the burger. This was the worst burger I’ve ever had and the first time I’ve had a bone in my burger.

Overall, I would recommend you go elsewhere for food. This is a tourist trap and not worth the money you spend here. My boyfriend and I spent over $40 for a burger and fries each. If you want good food or a burger, please go elsewhere. Maybe I was just unlucky with my meal. But the number of things wrong with my burger is...

The woman at the cash register was incredibly rude and unhelpful. I did not see any signs coming in that said no outside drinks allowed, I had bought a tea from the ABC store right next to it with cash and never recieved a reciept and drank most of it by the time I came in. Once I got to the register, an older woman began taking my order. She took my order and then added on my drink, I proceeded to explain that I had bought the drink much earlier at another local store. She told me she trusted me and said she would take the drink off my tab. I handed her my cash, and she still included the drink in the bill. I asked her if she had taken off the drink yet again, and she told me she did. At this point, she had already begun being incredibly rude and snappy at me after I had been nothing but polite. I sat down and waited while my food was being made and did not put up anymore fuss about being charged the EXTRA 3$ after she told me she would take me off and did not give me a receipt. I had told her that I wanted it to go but when it was brought out it was in a tray, I asked for a to go box and she huffed, rolled her eyes and slammed the backdoor grabbing my to go box. She came back and told me I owed another 1.50$ for the box, and I said that's fine. I brought out a 5$ bill to pay her with, but every time I tried talking with her, she would ignore me. After numerous times of trying to get her attention, I proceeded to leave. Very poor...