Taqueria La Marea — Restaurant in Honolulu

Holy cow! Where's the 6th star?! Ask and you shall receive! The wife and I just moved to Oahu about a month ago after living in Portland for 6 years where there was NO GOOD Mexican food to save their lives. Having lived in Vegas for 6 years before moving to Portland we definitely know our Mexican food and had not found any authentic Mexican food on the island yet. Now, there's some great Puerto Rican spots but no Mexican until random perfection had us visit Taqueria la Mareas. I'm so glad this event happened otherwise I don't think we would have honestly made it here to try them out because it's in a weird kind of off the beaten path location (imo). Even when I was like a block away I was unsure that my GPS was taking me to the right place, but then I saw the Taqueria flags waving in the wind out front and knew I made it. Think it's only street parking. You may be able to park in the bodega's lot across the street but wasn't sure about that so found a spot on the street to be safe. As soon as you enter you get this great feeling because they've got the Spanish music playing and the decor is spot on for a Mexican joint. Beware there is very limited seating inside and due to COVID it's even more limited. Like 3x groups of 2-3 can eat inside at a time but after talking with one of the workers (Jace) he said they are working on expanding to the area beside them. They did just open so gotta work with what you got. Just happy to hear they are trying to open up more seating because spoiler alert...THEIR FOOD IS BOMB!!!!

Where to start? I ordered 3x tacos; carne asada, pork belly and carnitas. OH MY GAWD!! Flavors flavors flavors!!!!! I started with the carnitas. It was good and had great flavor. No complaints. I moved onto the carne asada. It was even better! The seasoning and flavors were amazing. Just the right level of salty to go with the flavors and the tortilla balanced it all perfectly. Might I add they do not skimp on the filling! A little secret I'll share that I like to do...when at a proper street taco spot you will get 2x tortillas per taco. Go ahead and separate them and split the filling between the two. If you can make two mini tacos out of one, they're doing it right with the amount of filling (imo). Last but not least the pork belly (drool)!! WOOOOW!!!!! Now I've honestly been trying to cut back on my pork intake but this taco makes me throw that idea right out the window! OH MY GOODNESS!! Crunchy yet juicy, just the right salty, seasoned and cooked to perfection!! Each bite was so enjoyable, I didn't want to swallow it! Elote was so delicious and authentic too!! When I closed my eyes I was right back on the west coat or back on holiday in Mexico. I didn't get to try their rice and beans. I know, I just didn't know they even had it (and I should've known better) until I heard another patron order it (sad face). I also want to try a burrito! Oh and I heard great things about the fish tacos which I believed are currently only available on Fri/Sat and I heard their birra is to die for but I think they are out. Oh and I also heard their ceviche was another banger but sells out in like 30 minutes!

Oh yeah 3x tips...1. Diablo sauce is a MUST! SO frickin good and well with the $0.25! Not too spicy but the spicy is there and like everything else here, that flavor is banging! 2. Pickled jalapenos, although serving size is a little small for $0.50 considering you usually have access to it at a self-serve bar and it's typically free (at least back in Vegas and Cali) is still a must! 3. BYOB is allowed since they don't currently have their liquor licence so order your grub then go across the street to the bodega and grab some brews FTW!!...

My husband has been raving about Taqueria La Marea for awhile now, so when my lunch meeting was unexpectedly cancelled, we decided to drive over and grab some tacos. After waiting for awhile my husband went to check on our order. It turns out it had gotten lost when a large phone order came in and the owner apologized profusely. He was so lovely and gave us free chips and salsa to eat while we waited in our car. He then brought our order to the car personally! Not only did he apologize again, but gave us a ton of food in apology including a double order of churros and flan! It more than made up for the small inconvenience and really made our day.

The food itself is soooo good. My husband is from LA, so finding authentic Mexican on Oahu was cause for celebration. The chips and salsa were good; the chips were obviously made fresh and the salsa was good. We had 2 birria tacos and The Works Plate with the pansita tacos (deep fried pork belly), rice and beans. Oh my gosh, now I know what my husband was raving about. The tacos were delicious! We also loved the churros which were perfectly fried and soooo yummy.

I would definitely recommend Taqueria La Marea for both their delicious food and awesome service. We will definitely...

This is an extraordinary place for Mexican food. It's quite small inside, but very clean. You will most likely need to park at block down from the restaurant, but you won't mind the walk after you taste your order. The menu is simple, but that just makes it easier to decide what you want. Their tacos are unbelievably gourmet-level. Yes, they are that delicious - especially the carnitas and pork belly tacos - and artistically-created. I also had a pork belly burrito here. It was very filling on its own. If you order a burrito with a plate (beans, rice, chips, and salsa), you will be struggling to finish it all. Staff is very nice, and the owner/chef is quite sweet. Prices are not ultra-cheap, but very reasonable for the quality level you get - about $20 (including tax and tip) for a plate which comes with a drink and chips. Simply put, Taqueria La Marea is...