Island Taco — Restaurant in Kauai

So much oil on the burrito that I could not justify eating it. Even though it felt like an $18 loss, I did not want it to have an $18 + sick stomach impact. Also, very unfriendly. As I was ordering, the staff member seemed bothered by my warm request for her best recommendation of ‘healthiest’ vegan item on the menu. After I tasted the recommended tofu burrito, I asked a passing waitress if she also felt like this was the healthiest vegan option, and she agreed. I asked if I could trade in the burrito for as much plain rice as they could justify. At this point the staff went from mildly annoyed to thick rudeness and expressive blunt attitude. Granted I’m white and not local, so if I enjoyed dark privilege, it might have been a completely different story, but even so it seemed like more a $18 cheap service joint than an $18 nice service establishment. My friend went on her gut and split while we were waiting in line. She walked across the street to the fruit stand / Thai place and said her Vegan Thai Red Curry with Tofu was a ‘really good’ and only $12. She is a new acquaintance, so I don’t know if I would concur with her taste, but I’d guess anything would be better than my little brush with unfriendliness and heavy grease. Oh my, sorry to be so mean, but it’s true!!!

Update: my friend came back. She doesn’t waste food apparently (I didn’t know that). She took a bite and spit it out. She is also more sensitive than I (I didn’t know that either). Now she is ‘desperate’ to find something else to take the taste out of her mouth. Ok, I’m not that dramatic, but I think the verdict is: if you are AT ALL health conscious or taste conscious, do anything except eat here. Fair?

I’m hoping the owner(s) reads this, gets angry, makes adjustments and carries on participate in their callings. My intention is NOT to put someone out of business, but also to serve those who would spend $18 and experience a tummy ache and head ache on an otherwise delightful...

We stopped at Island Taco immediately after an exciting morning visiting Waimea Canyon. The location is perfect for a post or pre Waimea Canyon meal (depending on when you go up there), but it's also a great option any time you might be in the area.

Island Taco is a small, unassuming building with a small number of tables outside. Some of completely covered in shade from the building and some are picnic tables with umbrellas. We were there in November and it was still absolutely sweltering for us sitting outside even under the shade, but I guess that means you will just eat quickly and then the table will be available for the next group :)

We arrived at the peak of lunchtime and there was quite a line to order food, but once we ordered our food it was prepared fairly quickly, so that's good. Even though I was enticed by the fish options, I decided to try the steak burrito instead. It's cajun spiced and has jalapeno creme. It was delicious! The steak was really tender and all of the flavors were fantastic. In the end, I had no regrets in getting one of the less Hawaiian options on the menu.

The burritos are served with rice and beans on the side, while the tacos come with chips and salsa. Realistically speaking, the portions aren't that big and the prices are fairly typical Hawaii prices (they are much higher than you'd see for something similar on the mainland).

All in all, we enjoyed our lunch here and still had room to get some shave ice immediately after! We would definitely eat here again next time we visit...

Overall awful experience. My wife and I waited in a line of 5 people including us for 20 minutes before ordering. They had 1 poor girl taking orders and bringing the orders to tables. After waiting for an hour to get our tacos to no avail, we asked for a refund but the girl didn't know how to do that. Not her fault...obviously she had no training on the CC machine and no support from her co-workers.

My wife got her food a little under 2 hours after we got to Island Tacos. She ordered an ahi tuna and ground beef taco. The ground beef taco was 100% inedible. The beef had clearly spoiled some time ago...my wife didn't swallow it for fear of food poisoning. Her "ahi tuna" taco consisted of 90% cabbage and 10% ahi tuna. Literally only 3 small squares of fish in the entire taco. Those 3 pieces tasted fine. By this time, my food had still not arrived and we just decided to leave.

My wife and I are 27 and 29 years old and have worked in the food service industry as servers/food-runners/hosts/etc. so we're very patient when it comes to these kind of things. But our whole experience at Island Tacos was completely unacceptable. They border-line stole our money and could have potentially poisoned my wife if she hadn't known better. Visiting this food establishment was the only low of our entire 2 week vacation. The owners...