Da Seafood Cartel — Restaurant in Oʻahu

So this place is literally on the side of the road, nestled between a mechanic shop and a car dealer (I think). Parking is tight and the bathroom is in the building next door. Just all really strange. Inside & outside seating is available, if it’s rush hour I suggest sitting inside. The noise from the traffics can be annoying. Anyway, service was fast and the staff is very pleasant. The food is average, but by no means 5 stars. For starters the chips are way overcooked. The proteins are way under seasoned, not as flavorful as you’d expect from an authentic Mexican restaurant. The ceviche was chewy and the chicharrón de pescado which I was told was one of the most popular dishes was terrible. It’s popcorn chicken thrown on top of a few tortillas. They didn’t even taste good when I ate them alone. Well they tasted better when I drenched them in sauce. Oh yeah the tortillas, they really should separate them or make the tacos for you. This is the tortilla problem, they give you the warm tortillas stacked on top of each other and the protein is then placed on the tortilla. So the combo of the warm tortillas and the juices of the protein softens the tortilla causing them to rip when you try to pull them apart because the they’re stuck to each other. And if you successfully separate them the center is so soft that everything you just put inside just breaks through and it falls apart. Either option made it impossible for me to make a nice taco without getting everything all over my hands. Then I had to go to the building next door to wash my hands, ugh! Now I’m left with broken tortillas and all the fillings all over my plate so I had to go back inside the restaurant and ask them for extra tortillas so I can spoon everything back into another tortilla and finally eat them. Geez it was an ordeal and for pretty expensive mediocre tacos at best. Not...

The staff are really nice you can watch them prepare your meal at the counter. I recommend you show them some Aloha and thanks them by walking up to the counter after you’ve enjoyed your meal. This is my first time eating here. What caught my eye was the Classic seafood Ceviche which is filled with large shrimp, tender octopus, and like 6 friggin’ oysters and this dish is easily a 4 person share. I ordered the fish taco which is huge and is filled with tender flakey fried fish, cabbage slaw and they house aioli. So Ono! This is fresh fish and you can tell. Then I had their Cartel spicy garlic mussels which are well seasoned. My only disappointment is they don’t offer Mexican rice or an order of Grilled bread or toast to soak up the sauce at the bottom of the platter?? I asked and the counter clerk said you gotta ask because the rice is served with their whole fried fish. That’s my next order when I come back. The menu is affordable but you’re paying around $16.95 to $29 for fresh, fresh, fresh seafood. Let me tell you their Mexican style seafood ceviche is the best, full of shrimp, tender octopus and like 6 oysters. My recommendation would be come for lunch because half of their menu was sold out for an early dinner and I got here at 5:15 pm. It’s also BUOB so sit out on the outside lanai pull out your travel cooler and enjoy some of the best Mexican...

The first thing that will surprise you about this place is the location. It is an old gas station store that was converted to this amazing Hawaiian/Mexican restaurant. The place is great for both family outing and down to even a nice couple fun outing. All this drives the atmosphere to be super interesting and unique.

The service here is top notch! Everyone we ran into or spoke to was nothing less than super nice and truly helpful and patient. Everyone was amazing and had great recommendations from the menu. Even down to bringing the food to your table was a chill experience and courteous.

Finally, let's talk about the food. Please feel free to check my pics but man oh man oh man... All of it was delicious, fresh, unique in taste and delightful to eat. It was so good that even after being super stuffed we ended up ordering another dish to try. Seafood is tricky to cook and make it taste this good. More importantly it was fresh! Bottom line, I definitely recommend this wonderful...