La Cucaracha Mexican Bar and Grill

So expensive! It’s really not worth it! Most Mexican places give you nachos and salsa. Here, it’s a tourist trap. They shouldn’t be charging an extra fee. This is ridiculous!

I’m a bit astonished by the reviews… we had a good lunch there with very good margaritas. Service was fine, and the outdoor seating was comfortable. Our waiter was helpful, and came by several times to make sure we had everything we wanted. There is a happy hour from 2−6pm when the margaritas are inexpensive, and the drink menu clearly states that you can get margaritas made from any of their many tequilas for $ 2 over the cost of the tequila shot.
I would say the food is good, solid, middle-​of-​the-​road Americanized Mexican. The food is not heavily salted (except the carnitas), so the flavor is a little different than many Mexican restaurants. We had a variety of tacos — chicken, beef, pork and ono — which were all good. They have a great selection of hot sauces, and we liked the chips and salsa (though we added a little heat!)
A 12% gratuity is automatically added to the bill. I can understand this, as many foreign tourists are not accustomed to tipping, and most restaurant servers in the USA depend on tips as a major part of their income.

The worst. Avoid. Or go in if you want super mediocre food that is incredibly over priced and then be forced to pay a hospitality charge.
I ordered gringo tacos (beef) with rice and salad and he had chicken fajitas.
Pretty lame. Feel completely ripped off.
You can do better elsewhere. Don’t go here.

DO NOT EAT HERE!
These guys a hitting you up a hospitality fee. WTH is a hospitality fee? Hmmmm taking advantage of tourist.
The food is way over priced… Two tacos for 18 $s
Sure its a nice location, other them that I really don’t know what to comment on… The hospitality fee is just rude!!! Food is sub par.

So astonished by reviews. We wanted to stay in and decided to find some take out. After being to numerous establishments on the strip including Sheratons lounge, we finally received great service! We asked for a menu suggestion and the carnitas were probably the best meal we had in Waikiki so far. The place had tons of energy, we will be going back for sure!

DON’T EAT HERE! Too bad I have to select a star. NOT MEXICAN FOOD at all. Save your money and stomach, eat somewhere else. Sorry management you can’t make it up. Hire real Mexican people that are cooks. We ordered fajitas but instead I got boiled meat and vegetables, boiled! Since when are fajitas boiled. To top it off they had no flavor, no salt, no spice, nothing! I got my overpriced refund for that wannabe Mexican food. Don’t eat here. Heed my words or you will be writing a bad review here.

Do yourself a favor and go to taco bell. Was hungry and ate here despite bad reviews. Got chips and queso. The Walmart brand tortilla chips and cheese is 10x better than that crap. Margaritas taster like the El Toro premix you buy for $ 2 a bottle at liquor store. Luckily I didn’t order anything else.

Only good thing about this place is their Happy Hour Margarita! Had a burrito and some appetizers. I think their food was all microwaved. I know we will be regretting this in a few hours

Walking late at night the streets of waikiki Honolulu looking for a place to eat when my friend spoted «the roach» a mexican restaurant but being in Hawaii, mexican food wasn’t really our first choice but the place looked promising, colorful lights, good music, and a waiting line, always a good sign, so like the many other lost souls starving on the streets of waikiki in search of a place to eat we were lured like roaches to the cucaracha.
The food was decent but nothing to write The Nevadans about, besides when we looked a the prices we decided to only order some appetizers… lots of them and get drunk instead. The drinks were good and so was the food but alcohol tends to make my tastebuds less critical and to make my meals more enjoyable.
Service was great. Sooo good that the waiter tipped himself, I would’ve tipped him more but since he figured On his own that he deserved 15% that’s what he got. We did feel insulted by the auto-​gratuity charge specially since we weren’t told ahead of time. There was only four of us, If they’re going to charge a service fee they should have it posted on their book of rules… I mean on their menu.
No soda refills
No chips refills
No salsa refills
15%for service
I had a great time here thanks to the margaritas, fun atmosphere and the company of my friends. I would probably return but not necessarily for the food. You know what they say…1 cucaracha = more cucarachas. Aloha! \m/​\m/​

If I could give ¼ star to this place, it would still be too high. Very expensive! Horrible food, the worst excuse of fajitas I have ever been served. What? No chips and salsa? «Only in request». Really? Beans were not cooked, greasy, soggy chili rellano. Don’t do it folks, we did the research for you. Not worth it. So disappointing.

Only Mexican restaurant I’ve eaten that charges for refills on chips and salsa. Chips seemed stale and from a bag. Salsa was good.

First timer. Went in they sat us right away. Tables were really small which is odd for a place that has huge plates. Food was good. Taste pretty basic. Nothing spectacular. But TBH the prices do not Match up! Way too pricey! All in all would I go back? Yeah I guess if I wanna spend all my money.

Went here hoping for some good authentic Mexican but left disappointed. Way overpriced but being in Waikiki beach it’s not surprising. Considering the quantity and quality, it was very disappointing. They even charged for the chips and salsa that every other Mexican restaurant provides gratis.
The best part was the $ 5 margaritas. The salsa they brought to the table was very fresh. My mole enchiladas were dry and bland. Probably the least enjoyable version of that dish I have ever had. Oh well, live and learn.

We as a family eat at Mexican restaurant often but this one was a bad choice:
Overpriced meal (2 tortillas $ 25)
It was supposed to be crispy tortillas but they were more like a rotten leaf
The chips and sauce that are free everywhere here you only got half basket for table and second one is charged to your bill.

This restaurant was lucky it pouring rain so we ran in to eat & dry off. Food is over priced, tasteless and lacked presentation. It was nice of our server to separate our checks for the table without attidue.

DONT WASTE YOUR TIME! PLACE DOESN’T EXIST! tried to find it to try out the food and ended up looking like an idiot wandering around. They turned the restaurant into a japanese restaurant called Murakame Udon.

Might be over priced, and a horrible happy hour menu. But the food is delicious for not being authentic Mexican food. I had a Kailua Pork Burrito and my wife had the blackened salmon burrito and both were delicious. Great server from Arizona that brought humor and great suggestions throughout the meal. Definitely will be back the next time we’re there.

Pro’s: Close to the bench, outdoor seating, and happy hour specials
Cons: My service was very slow. I was never greeted. My server never told me drink specials. I also was never offered chips and salsa though I saw it was free on the menu. It took a solid 5 minutes for the server to come take my order. It wasn’t even busy. My food came out hot and quickly, however it was nothing I would go back for. It was also nothing I would pay $ 20 for either. Also I used the bathroom. Old, outdated, and downstairs outside of the restaurant.

Me: Yo! What’s up man! I went to this Mexican restaurant called La Cucaracha. What’s that mean?
Spanish speaking buddy: Means «cockroach», but it was a nickname for a famous female figure that led the charge in many battles in the Mexican Revolution
Me: Wait… what? They named the restaurant «The cockroach»?
No matter where I go, Bun and I get a hankering for Mexican food. Rather me more so than her, without a doubt though she loves her tacos. Near the Hyatt Regency where we were staying, we saw this restaurant with some rather appealing décor. Understandably assuming, Oahu may not be known for their Mexican food, a couple red flags rung itself glaringly.
I started to dig right in when the chips and salsa came. At first bite of the average at best mushy concoction, Bun whispered something to me. CRUNCH, CRUCH, CRUCH…“what?” I replied. Bun had to repeat it a few more times with gaps filled with sighs and rolling eyes until she pointed to the front of the menu. By this time, almost half of the chips were already gone I mind you. It said something to the degree that their house made salsa is not refillable. Extra servings will be an extra charge. I haven’t seen this before. Thus appears red flag number one.
Red flag number two reared its ugly head out when we went through the menu. Ordering our drinks we found out their fountain soda in the back is non refillable. Why? How much does it cost to refill a coke? Bun usually gets her tacos with a variety choice of meats. Kalua pork as an option is a very interesting one. Yet, allowing the customer to choose only one type of meat for three tacos shows inflexibility. I ended ordering a wet chicken burrito from their «gringo» section. (Yeah, they call it that.)
When our food came you could tell, freshness wasn’t their forte if you catch my drift. My burrito was a bit little watery and cold inside. Still my plate was hot. Bun’s tacos were somewhat ok, but got incredibly boring fast. Especially since they only allowed one choice of meat. (Did I mention that already? Oh yeah, I did.) The multiple selections of hot sauce given to us poured out like ooze. Like the stuff that turns normal turtles into ninja turtles. Texturally and color wise, it was that disgusting looking. As forgettable the food was, the bill was not. The area may warrant higher prices, but the prices were really expensive for product quality received.
Last but not least, the final red flag is the name of the place. They are called La Cucaracha, meaning the cockroach. Aren’t cockroaches synonymous to a place that’s dirty? It still befuddles me.
Displaying an energetic layout inside that may attract a casual consumer, eating here may generate a feeling a being tricked. The lackluster food fails the more with the exaggerated prices. Cutting expenses should not be so blatant where it sacrifices the satisfaction of the customer.

Gosh some reviews can be down right violent — yikes!
Listen sometimes you just want some goofy Mexican Food and a Margarita Damn-​it!
And that’s what I got for lunch last week — and I was so satisfied.
Margaritas pack a punch (I always get the «top-​shelf/​Cadillac» what ever Mexican-​Dive I meander in to… and these were yummy I am sure I had two…
and the chips were fine salsa was that tomatoey red style from a jar — whatever — just bring me my Margarita —
and the fish tacos were yummy for sure — the prices were fine just fine for a dive spot in Waikiki — I mean its Waikiki —
I did go for lunch and the crowd was NOT cute — I won’t describe them but not cute — though the waiters were super «friendly» if you know what I mean which made me feel at home and comfortable…
And I am sure if I wanted to go out and party that night they would have been helpful — which is always nice that you can count on the «network» when you are out and about …
But otherwise Margarita ON!