Lucy’s Taqueria

Our go to spot for margaritas in Hilo! Pitcher of Cadillac, rocks, for a paltry $ 19! Plus free house-​made chips and warmed salsa! Great fresh style Mexican, huge burritos, delicious bowls and quesadillas. A great stop anytime!

In my opinion this is the best Mexican restaurant in Hawaii. Pretty impressive for a small town like Hilo. Having lived in LA for 13 years, I can say that this is authentic. I stop by whenever I am in town. Only place that I’ve found that serve Cabeza. Street tacos are the best. Cabeza, Lengua, Carne Asada, carnitas. The nachos with Cabeza is excellent. Burritos are HUGE. Downside is that there is no table service and you bus your own tables. Still the best tasting and authentic Mexican food in Hawaii.

Amazing!!! Amazing food! Amazing prices! Wonderful atmosphere with great employees.

After experimenting with more than just the veggie tacos, I have grown to seriously love this place. I appreciate that I can order practically any menu item and ask for al pastor style tofu instead of meat. Try the mulitas, thank me later. The margaritas are still awesome.

Love the fresh ingredients and huge portions. The fresh salsa is amazing! Very affordable, nice ambience.

If Mexican is one of your favorites and you’re NOT a novice to eating the cuisine, a significant thing to consider:
This place is NOT authentic Mexican. I repeat, NOT and NOT. I don’t know who these Unilocalers are and where they come from with saying it’s authentic. Serious confused face. I mean what specifically did they try here? I wanna try it too. And when if ever have they actually tasted real carnitas? Because I never got them here and I wanna call their bluff. I don’t even think the owners themselves dub it authentic in a truly authentic sense. Maybe in a trendy way they do, because this place sure is catchy for sleepy Hilo. For good reason. First, there’s no «authentic» Mexican on the island that’s truly delicious to begin with. So as long as you taste good, big island eaters won’t know the difference. There’s a handful of random folks’ take on Mexican flavors around, and for the most part everyone delivers, but note there’s no magical abuela in any of these kitchens like there should be.
The trick is that I don’t expect what I do when I eat in San Diego. So if you hail from there, just know you’re not gonna get anything like it anywhere in Hawai’i. Not even on Oahu unfortunately. So don’t come here with any of that or prepare to be pissed.
This is not to say that the food Lucy’s puts out isn’t good, because it is. Some dishes are seriously lovely and they all generally deliver in terms of size and what you pay for, I’d venture to say it’s the best portions for your buck on island. For this reason alone, I see them remaining very popular around here. As for the foodies like myself, it will all depend on whether their palate matches yours. Traditionally speaking, we are on different pages, Lucy and me. But strictly food wise with no culture to reference and I’ve found a few items on the menu I can appreciate.
Everything I tried had a yummy factor. Some more than others. Actually I’ve never had anything too terrible. It was just different. Though they bore a resemblance, still not one spoke as truly authentic Mexican. For example, fajitas are one of my faves and I expect a decent spice level with great charring going on, but nope. Lucy’s gave me basically a chicken marinara dish that was swimming and overly sweet and the only thing fajita about it was the green bell peppers thrown in there and the tortillas it came with. At least they got that part. The chicken taco salad was seriously tasty if I was craving a fresher mock version of it and not wanting that taco taste. I still get it all the time but call it a hippie bowl instead and it’s fine all of a sudden. The huevos rancheros missed the mark and reminded me more of an Americanized shakshuka or Moroccan eggs, too tomatoey, the nachos also missed the mark comparatively to others, the torta could’ve been purchased at your favorite deli and the tostada was very small and soggy instead of crunchy. All the dishes seem to follow this pattern.
The burritos are great! And huge. And I think this is where they gain their status. They should be a burrito place (IMHO), as I feel this is the way the hipsters see them. Now if it drives my point harder, note that they have creations such as the «Kale burrito.» You’re not gonna find that at an authentic joint mind you, and I actually thought it was good which just confused me further.
Now their margaritas and bar service is where this place has me. Best lihing mui rita on island! And best prices! $ 4 ritas!!! Try the prickly pear if you’re a girly girl, seriously fun and pretty. Also they’ll serve you at the bar and only at the bar, which is a very small space. Otherwise you order up at the counter and they bring your food to your table.
No pickled veggies or extensive salsa bar, which is how I really judge a fiesta. Meh. Bah humbug. So much can be said, but you’ll just have to try it to see what I mean. If you’re visiting or on vacation, sure it’s a great place for a drink and grub after an adventure. If you’re a local, I bet you already come here often. To each their own!
Service is so so, depending. Management seriously sucks. Like the worst I’ve seen in taco land. There are some questionable characters running this place. FYI: don’t let a worker mess up your food because it will never be their fault, just yours.
The bartenders rock!!! If it weren’t for them and the ritas this place would get 2 stars from this peanut gallery. #notsorry

This is one of my favorite places to eat in Hilo. The vegetables they use are so fresh and the flavor’s are AMAZING! I always get and FINISH the Burrito Grande. This burrito is literally bigger than a newborn.
The vibe in there is so homey and there’s a built in bar, and a play area on the opposite end for children. So regardless if you’re there for a family meal or out to celebrate the place is built for that. Not to mention the prices are great. You definitely get way more than you pay for.

So, I don’t do many reviews unless I’m just shocked at how bad or surprised at how good a place is. Lucy’s Taqueria… was extremely disappointing! They have a decent selection but if it’s your first time to the location you walk in completely confused. Do you order and wait or sit and get served? Well, we found out and went to order. When we asked if something was fresh/​made from scratch, the employee had to ask others and they told us that it was from a box. *okay* After ordering, they give you a paper mache animal that you sit with at your table. Then you must get your own drinks, chips, and salsa; that’s not too bad (I guess). Well, the food comes and I’m still trying to stay positive. The silverware… you have to pick it up yourself as well… maybe even wait for them fresh from the washer because there is no more set out. *cringes* At least they were clean?
The food to me was a bit flavorless in comparison to other Mexican places I’ve tried so at that point there wasn’t much I could stay positive about. The kicker came at the end. We try to ask an employee about to-​go boxes, and were informed they cost you 25 cents, but if you don’t want to pay… they have paper plates and tin foil in the back for free *okay*. Before we even ask about getting the to-​go plates the employee high tails it back to the kitchen. So we then bus our own table (really?!) and pay for a to-​go cup for our specialty drink we ordered.
Needless to say, this place being ranked so high really shocked me. I won’t ever eat there again, which is a shame since I really like Mexican food.

Wow! I’m an avid Unilocal user but rare reviewer — generally only when I feel a review must be left. Unfortunately, this time it’s for a negative reason. My family had just arrived in Hilo from Kona and we’re looking for something to eat before settling in for the night. Lucy’s Taqueria looked like a great fit. We ordered our food, helped ourselves to the salsa bar, and grabbed a table. We weren’t expecting full service, but seriously this restaurant was as little service as possible.
Anything you need, you were responsible to get. Drinks: pick them up at the counter. Napkins utensils: at the counter still wet from the washer. More chips for your salsa: no waiter ever asked or noticed. The food was brought to us, but it turned out my chile relleno was cold. Bring it up to the counter and we’ll heat it in the microwave and give it back to you. My sour cream melted all over the plate. Oh and also, clean up your own table. Need a to-​go box or cup: that’ll be $ 0.25 EACH. C’mon.
Seriously. The food was okay, but this restaurant was nowhere near 4 stars.

They have a huge menu. Many options for meat choices and plenty of parts to try. As a small party, we all were boring. Chicken and Al pastor chimichangas. One daring individual tried the chicken Taquitos. Nachos Grande and a cheese quesadilla rounded out the meal.
The chimichangas are listed as coming with rice and beans. … They out them inside. In my tourist state of mind, I thought I was getting refried beans and rice (side dishes). It was fine inside anyway. They are really big. It was a meal and half.
The chicken Taquitos are seasoned with a light bite to them. The cheese quesadilla had guacamole cooked inside! Crazy thought but oh so good!
Only weird part is you have to go to bar to get the drink you paid for and take it from the end of bar like the waitress would.

A big crew of us stopped in for lunch on a busy weekday. The line was long, but the ordering process is quick and easy, and before we knew it we were enjoying baskets of chips and warm salsa at our table, plus all the delicious salas from the salsa bar.
My cousins got plates, one carnitas and one chile relleno, and both were huge. I ordered the three taco plate and some refried beans to share. The tacos were good, fairly authentic (for Hilo, y’all, not for the Mission in SF), and the beans were tasty and covered in cheese. We added some salsa and it was a huge, gooey, satisfying mess.
We also got some li hing mui margaritas and a pitcher of Negro Modelo, which definitely helped round out the meal. Definitely the best choice for Mexican in Hilo.

I have enjoyed the food here many times but the bartender this time was AWFUL. I hate to use expletives and Unilocal will probably take down this this review if I do, so I’ll just say he must bears a strong resemblance to the hole that feces comes out of. He ignored us and took multiple customers ahead of us while we waited. I went to go and ask him to please take our order and he yelled «GIVE ME A MINUTE». I went to go and speak to the manager on duty and they didn’t do anything. I was with my boyfriend so I wonder if he was discriminating?
Due to the limited dining options here in Hilo, I was forced to go back (I really enjoy their chile relleno) and was met with less dramatic, but equally poor service from the girl with dyed red hair that takes the orders. The expression on her face clearly belies the fact that she hates her job and her life is a living hell. I have no problem with that except for the fact that she is interacting with customers. The woman who owns this place is lovely and always comes by to say hi, so I added one star for her and the chile relleno.

I know I should not compare Mexican food I had in California to here at Lucy’s but yeah, it just doesnt cut it for me. Their food isnt horrible but its not too authentic. I wanted like real Mexican food and this place feels like an imitation Mexican food to me.
So I heard this place isnt the best but is the place to grab Mexican food in Hilo. I guess. They have a bar here too so if you enjoy consuming alcohol, maybe you can come and have one or two drinks with your food.
Food came out very fast and the workers here are very nice and accomodating. I ordered a quesadilla with steak but they came to my table later saying they were out of steak, so I got chicken instead. It had guacamole which was OK but it wasnt the flavor I was looking for. I wanted a simple quesadilla with some meat and cheese but even with all these other things in the quesadilla, it wasnt as good as I expected.
They have a salsa bar where you can get some salsa to complement your food.
I might come back to try their wet burrito in future but until then, this place is just OK.

Excellent Mexican food at great prices and in generous portions.
My traveling companion and I visited Lucy’s after a long day of hiking because nothing restores you after a day of exertion like fresh Mexican food. The tortillas were soft and clearly homemade, and all the ingredients, but especially the salsas and sauces, were very fresh. This place is very popular, for good reason, so you can expect a crowd, but their service is also very quick and efficient, though also very friendly, so they move through the line quickly.
My companion and I are vegetarian and were delighted by all the veggie options, especially the unique tofu fillings. He enjoyed the tofu chimichanga and I the fajita burrito and huevos rancheros. We loved it so much we came back the following day because we couldn’t bear to leave Hilo without having them again!

Erlebnisessen pur — Original und super authentisch und lecker was ein Abend. Laute und musikalische Atmosphäre. Echtes mexikanisches Essen