Tacos Zarate

Tasty Mexican food on King Street!
This hole-​in-​the-​wall joint is perfect for when you’re craving south of the border (well, U.S. Mainland border, anyway) fare.
I had the carne asada quesadilla which was loaded with cheese. It was tasty, but lacked spice/​flavor. It also came with chips and salsa, and I got a side of guacamole.
My only complaints were:
1. The spiciness level. I do wish their food was a little spicier, but that’s the reason why my dining companion, who doesn’t like spicy food, loved it so much!
2. The customer service could have been a bit friendlier.
My boyfriend had their carne asada tacos, which was pretty authentic and served with cilantro, onions and lime wedges. I think when we go back, I’ll try the tacos and ask for Tapatio (hot sauce, if they have it!)
I also ordered the Mexican coca cola in the bottle which I just love, because it’s made with real sugar. Can’t beat a cold Coke on a hot day.
Pop in here and enjoy!

Hanging out with Michael, Juan & Tonymontiny at Tacos Zarate. The food es muy bueno! Homemade chips and salsa to kick your Aloha Friday off. Delicious Mexican menu and excellent customer service! Bring all your amigos and check it out. You won’t be disappointed.

This place is overrated in terms of its 4 star rating to 230+ reviews on here. Got the 2 classic carne asada tacos for $ 9 something (comes with beans, rice, and some chips)… Yeah it was a waste of money. The carne asada at this place is ground beef, not steak, so that alone was disappointing. Also, I think my rice was old because it tastes really funny. I had my friend try some as well to see if it was just me and he agreed it tasted like it’s been spoiling.
I’m glad to say I tried this place out to know I won’t be going back. I prefer Serges up in Manoa over this place any day.

Great carnitas tacos and burritos. Small area to sit but we got lucky we got here during a lull in the lunch rush. I preferred the green sauce over the red sauce. Great place to eat!

This is as good as Mexican food in Oahu can get, if you missed authentic Mexican food come here

I should’ve read Rachel’s review first before trying Taco Zarate but after browsing and seeing all the other Unilocalers’ raves, I figured I’d take the risk! Well, what a waste of effort, appetite and 9 bucks.
I was in the neighborhood and Unilocaled «tacos» and found Taco Zarate with 4 stars. Now, 3 ½ I can understand but with 4, I immediately thought to myself «oh! Must try!»
First, there is no parking. There is a meter right in front to park but not a lot for this Mexican-​joint. The other restaurants in the same strip have assigned parking but this one. Second, the board posted outside stated that they have carne asada tacos just to find out that they ran out. Before I walked out, the guy in the back confirmed they have a little bit left for me (scraps, literally).
After trying to order and meeting the cashier, I knew I shouldn’t expect too much. Pretty boy isn’t too motivated to work today and it made me almost walk out, but my efforts to get here made me pretty much invested. I am sure that he is not aware of his slowness, everything he did was in slow motion even with just putting my food in the bag. Furthermore, this joint is small and guests are asked to wait outside/​line (if there is one) because although they have chairs set up, it’s just small. Also, expect to smell like food after your visit.
I ordered a classic carne asada burrito that’s supposed to come with beans, onions, rice and cilantro. The combo also came with warm nachos which I’m positive is store bought.
Now, I have never had a burrito I was forced to eat. The meat is a crappy-​cheap beef because t was chewy and was bland. I am not sure what happened to the onions but he sure gave me lots and lots of beans which makes me wonder if I actually got a bean burrito with a hint of nasty beef? The beans are store bought as well… What happened to «authentic»? False advertisement for sure.
Taco Zerate is definitely a miss! Eh! Yes I’m mad because I am now done with burritos for a little bit. Nasty, nasty, nasty. There’s no looking back on this one.

This place is a short walk from my workplace and I usually catch them when they are not as busy so I get my food in a short amount of time.
It’s a small hole in the wall place with a few seats and counter to eat. The workers/​owners (?) have a strong accent that I don’t mind because that is who they are.
I recently bought the beef quesadillas, they loaded it with cheese (which is always awesome!). I don’t think they put any extra sauce in the quesadilla, but the beef had a lot of flavor to make it taste yum! Plus I don’t like it when other people make quesadillas that end up soggy because of extra sauce.
Overall I think it’s a good place to get your Mexican fix for lunch!

I love love love this place! It’s not California Mexican good but it’s close! When I’m in need of comfort food I come here and get a carne asada burrito and pig out.
I wish they did have better parking though. It’s a small lot which is hard to actually maneuver in unless you have a compact or street parking which on king street means zero! But if you are lucky enough walk on over to this tiny hole in the wall cuz it’s awesome! Get the green sauce, it’s soooo good!

I’ve been following these guys on Instagram for a while now (@tacoszarate) and finally had the chance to stop in and pick up lunch today. Its been a while since I’ve had Mexican, and Tacos Zarate did not disappoint!
My friend and I drove down King Street and were easily able to spot the red and green sign right past Kyung’s. After a quick spin around the block to look for street parking (which was unsuccessful), we parked in one of the stalls behind Kyung’s and went to place our orders. It wasn’t until after I had gotten out of the car and was reading through other Unilocal reviews that I realized the parking for Zarate is off King Street via the driveway between A-​1 Barbers and Golden Pork… whoops! As soon as I realized this, I sent my friend back to the car just incase it needed to be moved while I waited for our food.
The menu is fairly simple, which I love because I’m usually so indecisive! We ended up going with a Guero burrito (#8 on the menu) with carne asada and 3 tacos — carne asada, carnitas, and pollo asado. Note that we got just the a la carte tacos and not the taco plates with the rice and beans. I thought this was a much better way to order because honestly, I’d rather have another taco than a serving of rice and beans! We also decided to get our food to-​go since the seating in the restaurant is extremely limited and cramped — I could see it getting stuffy real quick in there. The burrito and 3 tacos came out to a little over $ 20 total. After about 5 minutes, our food was all packed and ready to go!
The food was delicious, though I did have a couple of gripes. First is that the whole reason we decided on the Guero burrito ($ 9.50) was to get some guacamole in the mix. We ate through the whole thing and didn’t really see much of it at all! I’m not sure it was worth the extra dollar, so I would probably just get the regular Clasico burrito ($ 8.50) next time. The great thing about the burrito was that there was A LOT of carne asada and that there was an even ratio between the rest of the fillings. The tacos ($ 3.25 each) were also loaded with meat which was great! But they could have used a little bit more onions and cilantro. These tacos are also a little bit more expensive that what I grew accustomed to in downtown Los Angeles… but hey, everything is pricer in paradise! I did appreciate that they threw 2 servings of chips into our take-​out bag, because most places here will charge extra for those chips! They were also very generous with the salsa, as they let us get both the red and green ones. The red salsa had a generous kick, and the green is much more mild.
Overall, Tacos Zarate is a great place for Mexican in Honolulu, as long as you remember that the prices will be $ 1 or $ 2 higher than what you would expect in California. I will definitely be back for more especially when I’m missing my USC days!
TL;DR — parking accessible from the driveway between A-​1 and Golden Pork, not a lot of guac in the Guero burrito, and simple yet satisfying menu!

Divey but good. Not much space. One counter fits four and the other 2, but it’s very tight. Great for a quick grab and go. Parking is an issue.

Trying to find good Mexican food in Hawaii can be tough. Fortunately there are some recent places serving up good Mexican food. Taco Zarate is one of these places serving up good Mexican food. First off, the place is small. I mean, I kind of knew it was on the smaller side, but I didn’t expect it to be that small. Small as in as soon as you walk in, there it is. Two counters for eating — one with the register at the end. You sit on stools and eat your food on the counters.
Ordering was quick and painless — they use an iPad system. The menu is beautifully written on chalkboard and easily understood. I ordered the 2 taco meal — pork and chicken. I also ordered the picked jalapeño and carrots. Service was friendly and quick.
Food was delivered in a timely fashion and the food was good. The jalapeño and carrots were great. Picked and spicy — I practically ate the entire bowl. Very good! The tacos were fine. I would say the pork was one-​dimensional in flavor — heavily salted. I usually like the pork with a little crispy texture from cooking and sometimes a little more smoky flavor. The chicken was cubed and fine. Overall, the tacos were good, not vibrant tasting like places in the California (I usually ate Mexican in the San Jose, CA area). Nothing was wrong with the tacos, but I would say the flavors didn’t stand out in any way. The beans and rice was good. The chips were like they were from a bag — not that fresh tasting.
Overall, the meal is a good value for the price — which was around $ 10. I took the green salsa and I liked it. Very spicy and great on the tacos!
So good service, good food. Thank you for being in Honolulu.

I’d been wanting to hit this place up ever since its food truck days and just never got around to it, but last week that all changed. I ordered the veggie burrito and a tamarind soda, and I felt like I was back in L.A. again! This is the real deal. The only reason I’m giving four stars instead of five is that I lean vegan (though I sometimes do cheese) and would love to see a vegan option. Then again, I didn’t ask, so I’ll do that next time.
Oh, and the guys there are super cool and friendly!

I was craving burrito and found this place on Unilocal that was highly rated. It was really difficult to find parking here going at the wrong time. This small restaurant is between Kyung’s Seafood and Golden Pork Tonkatsu ramen. When I stepped in, it was very warm inside. The place smells kind of sweaty. Blech…
I walked up to the cashier and ordered the chicken burrito. He seemed kind of rude when talking to me. I had a hard time understanding what he was saying. My bf and I stepped outside to wait because the place was unbearable. The order of a burrito took like 10 – 15 minutes. It doesn’t even take that long to make a burrito. Finally, it was ready. He handed me the bag and said something I did not understand. I was like uh… okay. *I told my bf what happened and he said have a good evening… I was like, you understood that? My bf was like no I assumed he said that.*
The burrito came with tortilla chips and no salsa. I was excited to eat it. One bite of eat, omg! It was burnt and nasty. It had a chemical taste that I had smell earlier in the restaurant. The chips were sitting there probably forever. So we threw away the chips and tried the burrito. The tortilla wrap was burnt, the rice was hard, the bean and meat was mushy all together. It tasted horrible. This is a 4 star Mexican place?! You’ve got to be kidding me. I could make better burritos than this.
Oahu Mexican Grill (OMG) is waaaaay better than this place. The burrito cost $ 8 and it was small. The quality was horrible. Service was rude. He totally ignored us. WTF?! Why did I do this to myself?! I’m never returning!

Super Fresh. Right on Spot. Green sauce for the Spice and Red to wash it down.
Mahalo

I had a scathing review to write about this place, but I decided that since I absolutely love the food I couldn’t post it.
Here is the problem… Consistency and basic common sense.
There are two younger gentleman that work weeknights. I’ve had 1 – 5 star customer experiences. It’s just not consistent and they’re easily overwhelmed.
I ordered a guero burrito but there was no guacamole and cheese. I called and told them I got a regular burrito and they said they would be happy to fix it. I came back again and the burrito was made the exact same way. Am I going crazy? I wondered. I cut open the burrito and searched for anything green. Nope. Nothing.
Today I ordered another guero burrito, the owner was there and he made it. Drum roll please… there was visible guacamole. I’m so glad because I literally thought I was going crazy.
I’m sooo glad that this place is now open later and the owner has help to be able to expand his hours. But those guys aren’t making the food right. I guess I just have to stick to Saturday’s or order a clasico burrito.

Did I come on an off day?!
OK, I just literally finished my $ 5 cheese and bean burrito and I am writing this review cause I am in disbelief at how bland my burrito was! Unilocal reviews were raving on the flavor and authenticity but I experienced none of it. Now if you follow my reviews you’ll notice I love Mexican food, and I’m out to try every Mexican eatery so you can imagine how disappointed I was with this experience.
My fiancé and I walked over to Taco Zarate because we literally live a few blocks away & I have had it bookmarked for months! The restaurant’s interior was spotless but that’s probably because they were 40 minutes to closing and they had clearly already cleaned up. Despite the restaurant being empty and the workers looking ready to close up shop, our orders were taken. My fiancé ordered the Guero Burrito with carne asada and I got the cheese & bean burrito.
We waited only a few minutes and was handed our brown paper bag that was heavy in weight & excitedly walked back home. Once home we reached into the bag to reveal our freshly made burritos wrapped in foil and two small chip bags with green salsa. Initially I found the green salsa to be way to hot for my liking but after a few bites into my bland burrito I started drenching my burrito in it! I started to complain with disappointment to my fiancé and he then mentioned his burrito too was very unflavorful. He even suggested that they forgot to include salsa in his burrito as the menu states. On top of that, the chips were definitely not fresh and borderline stale.
Did they miss some kind of spice or ingredient in our burritos because it was closing time? Were the chips stale because it was empty or a slow night?! Will someone please tell me that this was just a bad experience?! I am so confused.

Tacos? Love them! With the name Taco Zarate, you figure to try their tacos right? Too bad it’s so hard to find good tacos or Mexican food here. After seeing so many good reviews and hearing good things about this place, I couldn’t wait to try them out. Keep in mind that parking is a little challenging but they are very easy to find off King St.
I ordered the number 3 to go. It comes with 3 tacos (meats of your choice), beans, rice, chips and salsa (choice of green or red). The cashier said the green salsa is slightly more spicy than the red salsa. Not bad for $ 12 (price as of Jan ’16) in HI. The meats I chose were Carne Asada, Carnitas and Chorizo.
The Carne Asada taco meat was a little dry and there were too much onions for this taco (it hidden under the meat as well as on top of the meat). Carnitas taco meat was also on the dry side and lacked flavor for me. This taco was also disappointing. The Chorizo taco had the most flavor and was the least dry. It ended up to be my favorite of the three.
Portions for chips and salsa are less for take out than to dine in from my observations. I saw how much chips other customers had while they were dining in and it was quite a big difference from takeout. Also, if you dine in, I saw customers with 2 containers of salsa vs the 1 container you get for takeout. Beans and rice were just meh.
Overall, this place is clean, modern and has a good location. You can dine in, use credit cards to pay and select from a simple menu. Would I rate it the best tacos I’ve had in HI? Probably not but maybe they have really good burritos?

Yes this is a taco place in Hawaii that does not serve fish tacos of any sort. Guess what? They don’t need it. This place is that good. The carne asada burrito is melt your taste buds good. The chicken tacos are amazing. If all of that isn’t enough to lure you in the door go for a Chorizo Sope.
The great this about it is pick any entrée burrito, taco, tostada, sope and you can get any of the above mentioned meats on any of them. The eats are cheap too. 3 tacos, rice and beans for $ 12. I’d say that is not to bad at all. Burrito is only about $ 8 and it is all you need for a hearty lunch.
Service is great. Just a little walk up counter with a really friendly dude on the register. Don’t expect fancy romantic dining. This place is THE definition of a hole in the wall. The entire place is 1 single room that is the size of a large bedroom (if that) with a office cubicle type divider between the walk-​in/​dining area and the kitchen. It has a little lunch counter along the wall but there really is only seating for about 8 people total so if it is busy at all just grab it to go and head over to the park.

I think I’ve found my new favorite burrito spot! Been following these guys on IG for a while now and have finally tried ‘em out. Talk about major noms!!! I ordered the Clasico burrito w/​carnitas as my choice of meat. My brother ordered the same, but with carne asada. Each burrito order came with a side of fresh tortilla chips and salsa.
The carnitas burrito was hella good (yes, I say «hella»)! I love the cilantro and well-​seasoned carnitas flavors coming through. Burrito is a decent size, made with Sinaloa tortilla. My brother said the same thing — beef was cooked really well and it packed a lot of flavor. Check out their cold bottles of Jarritos — goes perfectly with a burrito! I bought two, Lime and Pineapple. Each one is $ 3 (check out attached photo for prices) LOVE ‘em! Will try out the Tamarind and Strawberry flavors next time.
I also noticed they are open until 8pm most days now, which is the only reason why I was able to check ‘em out today after work. We’ll be back!

I’ve been watching the Zaratez reviews, and figured they were going for a reboot with the name change. Good reviews continued to appear, so I decided to give Tacos Zarate another try for lunch today. I’m not sure whether the chef has improved, or if they had a bad day when I did my first review, but either way after today I’m pretty pleased.
The interior has shifted a bit, now laid out like a bar instead of picnic tables. The register is right up front and the menu is big & bold. It’s still very small though, so don’t try to come during lunch hours with more than a couple of people.
I ordered a Guero Burrito with chorizo & a can of coke, which was a total of about $ 11. I’m a big fan of guacamole, but I can’t recommend the guero upgrade: there’s simply not enough. I could spot a bit of green spread here and there as I ate, but the flavor never came through. Maybe they need to charge $ 2 more like chipotle, but there JUST NEEDS TO BE MORE so I can taste it at all.
The other reason for the loss of a star is the order. I asked for chorizo, but received carnitas. Unfortunately, I had ordered takeout, so I was miles away before I found out.
The good news: it tastes good! The carnitas were tender, tasty, and a little fatty (good thing!). And there was a LOT of it. The beans and rice were no longer flavorless, in fact, they added to the flavors of the burrito this time around. And of course, cilantro and onions — they complete a burrito in a way that only they can.
They also give you tortilla chips, which are tasty and wonderful and freshly fried, and a side of salsa. I had the green salsa on my first visit, so I opted to try the spicy chipotle. The salsa was smoky and substantially spicy, with a nice balance of flavor and kick. I only wish they gave more!
Despite the small hiccups, Tacos Zarate is clearly improving, and I will return for more!

A place pretty close so I decided to check it out.
Atmosphere: Right next to Kyung’s seafood. Small place with really just a counter for seating with a few bar stools. Really set up for takeout, but that’s about it.
Service: Quick service, street parking available, but no private parking lot.
Food: Satisfactory mexican. I was a bit underwhelmed with their burritos. I tried two type of burritos and both were so disappointing. Their green salsa lacked flavor.
Intangibles: I would recommend not coming here for Mexican. Go to Serg’s or even better La Taqueria Ricardo if you are craving Mexican (only open on weekdays)

Zaratez caught my interest after walking past it while eating at Golden Pork next door so it seemed like a good place to meet up with some friends for a weekend lunch. There are literally about 10 seats total in this shop so keep that in mind if you come here. Take out might be the better option.
The most highlighted item in the reviews is something called Mulitas but unfortunately the server said it was only a special which they did not have at the time. I ended up settling for a burrito instead.
I don’t set the bar very high for mexican food in Hawaii but I was definitely underwhelmed by this burrito. This is in large part due to the chorizo which I chose as my meat. I love chorizo but this was just not done right at all. It was very mushy and did not carry any of the spice, oiliness or kick that I expect.
The salsas were not to my liking either. The red was not spicy at all and had a very smoky chipotle taste to it. The green was a little better and had a hint of spice but it was average at best.
Overall, I prefer some of the other mexican restaurants on the island to this place. Perhaps the special that wasn’t available is where it’s at for Zaratez but until then I have to say «I’ve experienced better.»