Vamos a comer comida Mexicana!  Since Alex is part Spanish and Mexican, we love Mexican food!  However, good/authentic Mexican food is near impossible to find in Hawaii lol.  For his birthday, we decided to try Buho with my parents and sister.

Here’s a pic of the menu (below).  While some things on the menu sounded really good: like the Wagyu beef options, mole wings, and even al pastor tacos.. we immediately noticed the prices were kind of high.  We hoped it was because the food was either really good or the portions were huge.

The restaurant is actually outside on the roof.  While it was pretty busy because it was a Saturday night, the ambiance was nice and luckily it was a little breezy.  I imagine if you came here on a hot day with little wind, eating at this no-AC establishment would not be so pleasant.

We decided to order the Mexican Street Corn (“elotes”) as our first appetizer.  I LOVE elotes, so I was excited.  While at first glance the presentation was nice and literally screamed “Aloha”, the cob cut up in pieces looked pretty dismal.  The char on the corn was present, but where were the seasonings?  The cojita cheese?  Some cilantro or mayo?  Nope.  Nada.  The corn unfortunately just tasted like basic roasted corn.  At $6, I didn’t think this was worth it.

Next up my dad and I love oysters, so we decided to share half a dozen raw oysters on the half shell.  I loved the size of the oysters – not too big and not too small.  It was garnished with cilantro and raw onion,  and served with a light ponzu sauce.  My dad thoroughly enjoyed this.  I, however, am not a fan of raw onion, so I was not ecstatic about this dish.

Here’s a closeup of an oyster!

For my entree, and something my family and I all agreed was one of the star dishes, was the pork belly flauta.  The flour tortilla was perfectly cooked and warmed through, and the pork belly inside was moist and delicious.  While pork belly is really fatty, I was pleasantly surprised to not get big blubbery pieces of fat, but instead tender pieces of meat that meshed really well with the melted cheese inside, the warm tortilla, and the perfectly seasoned guacamole and cojita cheese garnished on top.  I definitely recommend this!

My fiance got the al pastor tacos.  While he said it’s not the best tacos he’s had, he said it was one of the most authentic he’s had on the island haha.  For the price though, he wished it came with Spanish rice and beans.

My dad LOVES nachos, so when he saw Wagyu beef nachos, he couldn’t pass it up.  The portion of this one was HUGE!  The Wagyu was in “ground beef” form, and to me tasted like normal ground beef, but my dad enjoyed it.

My mom and sister both got quesadillas.  Pictured below is the Chorizo quesadilla.  WARNING: if you do not like spicy, do not get this!  The serrano peppers in here were extremely hot! The chorizo meat itself was delicious though 🙂

Ahh.. now for dessert.  Alex got his “birthday dessert” which was vanilla ice cream, chocolate syrup, and toasted tortilla chips sprinkled with cinnamon and sugar (sorry – forgot to take a pic!)

My family and I then decided to get a variety of desserts to try.  Pictured below is the ice cream burrito.  It was filled with Kona coffee ice cream, and paired well with the warm tortilla that was dusted with cinnamon and sugar.

My sister got the acai bowl (with no granola since she is allergic to tree nuts).  The fruits were delicious, and the acai was fruity and refreshing.

My dad got the caramelized avocado brulee.  We did not see any caramelized pieces like you would see with a creme brulee, but if you like avocado, this dessert is interesting and unique in the kona coffee paired with the avocado results in a creamy, decadent, but not-too-sweet dessert.

I got the churros and chocolate.  It literally came as pictured below haha.  A super long piece of churro sticking out of a cup of thick chocolate syrup with whipped cream.  Weird presentation.. but the churro was soft and delicious though!

 

Overall, our service was good and although we weren’t blown away with the food, it was still an enjoyable evening.  I would definitely recommend coming here for more special occasions as it is a little pricey for the portions.  If I had to rate it, it would be a 7/10.

As for parking – you park inside of the Waikiki Shopping Plaza (to get to the parking garage: going down Kalakaua, make a left on Seaside Avenue, then your first left).  Unfortunately Buho does not validate, and the parking was $7.

 

**This review is strictly based off of my own opinion and not meant to be an advertisement, marketing partnership or any type of affiliation with this company.  I have not been compensated in any way in exchange for this review.