El Mercadito

Today I bought a carne asada taco. The meat is marinated nicely and you can choose salsa that’s mild or got hot. It is pricey at $ 3.95 but is filled with beef and so tasty.

Oh my gosh!!! Visiting for the day (work) and someone recommended it. Super ONO!!! Mahalo Diego :-)

The food was fantastic! The carne asada tacos were delicious and full of flavor. The service was great and the employees were friendly. Would definitely come back again when we visit Kona.

Don’t put baby in the corner. This place needs more attention around it or better signage so that people know to come to the marketplace and where to look. It wasn’t hard for us to find the place like others suggested, but it was random.
Anyway. As soon as we arrived we were greeted by a beautiful Latin family, speaking Spanish to each other and having their lunch. Good sign so far. If you speak the language of the food you’re cooking for me, it helps with my trust issues.
We just came for a snack so we ordered three carnitas tacos. Safe. It was good. Street style. Not spicy, so I got jalapeños on the side. It came with a mild sauce as well. Lots of cilantro, right up my alley.
They were HUGE. They pack the crap out of these tacos with their meat. We probably only needed two. I had to chuck some carnitas out to fit it in my mouth. Don’t worry, I still ate up the fallen pieces.
Reminiscent of some food truck tacos I’ve had on the mainland. Made fresh when you order. Well done, well done!

AMAZING!!! Authentic! Mexican food! Gotta try it! It’s super fresh, very tasty and real Mexican Cheese.

As others have mentioned a bit tricky to find but worth the second look next to the gas station inside the food court.
Now when I saw «Food Court» I assumed a out of the or box type if place, El Mercadito is fresh homemade style Mexican food that is authentic and great

FINALLY, after 2 months of living here, I’ve found the one and only legit Mexican food on the island.
It is a bit difficult to find, only because it’s not where you expect. If you’re at Target, look across the street at the gas station. They are in the building directly behind the gas station from there, in the back left corner. You’ll see the food court sign, which helps a bit.
I love that they have a limited menu, so they can make everything well. Smaller menus are a sign of better food in my opinion. There’s fresh made horchata and jamaica, which made me very happy because I’ve not seen anyone else offer fresh jamaica at all. I adore the fact that they also have all the hot sauces and very hard to find candies (at least hard to find here), and I will definitely be back there for some.
Food was made from scratch and took no more than 10 minutes start to finish, even though we got there the same time as a few other people. The burritos were also grilled which is an awesome touch, and made it really stand out. They also put sour cream on the side instead of in the burrito, which was nice. Guacamole included at no extra charge, and the sides for extra peppers and such were much more fair than other places had been. Even serranos were offered. =)
Please, please, PLEASE go support these ladies and make your tummy happy! If you’re from San Diego/​Los Angeles/​San Francisco like me, believe me when I say you can find a little piece of home here.

This was hands down the best Mexican food I had ever had. I ordered the chilli rellenos plate, and everything was absolutely delicious. I don’t normally like refried beans but even those were super yummy. The rest of the market seemed really quick and small, but if you’re craving Mexican while on the island this would be the place to go!

Great great great! What a nice surprise in Kailua-​Kona Hawaii. My family and I we’re missing good Mexican food and we’re happy we found this place.
Update — We went back a couple of days after my first review and they did it again! This time we tried their carnitas plate, tacos al pastor, and their shrimp tacos. Everything was delicious! 5 stars :)

I have a thing for Carne Asada Enchiladas and this place doesn’t disappoint! Their carne asada is moist, tasty and has a perfect amount of spice to it, they also sell Jarritos soda, which is almost mandatory when eating Mexican food. Highly recommended and owner operated #supportlocal

After I try most the Mexican place’s I found the real deal Mercadito Rincon mexicano

We really enjoyed our meal at this hole in the wall place. It’s located in a kind of local market with lots of stalls with local artists and sellers around. There’s a food court area where there are several restaurants you can order from and take back to tables in the center — sort of like a mall, but open air.
We found ourselves there on a rainy day eating a late lunch with mainly locals around. It was a really nice way to grab a casual lunch and satisfy our cravings for Mexican food.
I recommend it if you’re looking for a very casual dining experience.

Guided by fellow Unilocalers we trundled into Kona International Market’s food court at about 4 p.m., found all the tables empty and only one shop opened. Tucked in the corner is a tiny food counter tended by the owner. My husband ordered a beef burrito that had a ton of tasty beef and wasn’t very spicy but we were supplied with multiple different hot sauces and that did the trick. I opted for the shrimp ceviche which was HUGE, very well made, very fresh and tasty. I was happily surprised that they had Jarritos to drink. Next time we will take out but can hardly wait to come back and eat our way through her entire menu.

El Mercadito was very good. I don’t know why it’s so hard to find carnitas in Kona, but they were really good here. I’m originally from California and need good Mexican food!
I had the carnitas dinner plate and my friend had the carne asada dinner plate. Both came with refried beans, Spanish rice, guacamole and steamed corn tortillas. Both were very good.
I have been on a quest to try all the Mexican food in Kona and I am very happy to have finally tried El Mercadito. I am excited to return and try other menu items soon.
I have been a fan of Patricio’s, but have been frustrated by their lack of meat choices as they only have lengua as a Sunday special and no carnitas, but that’s standard fair here. I just wish I could find a taqueria that has tripitas and I would be a happy girl.

Came here since reviews said such great things didn’t have enough fish for my husband and I got money back for food still got charged for drinks. It cost just as much here as Kona brewery tacos no stars: (

First /​only time here. Cute counter –only taco stand in little food court adjacent to touristy shopping area, kinda hard to find.
If you like fish tacos, come here. People super-​friendly. Delicious sautéed fish tacos w/​good assortment of tasty hot sauce (green habanero very good). Tortillas serviceable, pico de gallo little boring but fine. Fish very fresh /​clearly made to order. Good chips to go along. Not sure when, but will def come back. Solid.

You can absolutely trust me that their Ceviche Tostada and their Al Pastor tacos are without equal in the state!!! There are many other tasty menu items, but these 2 are amazing & worthy if recognition from a true taco/​mexican food connoisseur! The Horchata is homemade and delicious as well. The location is the only downside. .I hope they can move onto Alii.

Lunch was so delicious. Local fish tacos, chili verde, shredded beef tacos, rice, beans… everything was so ‘ono. Even the rice was as it should be… not like weird red Chinese style fried rice… better than any Mexican place on Oahu. Not picturesque but we came to eat!

This place is the spot! My mother is Mexican and her food is great, so I know good authentic Mexican food. If this place was in down town Kona, it would be very busy. Reasonable prices too. Read my review for the so called Mexican taqueria in down town.

Growing up in the Southwest of the mainland, good Mexican food is not only something well known to me, but near and dear to my heart. I constantly hear newcomers to the islands like myself complain about the lack of quality Mexican food here in Kona. Well, complain no more. We discovered El Mercadito in the Kona International Market on Luhia St. (Industrial section of town).
After the sad demise of the late great Adriana’s in the ChoiceMart mall in Captain Cook, I had all but given up expecting some great Mexican food here at home. But running around after our errands yesterday my wife and I stumbled on to El Mercadito by accident, because we were actually going to our favorite BBQ joint in Kona only to find it had gone out of business. The aroma from El Mercadito caught our attention and we thought, what the hell. Good choice! For such a small establishment they had an extensive menu, with some great sounding specials on the front board. My bride and I had the chile relleno platillas (combos). Wow — delicious, big fat green chiles cooked in a type of pastry with cheese on top that just melted in your mouth! The spanish rice was actually just right, hot and tasty, not hard or mushy like you tend to get at other places. The refried beans, which are usually overlooked as filler in most Mexican restaurants, were just fantastic. I was tempted to ask for a triple order of those just to take home.
And the homemade tortillas! Three fresh, piping hot hand made beauties that brought back the West for me. Tasted right out of abuelita’s kitchen. You can tell the owners are the real thing, and know how to make the real thing.
All this operated by two of the sweetest ladies you’ll ever want to meet. Little warning: It’s not really a sit down place unless you don’t mind sitting in the wide open cafeteria style setting of the Mauka building of the Market complex. It’s perfect for taking out and eating by the beach or at home.
Thank you, El Mercadito, for giving this displaced Southwest boy something to satisfy his inner Mexican!