Tia Juana’s 
2291 Kaanapali Parkway
Lahaina, Hawaii
(808) 667-4080
Review by Chuck Racine
Southern California nights — always the possibility of a regular evening turning into a crazy, bizarre, tequila filled escapade, and it always started with someone saying, ” let’s go to TJ,” aka Tijuana, Mexico.
Tia Juana's Beach Cantina
Living in Maui such things seemed a thing of the past, until last Friday, as the words, “let’s go to Tia Juana’s,” left my lips and my youth flashed before my eyes. As anticipation built once again for the bursting flavor of tacos loaded with carne asada, cilantro, and my favorite salsa, I was whisked away to a familiar place. Home.
In Irvine, California, there is also a Mexican restaurant named Tia Juana’s which was near the train tracks in an old converted warehouse, close to my home. It was known for great food, live entertainment and a unique special called a “train shot” shared by all tequila lovers. Whenever the train would rumble by, the rattling the windows would signal bottom’s up by a bar full of shot slammers.
Although Maui is a far cry from Mexico or Irvine, Tia Juana’s second location has added some spice to Kaanapali’s restaurant line up. But no one is resting on their laurels here. All aficionados know that any Mexican restaurant worth the salt rimming their margarita glasses has to make a great first impression, accomplished with that first margarita and complimentary chips and salsa. To put TJ’s to the test, we tried a Ka’anapali Kick-Ass Margarita, a refreshing kick in the…you know what! Pineapple muddled with lime juice, agave nectar and Serrano peppers, hand-shaken with premium Cazadores Reposado Tequila and served on the rocks easily passes muster for Mexican food lovers.
The spiciness of the cocktail opened up all my taste buds and was the perfect accompaniment to the basket of warm tortilla chips. Loading a generous serving of fresh salsa on a homemade crisp and popping into my mouth, my taste buds shot six shooters in the air.
Tia Juana's Guacamole and Appetizer
We were just about to give up our basket of chips when our waiter, Aaron, recommended the Queso Fundido, a hot bowl of three cheeses roasted peppers and chorizo sausage served with warm tortillas and tri-colored chips. Fantastico!
As an entrée, we dined on my favorite, Carne Asada Tacos, and special menu items which I’ve never seen in Maui before, such as the Maui Cattle Company Steak Tampiqueno, a “Blackened Ribeye” carved in house, covered with Mexican spices and cooked to order. We finished it all off with Blanco Y Negro, TJ’s traditional flan baked over rich chocolate cake and topped with tequila caramel and fresh whipped cream. It was so sweet and moist we savored each bite. Robert, the General Manager of the restaurant, suggested we experience our dessert with a shot of Patron. Not wanting to offend, we happily obliged.
Between the great service and rustic, spacious decor, an unencumbered and atmospheric pulse beat through the restaurant. The rhythm was shared by staff and management as they ensured everyone enjoyed their experience to the fullest.
After dinner we tried to justify hanging around a little longer to listen to the Carrol Brothers playing downstairs at Donovan Frakenrieter’s Margarita Bar, but an early morning was summoning me back to my crib. There will be a next time. Guaranteed.
I just hope they’ll start promoting “train shots” whenever the Sugar Cane Train rolls by.
Tia Juana’s and Donavon Frankenreiter’s Margarita House always have something happening, from live music to different food specials such as Taco Tuesdays, all which can be found on their website. http://www.tiajuanas.com.
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Tune in to Chuck’s Corner this Thursday for the story behind the review:
The bartender was clearly hitting on my date, I had to do the only thing any man would do in a similar situation…
That was a great review. I can’t wait to read more of them.
Nice writing Chuckie, definitely makes me want to go.
I used to be a regular at the Tia Juanas’ in Irvine… my office shared a wall with that place… the food was good, the margaritas killer, the norteño music loud and into the night… good review, Chuck D… I’ll swing in there when we’re in town…
Awesome review, Chuck! We were over in January with a bunch of friends from Orange County and ate there almost every night to get our Mexican food fix! There’s enough variety in their menu where it really doesn’t get old. Plus, we would hang out downstairs in the Margarita House after dinner and listen to live music. All in all, a pretty hip and cool place for West Maui!!
While the review sounds great, the actual restaurant experience was terrible! Visited the place right after it opened, and the service was horrible. Margarita’s were extremely watery & tasteless. But decided to give it another try last week. Figured they’d had enough time to ‘work out the bugs’. WRONG! It started off when we first got there, and the hostess was in deep gossip coversation with an employee. We stood there for about 10 minutes until she finished up her story, all the while looking at us. Obviously knew we were there to eat, with 2 hungry young children, and rudely made us wait. We should’ve walked out but my husband really wanted Mexican food. Ordered the $12 guacamole, which the menu says is prepared table-side. It was not. But to top it off, it was rancid! The guacamole was gray in color- obviously not fresh. Probably made about a week prior. When we sent it back, the GM came over and said that the guacamole was no longer being made table-side (then take it off the menu)- in my opinion because they are not using fresh ingredients to make it. To make matters worse, my meal came with yet another serving of the rancid guacamole!! Even after they were told that the guacamole was rancid, they were continuing to serve it in the restaurant- and had the nerve to serve it back to me (again, I am 8 months pregnant). As if that wasn’t bad enough, the beans that they served with it were also putrid, and rancid as well. And we never got a single apology from anyone. So while the above write-up sounds great, people of Maui should know the real story about the place.