Nachos in Paradise: Margaritas with Special Guest: Erika from Vegas

Margaritas is a small restaurant located on Sheridan Street. They have a daily happy hour from 2pm-6pm with $2 off all margaritas and $3 off tequila flights. The margaritas are worth a visit to the restaurant by themselves. They are made with fresh, quality ingredients and are available in a bunch of flavors such as lihing, lychee, and guava (the guava is my personal favorite).

The menu was recently updated to include nachos and we couldn't be any happier! Served on an elongated dish, the presentation is extremely pleasing to the eye. They are big enough for at least two to share and covered in fresh, delicious toppings. We partnered up and ordered away. For a small restaurant that was super packed, the food came out surprisingly fast. The bartender, Alex, was working his butt off shake shake shaking one margarita after the other that our group ordered. The lanai area was super pleasant, although a bit chilly for us in Hawaii. Luckily for us we had the nacho ponchos to keep us warm in the breezy weather that must have been way down in the 60s.

The majority agrees that we would go back and we would definitely eat these fabulous nachos again, perhaps with extra cheese! As one Nacho Friend says, "They give good chip."

This nacho night at Margaritas was probably the most international group we have had. There were two Canadians, two Brazilians, one Australian, and the bartender was from Bulgaria. This is why Hawaii is magical. Also proof that everyone loves nachos, wherever they are from! The Canadian ladies I met on a catamaran where they loved my sparkle jacket. I ended up giving them the jacket and we have plans to meet up in BC when I am there later this year on an Alaskan Cruise. I also have plans to meet up with the Australian when I am in Melbourne in the next few weeks so we can bring you a special edition of Nachos Down Under.

We were also celebrating the very special guest, Erika, all the way from Vegas who finally made it to Hawaii to celebrate her birthday. You might recognize her from the super epic nacho blog where we got to eat the famous trash can nachos. Soooooo cheesy.

Nachos: Fresh tortilla chips, house-made pico de gallo with queso fresco & guacamole - $12 (add chicken or carnitas $3, steak $5)

Rene (4+) – PRESENTATION: Lots! RAD: Wonderful light cheese sauce. LAME: Nachos came out before our drinks and they were cold by the time our drinks came. TOPPING TO CHIP RATIO: Light, but really fresh whole foods. Not sure that they are used to lots of customers.

Nacho Queen (4) – PRESENTATION: Great presentation. RAD: Great toppings. LAME: Service=C TOPPING TO CHIP RATIO: 1:4. Great company!

Ace Nacho (3.5) – PRESENTATION: Good size, like the guac scoops. RAD: The white cheese. LAME: Uneven topping spread, limited serving of steak on the nachos. Needs more cheese. TOPPING TO CHIP RATIO: 3.2. Fun place, nice margaritas.

Tango Tango (4.88) – PRESENTATION: Nacho Boat for maximum effect. RAD: So many margarita options! LAME: We sort of overwhelmed this place. I am sorry Margaritas! TOPPING TO CHIP RATIO: 4.88, spot on with good queso fresca. I would come again! Me gusta mucho! Sorry for our big group. We will be and it will be just the two of us next time.

Joyce (5*) – PRESENTATION: Very nice. RAD: Huge portions. LAME: None. TOPPING TO CHIP RATIO: Lots of all. Will come back again.

Brando (3.5) – PRESENTATION: Toppings on every chip, covered! Like Canada's healthcare. RAD: The serving dishes were RAD. It seems like they were made specifically for the nacho spread…like Nacho Libre's stretchy pants. LAME: Not enough cheese. I was really hoping for a lilliputian version of Rodney Dangerfield to come spread some classiness on this. TOPPING TO CHIP RATIO: 4, toppings on every chip! Great presentation, great margaritas to accompany, needs some cheese, maybe a side of sour cream. This place is a great place to eat. Staff are friendly, all kinds of margs, elongated nacho dishes. All in all BUENO.

Nacho Libra (4) – PRESENTATION: Classy wooden tray, nice. They look really appetizing! RAD: Lots of guac! Love the queso fresco and white cheese sauce. Both the pork and steak are yummy! And, BEANS! LAME: Lots of empty chips despite how full they looked. TOPPING TO CHIP RATIO: 3.5, loved all the toppings but could have used a bit more cheese. Never too much cheese. I'd enjoy them again. Happy Hour! The lychee margarita is tasty.

Shananigans (4.5) – PRESENTATION: Huge, elongated plate. Looks very pretty! RAD: Fresh ingredients, tasty margs, queso AND cojita, yummy guac, black beans. LAME: Server was a little overwhelmed and the drinks took a while but it was totally worth the wait. Things made with fresh ingredients always take a little longer, as they should. The nachos could have had more queso on them. There's never enough queso. Pour it on and drown my chips please. TOPPING TO CHIP RATIO: 4.5, the variety of toppings was well distributed and plentiful but needs more cheese. Lovely place, can't wait to come back.

Zack (5) – PRESENTATION: Beautifully arranged on a mahogany wood paddle. RAD: The chip. The chip is delightful. Just thick enough with a perfectly satisfying crunch. LAME: I got a bad piece of avocado in da guac. TOPPING TO CHIP RATIO: 5, liquid homemade queso, cojita cheese crumbles, beans, guac, salsa. Doesn't get much better for a veggie nacho. Great toppings and chips. Bulgarian bartender Alex is quite friendly.

Jim (5) – PRESENTATION: Big and long! Loaded! RAD: Creamy queso. Fresh, fresh, fresh everything! LAME: Not enough queso, salsa not automatic. TOPPING TO CHIP RATIO: Perfect ratio with toppings left over. Good tequila section, small place.

Son of a Chip (5) – PRESENTATION: It's a big boat of Nachos, lots of stuff on top. RAD: Lots of meat! There was so much it was easy to share. LAME: More cheese! You can't have enough queso. TOPPING TO CHIP RATIO: 4.75, there were toppings to the last chip. Could have used more queso. The nachos were great! The atmosphere was great! The service was underwhelming. The drinks tasted good though, hee hee.

Erika (4) – PRESENTATION: Looks delicious. RAD: Different (variety) of margaritas. LAME: A little small. TOPPING TO CHIP RATIO: 3. The atmosphere is casual and fun.

Anonymous (4+) – PRESENTATION: Wow! RAD: Looks absolutely beautiful! LAME: Serving system needs help, friendly people though. TOPPING TO CHIP RATIO: 50/50, good!

Nicole (5) – PRESENTATION: Beautiful presentation, long boat, very pretty. RAD: Delicious queso fresco, lots of guac, with crumbly queso, really yummy and subtle. House made chips! LAME: Nada. TOPPING TO CHIP RATIO: 5. Delicious!