Serg’s Mexican Kitchen just opened in Kalihi, in the former space of Guieb Cafe’s Kalihi location.
The business has been open in Mānoa for about 17 years, according to chef Sergio Arellano. The biz has another location within the Midtown Eats food hall at The Park on Keʻeaumoku.
While business owner/chef Sergio Arellano says he wasn’t necessarily looking for another location, he thought the opportunity to open in Kalihi would be beneficial for customers.
“I’m excited to bring our delicious food to this side of town,” he says. “Plenty of people always say, ‘It’s hard to drive out to Mānoa,’ so I figured, maybe Kalihi will be more central for a lot more people. That’s what really pushed me to come to Kalihi.”
He says the Kalihi store came together in about one and a half months; the Kalihi location celebrated its grand opening on Nov. 1.
The menu is the same at all three locations, according to Arellano, who says his restaurant features family recipes and describes his cuisine as “Mexico City-style.” The restaurant offers a variety of tacos, burritos and sopes, along with house specialties like its famous flautas ($16.95) and enchiladas ($16.95-$17.95).
“The flautas are our signature dish; it’s a traditional dish from where my family’s from, Mexico City,” Arellano says. “It’s a popular dish in Mexico City; the flautas are our homemade flour tortillas. We stuff them with your choice of meat and we fry it to a golden brown, then top it off with our fresh-made avocado salsa, sour cream, queso fresco, cilantro and onions. We serve it with rice and beans.”
Sopes ($16.95), meanwhile, feature masa (corn) cakes with a choice of meat. They’re topped with beans, sour cream, queso fresco, cilantro and onions.
“Sopes is a very traditional Mexican dish,” Arellano says. “We fry these — they’re very delicate — to a golden brown. We top it off with homemade beans; sopes come with any meat you want. Customers can mix it up as well, and get one steak, one chicken and one chorizo.
“These are all family recipes,” he adds. “There are some I created myself, but for the most part, it’s my grandma’s, mom’s and dad’s recipes.”
Arellano says the eatery’s garlic shrimp plate ($18.95) — available in traditional garlic, garlic cilantro-lime or chipotle garlic — and chimichanga ($16.95-$17.95) are customer favorites. The latter features a 12-inch deep-fried flour tortilla stuffed with beans and rice, along with a choice of chicken or steak, pork carnitas, al pastor or sauteed veggies. It’s topped with sour cream, and served with guacamole or pico de gallo.
The business’s Mexico City-style tacos ($5.50-$6.50 each) and burritos ($16.95-$17.95) include a choice of protein, ranging from chorizo, pork carnitas and grilled chicken to grilled steak, al pastor and sauteed veggies. Tacos are usually served on grilled, 6-inch corn tortillas, and are topped with cilantro and onions. Burritos are stuffed with guacamole and pico de gallo, and come with beans and rice.
“Pork carnitas and steak are popular, but al pastor or carnitas would probably be our top two (proteins),” Arellano says.
Customers can also choose from housemade salsas, available in mild, medium, hot and super hot levels.
On the weekends from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m., Serg’s Mexican Kitchen serves Mexican breakfast. The breakfast menu includes dishes like huevos rancheros ($13.95), breakfast burritos ($13.95-$16.95), omelets ($11.95-$13.95), menudo, or traditional Mexican tripe soup ($13.95) and machaca, or scrambled eggs with shredded beef ($13.95).
“Anything you try on the menu, you will not be disappointed,” Arellano says.
CONTACT
Serg’s Mexican Kitchen
1311 N. King St. Ste. 6, Honolulu
sergsmexican.com
Instagram: @sergsmexicankitchen
Open 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. Mondays to Fridays, 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. Saturdays and Sundays
Kelli Shiroma Braiotta can be reached at kelli@alohastatedaily.com.
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