Went to Hola in Orewa on a Friday night after a welcome night off work.
It was a great surprise when we arrived to see there was live music. The place was buzzing so much so the chef was a little wild and seemed to be frantically trying to be a part of the front of house as much as she was the kitchen. Needless to say things seemed to work better when she was were she was supposed to be!

After a customary tequila and the usual free corn chips and salsa we ordered chicken wings and nachos to start. We waited a long time but it was OK with the music and the busy restaurant bad. The nachos were fine and quite standard, the chicken wings were great beautiful BBQ flavour and I could of eaten a whole lot more!

Between the four of us we had enchiladas, 2 fajitas, and burrito. I liked the theatre of receiving the tortilla in the warm box and making your own fajitas, and the chopped steak was delicious. All the food was tasty and the usual flavours you expect from a Mexican restaurant.

Overall the food was decent, the atmosphere was great with the live music and the service staff I thought were very efficient, they had to contend with a busy restaurant with not much space to move and a chef who seemed to scare the life out of them with lots of unnecessary shouting and growling and maybe without that the food would of been that much quicker which was one of the only downfalls.

Huge portions! I was totally unprepared for the size of the meal I got (which is a good thing). The food tasted great and you could tell the staff cared a lot about their guests and had pride in the place, it really made you feel genuinely positive about the place. Fantastic staff! Another great addition to Auckland's fledgling Mexican restaurant roster.

I must've got them on a bad day too. Staff were friendly but the food wasn't that great. The Nacho's were oily, that's all I could taste. I'm a nachos fan but there's were the worst I've ever had, definitely wouldn't dine there again.

At looking at the other reviews I must of got them on a very very bad day. Service was crap and the food was reheated in a microwave and I asked for hot and got mild with no favor not what you would expect for a mexican restaurant.
Have heard simular comment from others.
Sorry will not be going back.

My absolute favorite place to dine, I love Ho-la! The food selection is wide, the prices are fantastic and the waiting staff are super friendly. The wait time for food is minimal and drinking a delicious margarita while waiting for your meal is heaven. The inside and outside is authentic with Mexican decor (even cactus's outside). I go here at least once a week its that awesome.

Great Food, Nice selection of Mexican Beers, Outstanding service and the ladies tell me the Margaritas are unbelievable!
Also cater for families very nicely and have a great range of Gluten Free options!

I have been to Hola a number of times and after recently travelling to Mexico I can only say that Hola provides absolutely authentic Mexican cuisine and the service and speed of meals has always exceeded all expectations! We often take family and friends from out of town there in large groups and they are always accomodating! Very Child friendly!

We went to Hola Mexican Restaurant last weekend and the food was great! We took the kids and they loved it - even ate their food! The margaritas are to die for! Very reasonable for a family and great flavours - very much like what we had in California last year! Go there, you will like it!

Excellent food - great people - always really friendly. We have been a couple of times Hola! Mexican Restaurant and never had a bad experience. And they are very tolerant of kids too! Fast becoming our fav' place to go.

Well worth the trip out on a week day evening once the traffic has died down. We got to Hola! Mexican Restaurant in 45 minutes from Mt Albert and enjoyed a great margarita which was just tart enough and was nicely balanced with the sweet and salt flavours. We threw these down while snacking on the complimentary corn chips (imported and definitely a cut above the local varieties) and homemade salsa.


The cheese dip we had for a starter was tasty and you can choose whether you want it to be spicy or plain.


The same goes for the burritos where you can choose how hot you'd like them. Mine was made with chunks of melt-in-the-mouth beef which had been slow cooked. Best friend and boyfriend's chicken burritos also delish. Both were made traditionally with black beans as opposed to kidney beans, the cheaper option normally used in NZ.

Other options included fajitas and a fabulous looking salad inside a big corn tortilla shell. Against our best intentions, we had chocolate brownie and cake for dessert - both lovely. The bill was reasonable and the service excellent. We'd definitely venture north again for this Mexican feast.