My husband and I don't have what the British would call a "local" — a place near home where we regularly eat, drink and hang out. On our first visit to Mexico — the restaurant in Kalihi, not the country — we thought maybe we'd found it. We can see the restaurant sign from the deck of our Kamehameha Heights home and had watched as remodeling proceeded on this School Street storefront upstairs from the basement that houses the Puerto Rican Association's social hall.

One weeknight, we went with our visiting daughter and son-in-law and had a fabulous time. The lone waitress was cheerful and engaging; she explained that Mexico is a sister restaurant to Mexico Lindo in Kailua and formerly in Kane'ohe. When the owners lost the lease on their Kane'ohe eatery, they looked around and found this 50-seat site, which has been spruced up with bright paint and Mexican chachkas.

The strolling musicians, a voluble and talented couple called the Ortegas, let me sing along with "Cielito Lindo" and "Los Chiapanicas." The ceviche (fish marinated in lime juice with avocado and fresh tortilla chips, $11.50) and crab enchiladas (a hefty wrap of crab and cheese with green chili salsa and sour cream, $14.50) were flat-out delicious.

It was the first time I've seen an Island Mexican restaurant handle seafood well; I can recommend the shrimp dishes, too, including decadent garlic shrimp with melted jack cheese and pico de gallo sauce ($12.95) and zesty chipotle shrimp, sizzling on a skillet ($12.95). Haven't tried the chorizo shrimp yet — shrimp and spicy sausage in chipotle sauce with pico de gallo ($12.95).

And the prices were right.

Another night we ordered takeout: carnitas (slow-braised pork with tortillas and fresh salsa, $13.15), beef and chicken burritos ($8.50 each). All good and filling.

I was full of enthusiasm when I invited a girlfriend to join us on a Saturday night. I was already calling it "our place."

But I'm afraid it's only going to be our place on weeknights. The room was almost packed when we arrived about 7 p.m. and, instead of the acoustic Ortegas, there was a plugged-in singer-guitarist setting up in a corner.

As we perused the menu and waited for wine glasses (we'd brought wine — no liquor license yet), I scribbled the word "loud" in my notebook. A couple of pages later, among the comments about how much we liked the El Toro wings (sort of buffalo wings with sprightly tomato sauce and ranchero dressing in place of blue cheese, $8.95) and how there's a disappointing sameness to so many Ameri-Mex restaurant dishes (more on this later), I wrote "NOISE!" in capital letters with an exclamation point.

We ordered flautas (stuffed, deep-fried tortillas, $8.95), which were OK but not remarkable. I had a sope, having recently learned how to make them (thick open-face corn tortilla topped with beans, lettuce, sour cream and choice of meat, $9.95); unfortunately, the tortilla was soggy. The hit of the night, however, was husband's mamamia burrito (fresh fish and shrimp, cheese and veggies with beans and rice, fresh salsa and papaya-avocado relish, $13.95).

By the time our entrees arrived, with the musician in full cry and a couple of family parties in the house, the noise level had risen to the point where it was a physical force, a presence in the room with which you had to contend. We gave up on conversation and just ate and people-watched; my husband had long since taken out his hearing aids because the din was excruciating for him.

The reason I can't tell you anything about the desserts (fried bananas with ice cream, $3.95; churros with ice cream, $4.25; cheese flan, $3.95 and more) is that we had to leave as soon as we finished eating. We couldn't have sat in that room one more minute without losing our sanity.

I could deliver a diatribe about restaurant noise levels but, since I encounter this problem all too routinely, I've concluded that restaurateurs don't care. They either think that noise equates to popularity or they aren't willing to spend the money to make alterations to reduce the decibel levels. What they don't seem to realize is how often people like me leave and never come back, even if we liked the food.

I will go back to Mexico, but never on a weekend. There are several dishes on the refreshingly varied starter and chef's special menus that I'd like to try (mushroom skillet, $4.50 or $8.50; puerquito ribs, $15.50; carne arriera, a steak marinated in rancher sauce, $12.95), and I've just got to have the crab enchiladas again.

And just a parting word about the bewilderingly long menus in Ameri-Mex restaurants (five sections of more than a dozen dishes each at Mexico). When you read closely, most dishes have exactly the same moving parts: tortillas (corn or flour), protein (beef, chicken, pork, beans or seafood) with lettuce and tomatoes, beans and rice, salsa and garnishes such as guacamole and sour cream. Wouldn't it make more sense to just print a mix-and-match grid from which diners could pick their variables to compose a burrito, taco, relleno, enchilada, quesadilla or torta plate? Shorter, clearer menus save time, confusion and expense.

Reach Wanda A. Adams at wadams@honoluluadvertiser.com.