Post #19837 by Sabina on Wed, Jan 15, 2003 9:29 PM

Donhonyc, you beat me to the punch over in the 'more NY tiki' thread :) I was going to write up a little bit on Lee's Hawaiian and suggest NY crawlers make a point of checking it out. Both of the two Lee's are within 2 or 3 miles of one another and Chan's is roughly 12 miles away. Assumedly, all three could be done in one evening if you wanted.

Mike and I have checked out both Chan's Dragon Inn in Ridgefield and Lee's Hawaiian in Clifton (haven't been to the Lyndhurst location). Both are nice and dim (a plus in my book) with excellent decor!

We visited Chan's last fall. It's already been described here pretty well- lots of little nooks and crannies to eat in wonderful vintage atmosphere, excellent staff, lots of Tikis, blowfish, etc. I recommend it!

And we visited Lee's Clifton just a few weeks ago in December as we made our trip down from New England.
http://www.njdiningguide.com/lees.html

The Lee's we visited was wonderful! Also VERY vintage, big comfy booths in little thatch roofed 'shacks', see the back of the top picture- http://www.njdiningguide.com/leespics.html_. Just out of that picture and to the right in the main dining room is a large waterfall running down a wall- very soothing, I believe there was a Tiki or two in the arrangement as well.

Lee's Food was tasty and fresh, the pupu platter comes flaming, and my drinks arrived in Tiki mugs (See the Exotic Island Drinks section- http://www.njdiningguide.com/leeswines.html, I recommend the "Tiki Tiki"!). The bar area is separated from the main dining room by a wall of bamboo and thatch, there was a small but inconspicuous TV very quietly playing the late afternoon game- easily ignored.

While Lee's didn't strike me as 'dripping with Tikis' there are some, and the atmosphere evokes true aloha spirit. The staff was just great too- friendly and laid back. It felt very much like a spot locals 'in the know' had been coming to since back in the day. Plenty of flaming rum sauces and broad smiles.

As for the physical building, from the outside it looks a bit like a gigantic old house, the bar area is to the left as you enter the main dining room. Off to the side there's another side room we barely peeked at, and a small area in the back off the main room with sort of a stage, which brings me to perhaps the most important point about Lee's Clifton, which is also mentioned on their webpage-

"Come join us every Saturday evening with Genuine Hula Dancers from Hawaii. Show Times: 7:30 & 9:15 pm."

Which, after a brief web search appears to be this group from New York- http://www.hawaiianartistsshows.com.

Now does this sound like a Tiki-must, or what? Need I saw more?