Post #2473 by SugarCaddyDaddy on Wed, Jun 19, 2002 11:58 PM

Royal Hawaiian Restaurant, Laguna Beach, California

Well, here's what happened in a nutshell (or should I say coconut?)

Made 6:30 reservations for Tuesday night. Arrived with my wife & 3 y.o. daughter. Had a waitress who acted like she had no patience for anyone (keep in mind there was only my family and 2 other couples in the restaurant area). Looking around, the decor seemed a bit like someone had bad ebay buying judgement one night. It was a bit drafty, and looking up above our heads my wife and I noticed that the restaurant installed gray Vornado fans at each table and they were pointed right down at the tables....why? we determined that it was to keep the musty smell of the carpets from overwhelming you. The draft isn't what we minded...it was the musty/moldy smell which got smellier the closer you got towards the bathroom area. Ok, for the food? Well, both my chicken and my wifes steak (on skewer) were very overcooked, and my daughters hamburger was so-so. Both of our potatoes were served shriveled up (basically cooked to death and could have passed for a cheap shrunken head). I had to have them take back my chicken (no amount of mai tais could help the dryness) and ordered a hamburger. I've heard the dressing for the salads were "fabulous" but when we got the salad, it was just chopped lettuce (yes, just chopped lettuce) with a dressing no more tasty/tangy than lo-cal mayo. Oh, and no tiki mugs available, no drink stirrers, or even cocktail napkins as a souvenir. The tikis outside the restaurant look like someone literally took a big bite out of them (it probably was more juicy than their chicken)...half of the 'face' of the tiki was gone! Now, I'm not a picky person, and can stand one or two things 'not right', but the whole night was TERRIBLE. Am I alone on this one or has anyone else seen this bad place? Hard to believe it has been around since 1947.

SugarCaddyDaddy

[ Edited by: sugarcaddydaddy on 2002-06-20 00:01 ]