Post #36076 by aquarj on Tue, May 27, 2003 10:52 AM

Some very close acquaintances are planning a late July party somewhere in So-Cal, and would like any tips or opinions on locales, especially restaurants, so I'd like to use the vast collective knowledge here on TC! Tiki / polynesian is good, but other nice themed places might work. Ideally, the place would have good food and a private room where a (loungy) band can play - big enough for 30-40 people but still intimate. Off the cuff, here's what I could think of, and it'd be a great help to hear comments about these and other places...

Yamashiro's - not tiki, but very nice and good food

Trader Vics BH - do they have a good room for this kind of thing? I've only been to the bar area.

Bahooka, Damons, Sam's Seafood - all great decor, but maybe not quite the greatest food

The Reef (Long Beach) - nice view, nice food, some nice tropical rooms. There are probably lots more places like this in LA that I don't know about, that aren't necessarily tiki, but that have one or two tropical themed rooms for parties and weddings.

Anybody know of anything like the Encounter - sorta space-age or googie - but not located at the airport?

What about the San Diego places? I still haven't gotten a chance to visit them, but are any of them set up for this kind of thing?

Thanks in advance for any help...

-Randy