Honolulu Harry's - General Tiki

A Andrew Member Anaheim, CA Joined: Sep 10, 2003 Posts: 76	A Andrew Posted posted on Fri, Dec 5, 2003 10:27 AM So we suffered through rush hour traffic to reach the great desert beyond the canyon and it's promised Tiki oasis. Overall we were very happy with the experience. The exterior left something to be desired with no tikis in sight. The only hint of Hawaiiana, in fact, was lit torchs. Upon walking in the door, the first things seen were made of rattan and bamboo; looking a little better. The first tiki sighting was of brass tiki pole lamps on the bar. Whew. Near the hostess station was a brass hula dancer lamp (hands over head, plugged in, but not dancing) and a 2' carved tiki (vaguely Coombs and sort of out of place as the only tiki like that). Various classic menus (particularly Savage) and advertising pieces were framed (fake bamboo) throughout the restaurant. There was a rather large wall of water that pours in front of a Hawaiian scene (sort of like those wall paper scenes from the 60s and 70s). It was pretty cool, but not "wow!". The place was very polished and put together in a chain restaurant sort of way. Which isn't surprising since it and the one in Chino are the start of a chain . A branch in Temecula just opened and six more will open next year. It's reminiscent of going to Red Robin or Bennigan's, but classic Tiki. We ordered some outrigger sweet potatos and drinks as soon as we sat down. When my Mai Tai showed up I complained that it wasn't in the promised Tiki mug (available for $3.95). Sadly they had sold out. They did have the monkey mugs that the Funky Monkey drink came in. I asked what the Tiki mug looked like and he pointed at a drawing of Ku by us and said, "Kind of like that, but with more of a Tiki face." I interpreted that to me it was not a full body mug, but rather just a face. I joked with my wife after he left that you can't really get more Tiki than Ku. The drinks were pretty good with umbrellas, iris, and in my case (Jamie ordered a Kahlua Colada) pineapple and a cherry. The sweet potatos were truly awesome. They're slightly sweet and crunchy and the dipping sauce (chipotle ranch - not exactly Hawaiian) was slightly spicy. You can see a picture of them and read the full description on their Web site ( http://www.honoluluharrys.com ). Our food reminded us of Sam Choy items from Bali Hai or Polly's (during Hawaiian month). Sort of Pacific Island fusion with misc. other things thrown in for good measure. We were both happy with our main dishes (Macadamia Nut Chicken and Vegetarian Thai Fire Wok). The place had a constant flow of people while we were there. An interesting thing to note was that every group ordered cocktails. Usually if I was at a comparable non-Tiki restaurant, I wouldn't expect to see so much liquor flowing. Throughout the meal I would get up and check some thing or other that I would see in the room. There were random shelves with various Hawaiiana items (Tikis, mugs, bowls, bottles, outriggers, and what not). There was a mix of new and old stuff. The new stuff was along the lines of the resin statues or painted hula girl lamps that you can get at Hilo Hatties. On our way out we noticed a case in the front waiting area filled (but not packed) with Tiki mugs and other misc. collectibles (e.g. Disney's Enchanted Tiki Room 45, Jim Beam Kamehameha decanter, etc). There were a couple Orchids remakes and an OK selection of older mugs, but nothing really crazy. We had a good time. It doesn't have the "wow!" of a really well done individually owned Tiki restaurant (how many of those are left?), but I'm happy to see Tiki represented to the mainstream in this fashion and I hope the chain does well. I thoroughly expected it to be more Hawaiian than Tiki and to be similar to the Islands chain. If one opens closer to home we'd frequent it. We don't head out to the Inland Empire too often and already have a few restaurants that we like (Dragon House, Gerard's, and Miguel's for anyone keeping track) so I don't see us eating routinely at the Corona location, but we will definitely go back. I do plan on writing corporate and requesting a location near us, however. A

So we suffered through rush hour traffic to reach the great desert beyond the canyon and it's promised Tiki oasis.

Overall we were very happy with the experience.

The exterior left something to be desired with no tikis in sight. The only hint of Hawaiiana, in fact, was lit torchs.

Upon walking in the door, the first things seen were made of rattan and bamboo; looking a little better. The first tiki sighting was of brass tiki pole lamps on the bar. Whew. Near the hostess station was a brass hula dancer lamp (hands over head, plugged in, but not dancing) and a 2' carved tiki (vaguely Coombs and sort of out of place as the only tiki like that). Various classic menus (particularly Savage) and advertising pieces were framed (fake bamboo) throughout the restaurant. There was a rather large wall of water that pours in front of a Hawaiian scene (sort of like those wall paper scenes from the 60s and 70s). It was pretty cool, but not "wow!".

The place was very polished and put together in a chain restaurant sort of way. Which isn't surprising since it and the one in Chino are the start of a chain . A branch in Temecula just opened and six more will open next year. It's reminiscent of going to Red Robin or Bennigan's, but classic Tiki.

We ordered some outrigger sweet potatos and drinks as soon as we sat down. When my Mai Tai showed up I complained that it wasn't in the promised Tiki mug (available for $3.95). Sadly they had sold out. They did have the monkey mugs that the Funky Monkey drink came in. I asked what the Tiki mug looked like and he pointed at a drawing of Ku by us and said, "Kind of like that, but with more of a Tiki face." I interpreted that to me it was not a full body mug, but rather just a face. I joked with my wife after he left that you can't really get more Tiki than Ku. The drinks were pretty good with umbrellas, iris, and in my case (Jamie ordered a Kahlua Colada) pineapple and a cherry. The sweet potatos were truly awesome. They're slightly sweet and crunchy and the dipping sauce (chipotle ranch - not exactly Hawaiian) was slightly spicy. You can see a picture of them and read the full description on their Web site ( http://www.honoluluharrys.com ). Our food reminded us of Sam Choy items from Bali Hai or Polly's (during Hawaiian month). Sort of Pacific Island fusion with misc. other things thrown in for good measure. We were both happy with our main dishes (Macadamia Nut Chicken and Vegetarian Thai Fire Wok).

The place had a constant flow of people while we were there. An interesting thing to note was that every group ordered cocktails. Usually if I was at a comparable non-Tiki restaurant, I wouldn't expect to see so much liquor flowing.

Throughout the meal I would get up and check some thing or other that I would see in the room. There were random shelves with various Hawaiiana items (Tikis, mugs, bowls, bottles, outriggers, and what not). There was a mix of new and old stuff. The new stuff was along the lines of the resin statues or painted hula girl lamps that you can get at Hilo Hatties. On our way out we noticed a case in the front waiting area filled (but not packed) with Tiki mugs and other misc. collectibles (e.g. Disney's Enchanted Tiki Room 45, Jim Beam Kamehameha decanter, etc). There were a couple Orchids remakes and an OK selection of older mugs, but nothing really crazy.

We had a good time. It doesn't have the "wow!" of a really well done individually owned Tiki restaurant (how many of those are left?), but I'm happy to see Tiki represented to the mainstream in this fashion and I hope the chain does well. I thoroughly expected it to be more Hawaiian than Tiki and to be similar to the Islands chain. If one opens closer to home we'd frequent it. We don't head out to the Inland Empire too often and already have a few restaurants that we like (Dragon House, Gerard's, and Miguel's for anyone keeping track) so I don't see us eating routinely at the Corona location, but we will definitely go back. I do plan on writing corporate and requesting a location near us, however.
A

Post #63461 by Andrew on Fri, Dec 5, 2003 10:27 AM