Post #725037 by JudyLuck on Sun, Aug 10, 2014 1:06 PM

Okay everyone... I went to Kahuna Tiki for the friends and family event... heres my review.

Let me start off by saying that the owners are very nice. We met them at a Tiki event and they were TRYING to reach out to the scene, possibly even understand it a bit better. However, they should have done more research.... We do greatly appreciate the generous discount, making our meal inexpensive, but... sorry guys, here it goes...

I never visited the previous Jungle themed restaurant that was here before, but I did know it had a lagoon layout and was hopeful because of this. As we were walking up we noticed the first problem... a sushi bar, next to a PACKED sushi bar, this could be a difficult start. The exterior is simple with "Kahuna Tiki" painted on a black wall with three Tiki's and a few torches. When you walk in, two waterfalls are in view and the lagoon still stands, creating the perfect atmosphere. There is even a cave room where you can be seated and have more privacy. However, with a quick glance its easy to see the problems. There are only a few tables scattered around, and an inside sushi bar, with a few more tables. Not enough lighting ( people were using cellphones to see the menus, plus walking around was difficult in dark corners), and no heat lamps for this outdoor location, so bring a sweater! Hanging are tiki themed round lamps, glass ball floats, and some generic masks.

When we were greeted things seemed a little hectic (this was the opening for friends and family), and there was some confusion on where we should be seated. I noticed the female servers were in sarongs, and everyone else did not have much of a uniform. This made it confusing as to who was in charge. We even heard the owner say " you need to wear a Hawaiian shirt to be in character." That was a red flag to me, if this is a character and not your lifestyle, you will never truly understand.

Once the hostess figured out where to seat us, we were seated in a covered booth. Throughout the night it was never clear who actually was our server, because we had about six, with one that came back three times. This same guy awkwardly waited by us and needs to be trained on how to properly serve customers. One of the servers even took away one of our sushi orders because she thought it was hers, a few min. later a different server returned with the same roll.

For our meal, we ordered four different rolls, and edamame with iced tea. The tea took a very long time to get to us, and the glasses it came in were giant, more for a beer. They gave us no dishes for soy sauce, or an extra dish for the edamame peels. We asked twice for dishes and napkins, mostly because the edamame was COVERED in garlic. It was also served hot (which I liked), but was listed as a cold appetizer.

Speaking of, lets talk about the menu.... There are waaaaaay too many appetizers on the menu, cold and hot, (and why are they listed separately?). The items are a little odd ball for sushi, tiki, or any restaurant. And there are several misspellings.

At this time they did not have alcohol, but supposedly beer, wine, and sake will be served. I had hoped to try the Lobster Mac N Cheese, but when we ordered it the server told us they were out. Interesting because the table across from us ordered it, and they got it. Our sushi was okay but not the best, and with so much confusion, the amount of time we waited, and the overall letdown of decor... we wont be back.

And yes as many of you guessed, there were no actual tiki drinks or any talk of them being made in the future. Go down the street to Tonga Hut instead.