Post #789235 by kevincrossman on Sat, Aug 18, 2018 12:11 PM

Tiki Bar #27 in 2018 for me is a new one here in the Bay Area. Hula Hoops is in the city of South San Francisco and is located in an upscale strip mall right off 280. The restaurant and bar serves Hawaiian-inspired fare and pizza along with a nice selection of tiki drinks. I had lunch near opening on a Saturday and it was not crowded. The waitress asked if I’d like to sit in the Tiki Lounge. Well, yes, as a matter of fact I do think I would. The decor here is by Bamboo Ben and the tiki lounge in particular is a nice space. Though the ceiling is mostly open, this space does do a nice job of shutting out the outside world. Currently (this seems to have changed since opening) there are two lounge chairs plus two 2x tables in here. Comfy!

I had the Spam Sliders and they were delicious. Service here was excellent (WiFi helped since this is a dead zone for AT&T). I first ordered the Mai Tai which is made with Real McCoy rum. This was a lighter but still high-quality 1944 Mai Tai. No pineapple juice at all! Several of the selections are listed as being from Doc Parks/Pagan Idol, which is an indication that ownership wanted to make sure the cocktails were on point. I then had the Pineapple Express, which is from Parks. Delicious! There were several other cocktail selections that looked good and their rum selection is also fairly robust.

This is a family-oriented space and does feature several large TVs and a focus on community gathering for local sports. I know this place was packed for the NBA playoffs. They have Hawaiian-inspired live music on Wednesdays and Fridays, which in my mind somewhat makes up for the Reggae that was playing when I visited. I’m not a total hater for this (better than Top 40!), though would have loved more Hawaiian or Surf inspired music.

Hula Hoops is a neighborhood bar and restaurant. If it was in a lower-rent location we’d call it a dive bar, which is why I’m willing to give them a wide berth of the benefit of the doubt. They can’t all be dark caves playing Les Baxter. I’m happy to endorse this family destination and plan to return.