I had the pleasure of attending Huli Huli Tiki Lounge as a patron this past Friday. Although its official opening is tomorrow, it has been operating as a soft open for the past two weeks or so. That said, the staff seemed to be on point and I did not see any sign of growing pains. I’m going to share the following under headings; take this as you will from a non-tikileet who has been around the block a couple times.
LOCATION:
The location is in a suburb of the city, so it is more of a “small town” setting instead of urban. The Friday nite clientele seemed to be bar hopping, so more on that later.
DRINKS:
The drinks are phenomenal – I was pleased with all the selections I had. Flava was great, presentation/garnish was top notch. There were a variety of glass vessels as well as tiki mugs. There is also a moai Flounder mug that matches the full-scale Moai in the bar, although I did not see any drinks served in that particular mug. That is not to say they don’t use it, I just didn’t see it from my vantage point. Also, the staff was totally aloha-weared out, that was great to see.
MUSIC:
All surf all the time! The music was well curated and was appropriately upbeat for the vibe of the bar. I like some exotica, but I think this was a wise choice by the owners to go with the Dick Dale / Ventures style selections.
FOOD:
The food is small plates, and it works out great for this type of establishment. The seating is scaled for small plates instead of large entrée-style eating. We got the SPAM sliders, the Huli-Huli chicken wings, and the Hala Kahiki skewers. I’m biased toward SPAM, but they were regardless well prepared and dressed. The Huli Huli wings are kick-ass, but obviously sticky if that matters to your paws.
DÉCOR:
I left this for last, as I know as currently configured, many TC folks would take a look and say, “zat is not tiki!!!” I’ll say this: it’s a good start, a somewhat blank slate, if you will. I would characterize it less in the realm of a classic Trader Vics or like The Inferno Room in Indianapolis, and more like PF Chaing’s with some nice tiki stuff. The choice of materials at the bar were beautifully executed, and the light fixtures, mugs, art etc were mos def chosen by someone with an artistic eye. There was no matting or tapa that I could see in any prevalent way: the main texture was more a driftwood kind of reclaimed wood. I understand that the owners put substantial money into renovating the exterior of the building, so from a priorities standpoint I can understand if the main focuses were exterior, then bar and kitchen for its startup. But, a tiki bar is never done, right? I think some subtle accretion of tikinalia over time would not hurt.
Also, I saw one TV, but it just had an image of a sandy beach. I hope it never has “the game” or CNN, that would kill the mood, but that’s just me.
SUGGESTIONS:
I know we all have our own personal “how I would have done it” opinions, and I trust that the owners made deliberate decisions in order to make this a viable business. One thing I would try to do is perhaps have a way to inform the clientele about Columbus’ specific tiki history, if not Midwest and overall tiki as well. Perhaps incorporate some “history” into the menu with some images of the Kahiki? Or perhaps artwork that showcases some Kahiki artifacts and images. Adding some t-skip lamps that throw back to Kahiki history might help too – something the bartenders could point out to imbibers. If I were to ever speak with the owners, I would be inclined to offer to loan some masks or other décor to up what was once referred to as the “TiPSY” factor.
So, to circle back, I think it’s a solid place out of the gate. I’m looking forward to see if/how it gets a little more tikified, and regardless it’s nice to have another bar/lounge that makes excellent drinks and food in the area.
[ Edited by: Johnny Dollar 2019-02-04 09:27 ]
