Hukilau Island Grill , Sacramento, CA (restaurant)

Name:Hukilau Island Grill
Type:restaurant
Street:1501 16th St
City:Sacramento
State:CA
Zip:95814
country:USA
Phone:916.444.5850
Status:operational

Description:
Good news for Nor Cal tikiphiles, the Hukilau (in Downtown Sacramento)is slowly evolving from a Denny's-like Tiki spot to a more toothsome establishment.

Collectable Mugs, Shag Menus and improvments are abundant.

If you've visited in the past, and left dissapointed, it may be time to go back.

Cheers

there are five Tiki's and at least as many Longboards. There is a very cool TIKI BAR sign in the back, its backlit with the stranded,flexible tubelighting that make the sign look VERY good. There is a well painted mural and vintage travel posters.
The mugs are Tiki Farm and have the Hukilau logo.
Drinks are either mixed or from the "slurpee" machine. The food is good and in the $7-$15 range.
The owners were there on our visit and said there would be alot more TIKI improvements in the coming months...

see you there

The Hukilau is a beautiful, airy, colorfull tiki destination, bar and restaurant.

Previously posted here
http://www.tikicentral.com/viewtopic.php?topic=12393&forum=2&1

[ Edited by: christiki295 on 2004-12-20 19:54 ]

I have been to the Hukilau twice and would give it a six maybe seven out of ten. The drinks are good (top shelf) but the food could have been alot better. The service was very good and the waitress from my first visit deserves a medal for tolerating my endless questioning about mugs. The signature drinks come in a collectible mug (X-Eyes from the farm with "Hukilau Island Grill/Sacramento, CA" on the back). They have a few decent hand carved tikis here & there but the atmosphere is what I would call "almost tiki". If they got rid of the widescreen tv's blaring out sports, turned the lights down and had some exotica in the background (not to mention a better cook) I think I would have enjoyed it more and would stop by alot more often. That however, should not deter you from giving it a try. It is worth a look, it just needs a little improvement in my opinion. Later.

Don't limit your tiki.

The polynesian pop tiki, with the dark hued wood, low ceilings and 50s exotica soundtrack, is excellent.

However, the bright and airy Hawiiana tiki not only just as good, but provides a more realistic island feeling.

We were there just a few weeks back on our crawl- here's an album of pix to help you get a feel for the place-

http://www.sevenpleasures.org/gallery/Hukilau-Sacramento

Avoid slushy machine drinks!

Aloha, Sabina.

Mahalo for the glorious photos.

The Audity (Mom) and I were at the Hukilau on Sunday when they opened. Bad news (??)-they are closing in 2 weeks for redecorating. They will be closed for 2 weeks. The server (Courtney) told me everyone there is being kept in the dark about the decor. I twisted her arm and she said they are adding things to the menu, knocking out the curved wall in the first diningroom (not the "Tiki Room") and opening it up to the kitchen. Then she said she overheard the decorator telling the owners they should paint the bathrooms red and black. They are also making another patio on the diningroom side so people from that side of the restaurant will see them better.

They are at the 3 year mark and have been struggling. The guys own an Italian place downtown, too.

Tikitwosome: did I meet you at Capital Nursery on Sunday buying bamboo poles for your tikibar?

Aloha!

Tacky

Aloha all,
I can't speak for the Sacramento or Palo Alto locations, but I can for the San Francisco location. Small roach coach kitchen...peeling tarnish on the wooden plates, which by the way is illegal since it harbors all kind of bacteria. Sub-level food...it really isn't good at all...L&L, or Ono's is better. Perfect example of someone trying to cash in on the Tiki genre. Patronize at your own risk.

Mahalo

[ Edited by: BornTiki 2007-09-21 15:19 ]

The Hukilau Island Grill in Sacramento was closed in May 2006 and was converted by its owners into an Italian restaurant called Pronto.

http://www.bizjournals.com/sacramento/stories/2006/05/08/newscolumn1.html
http://www.prontogo.com

On 2007-09-21 15:02, BornTiki wrote:
Aloha all,
I can't speak for the Sacramento or Palo Alto locations, but I can for the San Francisco location...

There does NOT seem to be any connection between the Hukilau Island Grill in Sacramento and the Hukilau chain of restaurants in Honolulu, San Jose, and San Francisco (now closed). Despite the similar names they appear to be unrelated.