New Tiki Place Opening in Hermosa Beach

The former La Campana Restaurant on Hermosa Avenue has closed, to be replaced in July by Banzai Beach Tiki Lounge. Though it won't open until late July, I have been inside - though it is still under construction, they seem to be going all out on the tiki theme. The name is weird, though - there used to be a Japanese restaurant by that name here, and they have reused the name even though the menu and decor are completely different. I will report on it as soon as it is open.

Cool :D. I will be looking forward to seeing what it looks like.

Hey, that's right down the street from my tattoo artist. Can't wait until it opens :)

Who's doing the decor??

I don't know who is doing the interior, but will find out.

Looks like the beginnings of a website.
http://banzaihb.com/

On 2013-07-08 18:36, RumFicionado wrote:
The former La Campana Restaurant on Hermosa Avenue has closed, to be replaced in July by Banzai Beach Tiki Lounge. Though it won't open until late July, I have been inside - though it is still under construction, they seem to be going all out on the tiki theme. The name is weird, though - there used to be a Japanese restaurant by that name here, and they have reused the name even though the menu and decor are completely different. I will report on it as soon as it is open.

Nice way to jump on board.

Update: I went there this afternoon to see if I could get a look during construction, and it turned out that they are soft opening tonight. The interior was designed by the owner, who is a tiki fan but never designed a place of this genre before - it is a well-integrated and restrained combination of 50's modern and tiki at the bar and main dining area, with a separate and more sparsely decorated room that is that is used for Japanese teppanyaki grilling. For another cross-cultural twist, the chef also likes to make Italian food, so if you want crab Rangoon, Japanese noodles, and lasagna, with mai tais on the side, this is the place to go. I'll try to get there for dinner and drinks soon and will report on the experience.

Sounds promising, but I wish these outside jobs would get us involved
so we can make their lives a living Tiki Hell!

And Ben does MCM & Tiki too! & we can't loose him to the Islands....

On 2013-07-11 18:01, Atomic Tiki Punk wrote:
Sounds promising, but I wish these outside jobs would get us involved
so we can make their lives a living Tiki Hell!

And Ben does MCM & Tiki too! & we can't loose him to the Islands....

And.... Asian style too! :wink:

Art Snyder's Meditation Gardens. RIP ART!

I did a recon trip down there yesterday afternoon...it opens at 5:00PM. They have limited underground parking, just north of the building...which is located on the east side of the street. There is also a PAY TO USE public parking lot, just south of Pier Avenue, on the West side of the street...about a short block north of the lounge.

Ho-Tep-Nefti
Tiki Goddess Extraordinaire

[ Edited by: Ho-Tep-Nefti 2013-07-29 08:02 ]

I stopped in on Friday night and they were open but the place was quiet - they have done no advertising out of concern for a rush before bartenders and staff are ready. I got a picture with my camera, and include it even though it isn't great. I don't know whether it's still a work in progress of if they're going to keep embellishing the place.
No report on the cocktails yet; I would have stopped for a drink but had someone waiting in the car.

Flat Screen TVs, nooooooooooo!

Jeff btd

Yes, I didn't like the TVs either.

Any updates?

Gonna check it out this afternoon-full report in the morning. Got bumped out of yesterdays planned visit to Ventiki by bad weather-not gonna happen today!
Cheers

Anyone know if the drinks are any good here?

On 2013-07-23 10:07, nui 'umi 'umi wrote:
Gonna check it out this afternoon-full report in the morning. Got bumped out of yesterdays planned visit to Ventiki by bad weather-not gonna happen today!
Cheers

Oh no! got bumped again! They're closed on Tuesdays.
Cheers

Update on Banzai Beach & Tiki Lounge in Hermosa Beach. They ARE open, but MAY be having their GRAND OPENING this Friday night, July 26, 2013 at 5:30. CALL TO CONFIRM. The subterranean parking lot was closed, so we parked in the Public Parking lot half a block North from Banzai, on the West side of the street. We each had a Mai Tai, which was very good. We ordered dinner in the Teppan Grill room, where Chef Ricky created Teriyaki Steak, and chicken, with a shrimp appetizer. Each meal came with the shrimp appetizer, a bowl of soup, island-influenced salad, and rice. Everything was fresh and delicious! Chef Ricky created an onion volcano for us, during the preparation of the vegetables. Everyone there was friendly, and helpful. DEFINITELY WILL GO BACK!!!!!

Ho-Tep-Nefti
Tiki Goddess Extraordinaire

[ Edited by: Ho-Tep-Nefti 2013-07-29 08:03 ]

Got there about 830 this evening. Staff was very friendly and they very much want to be a "tiki bar". I like to be upbeat and look on the bright side of everything. They have an ambitious drink menu,(painkiller,mai tai, navy grog,etc., the usual suspects) but don't know how to craft them. I don't mean they make bad drinks- I mean they do not have the recipes for them. However they seemed sincere in their eagerness to learn how to make proper "tiki" bevs and also seemed very interested in 'tiki culture". John-O clued them in to the "Beach Bums books-We'll see what happens. The dinner menu also looked good but we arrived well fed so we did not order any grinds. The decor was tiki light although I really liked the black and Burgundy leatherette booths we were seated at. Right now this place is a typical California beach bar with a
"tiki"theme.
Hopefully John-O will chime in with his thoughts on this locale.We both ordered a navy grog which the staff gladly took back when they noticed our displeasure with a very undrinkable version of this classic tiki drink. My wife had a Mai Tai which she said was okay.
We can only wish them well,I clued them in to Tiki Central, again, we'll see what happens. Dems som nice folks ova der!
Banzai Beach Teppan Grill and Tiki Lounge, 934 Hermosa Ave., #7, upstairs
Open 5pm, closed Tuesday, Happy hour ,5-6 pm.
Grand Opening this Saturday, 1$ beer and dancers 310 374-3747

[ Edited by: nui 'umi 'umi 2013-07-26 00:02 ]

Maybe if they hear about Tiki Central enough from everyone, it will help. We told them about the site, the culture, and the anticipation here, about them opening...and how some locations bring in some of the Tiki Central mixologists for Tiki nights. They seemed to like that idea...hopefully the owner will follow up on that.

Ho-Tep-Nefti
Tiki Goddess Extraordinaire

[ Edited by: Ho-Tep-Nefti 2013-07-30 07:39 ]

Went there this evening and had a interesting evening - decent mai tai, very good teppanyaki dinner, but they don't know how to make a navy grog. They didn't charge me for the one I sent back, and their attitude is very good - eager to please and to figure out how to do this right. They have the Beachbum Berry book behind the bar and are trying to learn from it. I mentioned to the manager that the TV's showing sports are a buzzkill - hope others do so and maybe they will turn them off or put on something appropriate. Music is a mix of reggae, surf, and 90's pop - if they got the 90's stuff out and focused on island music it would be a good mix.

On the whole, worth visiting to support and give them advice on how to do this thing.