Huli Huli Tiki Lounge & Bar , Powell, OH (restaurant)

Name:Huli Huli Tiki Lounge & Bar
Type:Lounge
Street:26 W. Olentangy St.
City:Powell
State:OH
Zip:43065
country:USA
Phone: 614-396-8437
Status:operational

Description:
This establishment bills themselves as Hawaiian BBQ, with a Tiki Lounge & Bar serving specialty small plates and drinks.

https://www.columbusunderground.com/huli-huli-tiki-lounge-bar-opening-soon-in-powell-ls1

[ Edited by: Johnny Dollar 2019-01-21 11:59 ]

Hey everybody! I'm actually working at Huli Huli as a bartender (but don't let that scare you away). We have been soft open for a couple of weeks, and our Grand Opening Week starts Tuesday, February 5th.

Our menu is mostly small bites, all Tiki appropriate. Some of the highlights for me are the Bao Buns, Huli Wings, and of course there are Spam Sliders.

The cocktails are mostly early tiki classics from the 30's, 40's, and 50's, and faithful renditions at that.

I don't have an updated picture to add to the one above, but suffice to say, the place has had a lot of decor added to give it a richer feel.

If you can, come join us!

https://www.facebook.com/Huli-Huli-Powell-2206887252911293/

Nice! I will be paying you guys a visit for sure. Best of luck!

hey PeguDoug, I was there friday - I was the guy in the aloha shirt, lol

i have some photos and some observations - shall share.

which bartender were you if there Friday nite?
ADDENDUM: ok i put the tiki handle and your instagram account together - i know who you are! lol

see you guys again soon,

j$

[ Edited by: Johnny Dollar 2019-02-04 07:47 ]

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 ]

"Adding some t-skip lamps that throw back to Kahiki history might help"

I did take some lights and show them, It's a pain to cart all this tiki crap around Ha! it's still in my car.

Looks like Lena tied the floats, they look good.

BUT they also came to my house and got one Kahiki table, they really had no interest in the other kahiki items I showed them.
Lets just say the prices were lower than ONE of those hanging Moai lights.

After I saw the place in your pics I can see that old Kahiki stuff and even my lights would not match the décor that they have in there now.

Shag stuff on the other hand would go well.

Good luck Huli Huli.

Very nice review, Johnny Dollar. I really enjoyed reading it. Everyone needs a place with good drinks and good vibe nearby!!

mahalo, ace!
cheers,

j$

Great report, Johnny Dollar.

Nice report and pictures Johnny $$. They want to add more TIKI so time will tell.

Like you said the drinks, food and service were great!!

I will be spinning Exotica music at the Huli Huli from 7-10pm on Saturday, February 16th. Stop by and say hello as I spin some classic Les Baxter, Martin Denny and Robert Drasnin!! :)

Cheers and Mahalo,
Jeff

Stopped in at Huli Huli for opening night. Sampled heavily from food & drink menu. Can’t add too much to Johnnys great review; needs more (real) tikis! But very chill atmosphere, friendly staff. A nicely serviceable Mai Tai. Zombie presentation was cool; I prefer not to have dry ice actually in the drink tho. The standout was a blood orange Nui Nui which left me wanting a couple more.
Regardless, the bartenders knew what they were doing, and I look forward to them expanding their drink menu and hopefully having some of their own mugs available in the future. They also have a Cuban-style patio that I’m ready to visit when the weather breaks.
I do hope they make the wise decision to go full-tiki in the decor dept, as the drinks & atmosphere call for it. Columbus is a tiki town, and it would be nice to have a place in the burbs to call our own. If people are going to spend $100 or more on a few drinks & finger foods, they deserve an atmosphere to get lost in.
Congrats on a great opening Huli Huli; bring that Pele fire to Powell!

[ Edited by: happy buddha 2019-02-05 17:52 ]

Looks like you could get your own set of these (albeit in a different color)...

...over here: https://www.etsy.com/listing/524862440/tonga-and-tapa-avocado-turquoise-mid

Doug, congrats on the new gig! How appropriate for Tiki Month. Please don't be a stranger around here.

These were nice I saw them there when I went.

At $187.00 with delivery they are 4 times what I was asking for the original Kahiki sign I showed them.
But then at times deals can be made for some people and the price may have been lower for the wall art.

So I tried to get original Kahiki in the place.

There were other tiki up when I went no pictures of them here, were they taken down?
Is the Kahiki table in the place?

PS I don't leave feedback on restaurants or bars on any Facebook or yelp ect, as I don't have a Facebook account and can't leave one.

And never will.

[ Edited by: tikiskip 2019-02-06 14:16 ]

"Chic décor・Stylish interior"

Ha!
I don't know what to say, have never heard a tiki bar called Chic.

A lot of relator's seem to go there?
Maybe cuz it's "Chic"

On 2019-02-06 07:00, tikiskip wrote:
There were other tiki up when I went no pictures of them here, were they taken down?
Is the Kahiki table in the place?

We went here last weekend and to answer my own question there are lots of other tiki there they just were never photographed and posted here.
And they said they were going to put the Kahiki table up at a later date.

Thank you for your quick responses TCers.

So, Skip, did you take any photos of the "missing" stuff to add here?

Ha!
well the owner was right there and he knows I hated 98% of all the tiki he has in there so I did not.
But then ALL the other TC people that went there did not post pics of them as well, Hummm.

There are like close to 20 tiki so it would be hard NOT to get them in your photos of this place.

(he told me before they opened when I winced at the ones I saw on the bar that "they were not theirs and somebody else brought those in")

The owner Dustin is a very nice guy, he is a GREAT front man and was talking with everybody, very smart.
The bartender was very personable as well, and gave fast service.

Dustin put a ton of work into this place, it's all redone like new.
It's a very pretty bar, with very pretty customers.
None of the tiki freaks you see at other places, er as customers that is, maybe that's good.
The right side of the menu tells me the tiki locals won't come often.

Just don't know if the "pretty people" are the types to keep coming in after the novelty wears off.

I'm more of an old skool Hala Kahiki, Kahiki, Tiki Ti or Mai Kai with crap hagin everywhere kind of guy.

I hope Dustin does well.

I'm going to be DJ'ing again this Saturday (March 30th) at the Huli Huli.

Classic Hawaiian, Exotica and Surf music will be on the menu as well as some great tropical cocktails!!

See you then!! :)

Cheers and Mahalo,
Jeff

Missed the last one, was surprised you did not post that one here.
Good to see yer back at it.

Hey did you win a purse?

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Damn I missed Jutin Luvv DJing.

Maybe there is tiki rap now.

But then this is from what some call a a "tikileet" that has Mos Def not been around the block that much, and glad for it now that I see the block.

You can see him here, Thow, Yep, What, what.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3_cmYZWQBUk

[ Edited by: tikiskip 2019-05-20 02:11 ]

Don't miss Dj Rishbone and Bassdaddy coming soon.

"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."

Not so much.

Hey group! I'm djing an all-vinyl set on October 12th (saturday) at Huli Huli.

Genres: exotica, surf, latin/mambo, motel lounge and easy listening. All the weird and rare stuff not on discogs or youtube.