Hukilau, San Jose, CA (restaurant)

Name:Hukilau
Type:restaurant
Street:Jackson St (In Japan Town between 4th and 10th)
City:San Jose
State:CA
Zip:95112
country:USA
Phone:
Status:operational

Description:
During a bad storm my wife some friends and I ducked in this place. It was wierd as wer are all Tiki Advocates, but none of us knew this spot existed.

It was dingy, and despite being new, seemed seasoned. The bar was sticky the beer selection was trite, but it's still better than Denny's

The place seened to be having a large party of some sort, and in the back there were larger rooms. They had a hula uke band, it was quite nice.
The most interesting thing was how all the food I saw had a gelotonous pork theme going on. Seemed pretty authentic to 1970s Hawaii.

They even have a webesite, and are to my surprize an off-shoot of another restaurant.
http://www.dahukilau.com/

[ Edited by: hanford_lemoore on 2004-08-28 21:53 ]

On 2004-08-08 16:17, Gigantalope wrote:
Name:hulilau
Type:restaurant
Street:Jackson St (In Japan Town between 4th and 10th)
City:San Jose
State:CA
Zip:95112
country:USA
Phone:
Status:operational

Description:
During a bad storm my wife some friends and I ducked in this place. It was wierd as we are all Tiki Advocates, but none of us knew this spot existed.

It was dingy, and despite being new, seemed seasoned. The bar was sticky the beer selection was trite, but it's still better than Denny's. The tropical drinks were acidy/syrupy.

The place seened to be having a large party of some sort, which may have explaned why there was so much trash on the tables, and poor service.
In the back there were larger rooms. They had a hula uke band, it was quite nice.
The most interesting thing was how all the food I saw had a gelotonous pork theme going on. Seemed pretty authentic to 1970s Hawaii.

They even have a webesite, and are to my surprize an off-shoot of another restaurant.
http://www.dahukilau.com/

I might have to check it out :)

I checked this place out over the weekend and was expecting/hoping for a dive but it was actually kind of nice/sterile, along the lines of Bamboo Island in Pleasanton.

Did not order any of the food but I was impressed by their extensive poke menu, and they seemed to have a decent luau-type weekend brunch menu. I sampled some spam musubi, which was pretty tasty.

Drinks were tasty as well, but I don't think a Mai Tai was on the menu. I had something nice and fruity called an Aloha, and a Wahine Banger (who can resist a title like that?). They were served in plastic cups though, which was odd.

Nice wait staff too.

Last week before the Sting / Annie Lennox concert at the Shorline Amphitheatre, we stopped at the Hukilau in SFrancisco at Geary and Masonic. Parking is a little difficult in that area, but we were really pleasantly surprised by this place. It's pretty small like the one described in San Jose, but there were tiki mugs for drinks and a bit of a true "local" Hawaiian place you would find in the islands. I had a mahimahi burger with fries, and my partner had a regular burger. They offer some fun tropical drinks, and even mixed me a POG. The food was great for the little place the Hukilau was. The entire bill with sodas was under $20!!! In San Francisco!! The special of the day was laulau, but I hadn't seen the Specials posting until after I had ordered. We give the Hukilau in San Francisco two thumbs up!

I stopped into Da Hukilau while in San Jose and took notes:

"Small red-painted room wrapped in mirrors to make it look larger. A thatch-roofed bar with a large Target Tiki Nodder wrapped in kukui nut leis upon it, about 10 seats at the bar and 8 small tables. Down a hallway is a larger room w/a central bar labeled "Da Poke Bar" (Fresh Poke Made to order) & seats 10, surrounded by a dozen tables (seating for 32) & 2 family-style tables that seat 8 each, w/a stage on the back wall.

"The place was hopping Fri @ 2030, I had to sit @ Da Poke Bar & listen to the band. Mixed Plate was served on wodden platters, poke in koa wood pineapples. A very local vibe, the band & staff seemed to know 1/2 the room, with everyone friendly.

"Chicken Katsu was moist inside, crisp & not greasy outside, Katsu Sauce was Catsup based, Mac Salad was creamy & not exciting (But exciting Mac Salad is a contradiction in terms, isn't it?), the Rice was hot & fresh, and the plate was garnished with pineapple wedges.

"Music was Hapa Haole, Jawaiian, & Pop on Uke, guitar & keys (think Bruce Springsteen's "Fire" on Uke...)."