Hula Grill Waikiki Happy Hour, Tell Them Bruce Sent You
The following is a post by Christine Lu that was originally published on her personal blog.
We flew into Honolulu this morning at 11:30am. By 2pm, Chris and I were sitting at the Hula Grill’s bar telling the manager there that Bruce sent us and told us to try the Mai Tai. So we did. Bruce is a friend of ours we met on our last trip out here in January. He and his wife Yaling run a travel agency that still believes in using real live people (what a revelation) to help folks book their next vacation to Hawaii. As with most of the folks we’ve met from Hawaii, they are two of the most easy going and nicest people you’ll come across.
So when nice local people in Honolulu tell you to go to the Hula Grill for the best Mai Tai and tell them Bruce sent us, that’s exactly what we’re going to do. Even at 2pm in the afternoon. Hey, it’s always happy hour somewhere in the world right? :)
That drink to your left is not your average lemonade stand lemonade. It’s called the Wailele Lemonade on their menu and it’s got kick thanks to the fresh Hawaiian ginger, vodka, soda and a squeeze of lemon. Chris ordered the recommended Mai Tai that came in a cool frosted tiki glass.
A nice side story. Our bartender was named Johnny and given that Waikiki is the type of place where most people usually come from somewhere else, we struck up a conversation with him. Turns out he traded bar tending overlooking snow banks in Minnesota for doing the same overlooking the ocean in awesome weather. Smart guy.
Excuse the fuzzy iPhone picture above, but those were some of the best crab cakes I ever ate and the above is the only evidence of them I have left. You know they’re really good crab cakes when you can actually um… well, see and taste the crab meat.
This is the view from the Hula Grill’s balcony dining area. I’m pretty sure many a conversation has been had here by tourists who decided that they needed to map out a plan to move to Hawaii one day. With a view like that, I don’t blame them.
If you’re ever in the mood for a Mai Tai, here’s the address. Tell them Christine and Chris sent you with a hat tip to Bruce. :)
Hula Grill Waikiki
2335 Kalakaua Ave # 116
Honolulu, HI 96815
(808) 923-4852
About The Author
Christine Lu is a self professed geek girl, sinophile and foodie based in Los Angeles. She is behind several cross border initiatives including The China Business Network, Chinameme and TEDxShanghai and hopes to help raise awareness in China of Hawaii as a tourism destination.