The Royal Hawaiian has a special place in our hearts. We started going here shortly after the big reopening and one day decided that the Royal Hawaiian would be the perfect place to host our wedding dinner. So we did!The manager Jen was wonderful from the start! She helped us plan our dinner and made us feel at home. The staff were very accommodating and went out of their way for our special night. Our guests loved their dinner and enjoyed the fine crafted tiki cocktails. The Royal Hawaiian also had a Hawaiian style acoustic band performing during our dinner which offered fun entertainment. We are very grateful and thankful that the Royal Hawaiian made our night a perfect memory!I highly recommend this place, especially for group celebrations. Great atmosphere and beach vibes. There are also plenty of gorgeous hotels and airBnBs in the area to make it a fun weekend. Aloha!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Pineapple Fried Rice, Lumpia
47
Great place! Not sure why the negative reviews. People offended by tiki decor? Really? We didn't try the food options, but the drinks were very good. Strong and flavorful. Atmosphere and employees were fun and inviting. We parked for free in the parking lot just a few hundred feet north of the restaurant. They usually charge $30 to park here, but the parking attendant wasn't set up. Could be difficult to find parking on the summer weekends. The positives.1. Fun Tiki/Tropical decor.2. Good selection of strong tropical drinks3. Everyone working there was very friendly and inviting.4. Large bar area with at least 20 barstools. Extra large booths in the bar area as well as tables.5. Happy Hour Sundays!!! $10 Mai Tai's!6. Walking distance to the beach.7. The Laguna Shuttle can be your designated driver.8. Cool surf guitar music.
Atmosphere: 5
Service: 5
Anthony Coppedge
Great vibe, fantastic service, non-skimpy on the alcoholic drinks, and surprisingly good food (definitely elevated above ‘bar food’). Nadine, our main bartender, was outstanding.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 4
Service: 5
elliebarts
Much too noisy to enjoy any conversation. Food was secondary to the "tropical" atmosphere.
Atmosphere: 1
Food: 2
Service: 3
Cam Luu
The food is good but I got food poison after ear the loco moco.
Atmosphere: 2
Food: 1
Service: 1
Eric Dillon
All in all this place wasn't as bad as some of the reviews I see here. Its a tiki bar vibe that if you know, isn't really representative of Hawaiian culture. So the food is definitely not authentic, but still not bad. The service was good, the drinks were a little pricey but good. a little on the sweet side for maitai and lapu lapu but still good. It was a fun place but I do have one complaint. The skulls on spikes with bones through the nose etc... decor. Ill be honest, I was a little offended by it, because were not savages or witch doctors or cannibals etc... feels a little insensitive given that you're making a living off our culture.
Atmosphere: 3
Food: 3
Service: 5
Elaine Hisel Michel
Excellent time spent here. I will be returning.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 4
Service: 5
Kent Scribner
They put the tiki back into the tiki bar and restaurant. A few years ago to tiki motif was mostly gone. It's back now and looks great.The food is very good too. The ribs are very close to the original style from the old days.They have a happy hour. This evening there was a Hawaiian ukulele player who was very good.Very please to see the restaurant back to the tiki style. Lots of fun.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Baby Back Ribs
Mandi Parr
Loved the drinks and food. However, as a person that's really into tiki, the bartender talking down about tiki culture to the couple next to me was a huge vibe killer. They even said how lame it was that people came there for the mug signing... WHAT? The Royal Hawaiian is a historical landmark and is huge with tikiphiles. If you're a bartender working here and you're not into what you're doing, just pretend that you are and don't make it a point to talk about how you think it's overrated and stupid. It honestly killed my entire experience here. Also why am I listening to '80s soft rock and '70s funk while I'm drinking tiki drinks? If you don't want to go full Martin Denny, you could do some reggae or something. I love the aesthetic here but that one person and the music killed it for me. If you're into tiki, come here to check it off your list and then never come back.
Atmosphere: 2
Food: 5
Service: 2
Stacy Kline
The Royal Hawaiian Fire Grill is a phenomenal 1940s Tiki Bar & restaurant that has been exactingly restored to its original glory! Everything in the bar and restaurant belongs in a Tiki museum. The exquisitely crafted cocktails hearken to an earlier time when the Tiki was king ~ especially the Zombie, Chief Lapu Lapu, Mai Tai and Bali Bali!The cocktails, staff, and food, especially the baby back ribs, are divine. Not to be missed!
Great look and atmosphere.Knowledgeable and friendly staff.Loved the pupu platter.Drinks were really great.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Banana Smuggler, Lumpia
Jeff H (WiseGuyEh)
The newly remodeled Royal Hawaiian is an amazing place. The food was outstanding. The drinks are strong but tasty. The staff / service was great. I love tkik bars, and this place is now my new favorite.
The Royal Hawaiian has a special place in our hearts. We started going here shortly after the big reopening and one day decided that the Royal Hawaiian would be the perfect place to host our wedding dinner. So we did!The manager Jen was wonderful from the start! She helped us plan our dinner and made us feel at home. The staff were very accommodating and went out of their way for our special night. Our guests loved their dinner and enjoyed the fine crafted tiki cocktails. The Royal Hawaiian also had a Hawaiian style acoustic band performing during our dinner which offered fun entertainment. We are very grateful and thankful that the Royal Hawaiian made our night a perfect memory!I highly recommend this place, especially for group celebrations. Great atmosphere and beach vibes. There are also plenty of gorgeous hotels and airBnBs in the area to make it a fun weekend. Aloha!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Pineapple Fried Rice, Lumpia
Great place! Not sure why the negative reviews. People offended by tiki decor? Really? We didn't try the food options, but the drinks were very good. Strong and flavorful. Atmosphere and employees were fun and inviting. We parked for free in the parking lot just a few hundred feet north of the restaurant. They usually charge $30 to park here, but the parking attendant wasn't set up. Could be difficult to find parking on the summer weekends. The positives.1. Fun Tiki/Tropical decor.2. Good selection of strong tropical drinks3. Everyone working there was very friendly and inviting.4. Large bar area with at least 20 barstools. Extra large booths in the bar area as well as tables.5. Happy Hour Sundays!!! $10 Mai Tai's!6. Walking distance to the beach.7. The Laguna Shuttle can be your designated driver.8. Cool surf guitar music.
Atmosphere: 5
Service: 5
Great vibe, fantastic service, non-skimpy on the alcoholic drinks, and surprisingly good food (definitely elevated above ‘bar food’). Nadine, our main bartender, was outstanding.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 4
Service: 5
Much too noisy to enjoy any conversation. Food was secondary to the "tropical" atmosphere.
Atmosphere: 1
Food: 2
Service: 3
The food is good but I got food poison after ear the loco moco.
Atmosphere: 2
Food: 1
Service: 1
All in all this place wasn't as bad as some of the reviews I see here. Its a tiki bar vibe that if you know, isn't really representative of Hawaiian culture. So the food is definitely not authentic, but still not bad. The service was good, the drinks were a little pricey but good. a little on the sweet side for maitai and lapu lapu but still good. It was a fun place but I do have one complaint. The skulls on spikes with bones through the nose etc... decor. Ill be honest, I was a little offended by it, because were not savages or witch doctors or cannibals etc... feels a little insensitive given that you're making a living off our culture.
Atmosphere: 3
Food: 3
Service: 5
Excellent time spent here. I will be returning.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 4
Service: 5
They put the tiki back into the tiki bar and restaurant. A few years ago to tiki motif was mostly gone. It's back now and looks great.The food is very good too. The ribs are very close to the original style from the old days.They have a happy hour. This evening there was a Hawaiian ukulele player who was very good.Very please to see the restaurant back to the tiki style. Lots of fun.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Baby Back Ribs
Loved the drinks and food. However, as a person that's really into tiki, the bartender talking down about tiki culture to the couple next to me was a huge vibe killer. They even said how lame it was that people came there for the mug signing... WHAT? The Royal Hawaiian is a historical landmark and is huge with tikiphiles. If you're a bartender working here and you're not into what you're doing, just pretend that you are and don't make it a point to talk about how you think it's overrated and stupid. It honestly killed my entire experience here. Also why am I listening to '80s soft rock and '70s funk while I'm drinking tiki drinks? If you don't want to go full Martin Denny, you could do some reggae or something. I love the aesthetic here but that one person and the music killed it for me. If you're into tiki, come here to check it off your list and then never come back.
Atmosphere: 2
Food: 5
Service: 2
The Royal Hawaiian Fire Grill is a phenomenal 1940s Tiki Bar & restaurant that has been exactingly restored to its original glory! Everything in the bar and restaurant belongs in a Tiki museum. The exquisitely crafted cocktails hearken to an earlier time when the Tiki was king ~ especially the Zombie, Chief Lapu Lapu, Mai Tai and Bali Bali!The cocktails, staff, and food, especially the baby back ribs, are divine. Not to be missed!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Restaurantji Recommends
Great look and atmosphere.Knowledgeable and friendly staff.Loved the pupu platter.Drinks were really great.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Banana Smuggler, Lumpia
The newly remodeled Royal Hawaiian is an amazing place. The food was outstanding. The drinks are strong but tasty. The staff / service was great. I love tkik bars, and this place is now my new favorite.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Curry Pineapple Rice, Spam Musubi
Kitchy joint. Ohmar solid bartender. Baby Back Ribs were good.Parking: Meters in front on PCH
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 4
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Spam Musubi, Macaroni Salad
I came here back in October of 2019 and loved it! I'm glad it's still thriving post pandemic!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Horrible service. I had ribs. They were tough and tasteless. The dessert, Pele, was a joke. What a waste of time and money.
Atmosphere: 1
Food: 1
Service: 1