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Royal Hawaiian, Laguna Beach, CA (restaurant) |
hala bullhiki
Tiki Socialite
Joined: Nov 26, 2002
Posts: 570
From: champaign,illinois
|  Posted: 2004-09-14 10:02 pm Permalink
sippin a lapu lapu as we speak!!!....that drink always reminds me of the royal hawiian
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Hau 'oli Tiki
Tiki Socialite
Joined: Feb 03, 2005
Posts: 401
From: Lamegoona Hills, CA
| Posted: 2005-02-04 3:26 pm Permalink
Happy Tiki took entire bachelorette party for sister on Laguna Beach Pub Crawl starting at Royal Hawaiian. Thank goodness we hired a limo with a discreet driver! Standing room only. Lapu-Lapu: One per 4 girls was fine. Thought I was snapping pix of the tikiness. First couple pre Lapu turned out good. Following Lapu, I got pix of things like a guys nose, feet under the stall in the head, an irate diner forking fish into her mouth, my self with the tiki out front. Taken by myself, so it's mostly my eyes rolling into the back of my head. What great fun we had! Lapu-Lapu should be called the Drink of Fertility, cuz all 15 girls were all of a sudden lookin for a good, stiff.....................
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Unga Bunga
Tiki Socialite
Joined: Jun 06, 2003
Posts: 5738
From: CaliTikifornia
| Posted: 2005-08-07 11:03 am Permalink
I just had another visit.
The decor still rocks, but they were playing the Gypsy Kings throughout dinner which kind of sucked.(I like the GK, just not then).
The menu has changed, Kahuna ribs were the only Polynesian food I could find). I still had a great time.
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Hakalugi
Site Administrator
Joined: Aug 10, 2004
Posts: 2816
From: Redondo Beach, CA
| Posted: 2005-08-13 10:50 am Permalink
I sent my friends The Bartman and HippieChick down to the Royal Hawaiian and these were the pictures they came back with:
Mmmmmm. Tastes like Tiki.
A round of Lapu Lapus please...
YES!!! LAPU LAPU...
Even before the first sip the bartender said, "Should I call a taxi for you?"
I know this guy...
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Humuhumu
Grand Member (5 years) 
Joined: Aug 22, 2002
Posts: 3536
From: San Francisco
| Posted: 2006-02-11 7:26 pm Permalink
We paid a visit to the Royal Hawaiian this past Thursday, and it was great. We pretty much had the place to ourselves. It's dark enough in there that I really should have had my tripod, but if you squint at my pictures, you get the idea. The waitstaff confirmed that they don't know much about the impending sale, they don't know whether the restaurant will be staying, be changing into another restaurant, or if the building is going to be bulldozed. The escrow has been pushed back a few times, and currently the Royal Hawaiian is taking reservations up to June 11... after that, who knows.
http://photo.humuhumu.com/v/lafeb2006/royalhawaiian/
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Critiki - Ooga-Mooga - Humu Kon Tiki
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SoccerTiki
Grand Member (6 years) 
Joined: Feb 24, 2005
Posts: 1736
From: TheSoccerTikiGrotto, Island of LongBeach
| Posted: 2006-06-05 11:58 am Permalink
Recognize this place?
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Hau 'oli Tiki
Tiki Socialite
Joined: Feb 03, 2005
Posts: 401
From: Lamegoona Hills, CA
| Posted: 2006-06-05 8:06 pm Permalink
Un bloody believable. Just so depressing! Like we really need ANOTHER plain ole place with brick walls and beer bottles lined up like trophys. I'm in tears!!
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skulltoons
Member
Joined: Jun 05, 2006
Posts: 1 | Posted: 2006-06-05 11:08 pm Permalink
Found the new owner tending bar ... So, Jim is one of the guys who founded the Yardhouse and he's the mystery buyer of Royal Hawaiian, says anyone who wanted to keep it just as it was could have bought it. I'm guessing he's been saying that a lot. He should print it on a card and just hand it to people as they walk in.
I didn't hold it against him. The RH founder was gone and the heirs were more interested in the selling the cow $$$$$ than selling the milk $$, it's sad, it happens.
So we had a pretty interesting conversation with him about the extensive remodel and what the old ownership is taking with them. The old owner's family is taking the name of the place & the TIKIs and ALL the tropical décor as well the salad dressing and the rib sauce recipes (for a stab at retail marketing). But they're leaving him the chef who'll keep making the 3 or 4 menu leaders along with a more general club fare like pizza's etc. Downstairs the entire dining area is being replaced with one gigantic bar that will continue serving the "Lapu-Lapu" and he's adding an upstairs VIP lounge for cigars etc and told one drunken customer that his liquor license would let him run a strip club there (hopefully, just hyperbole for the hooting toadies?) .... Oooookaayyyy then.
Taste the drink... you'll start humming the mantra ..."but that's not a Lapu-Lapu"
Welcome to "sharky's" of Laguna! What I'm really afraid of is that the immense Friday-Saturday RH crowd that fills the joint, won't even notice the difference.
And ... he's sure location is everything and no one will care about losing Royal Hawaiian. I couldn't talk him into giving Crazy Al a call or Bosko or Holden, or rolling up the street to House of Tiki, he's not realy interested.
Stick a fork in this one gang! Royal Hawiian is just another tombstone int the Tiki graveyard.
[ This Message was edited by: skulltoons 2006-06-05 23:11 ]
[ This Message was edited by: skulltoons 2006-06-05 23:12 ]
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bigtikidude
Tiki Socialite
Joined: Aug 10, 2004
Posts: 8314
From: Anaheim,Ca.
| Posted: 2006-06-06 4:58 pm Permalink
Well, not that it's the same as still being there, but there are plenty of pics around of it. And some of us have the memories of being there. I just feel sorry for those that didn't get to enjoy it.
Sounds like the new owner is a Major Tool, and I don't mean he's in the Military. But he'll probably make a ton of $$$ and fit right in with all the other NEW OC Crowd.
I remember when people didn't know where OC was.
too funny.
Jeff(bigtikidude)
[ This Message was edited by: bigtikidude 2006-06-06 16:59 ]
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Dr_Feel_Good
Member
Joined: Apr 26, 2006
Posts: 5
From: South Bay
| Posted: 2006-10-12 9:46 pm Permalink
I'm just glad all the tiki deco didn't get thrown in the trash. I went to the critiki page and it said the new owner "gutted all Polynesian details". I hope not. Can someone verify? If the old owners took everything tiki, are they planning on selling the collection? When? Where? Very sad...
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Aaron's Akua
Grand Member (8 years) 
Joined: Jul 09, 2004
Posts: 1594
From: Rancho Santa Margarita, CA
| Posted: 2007-02-27 9:32 pm Permalink
Some friends asked me where I'd like to go for my birthday next weekend and my first thought was the Royal Hawaiian. I'd heard that despite the rumors, the place was still operating, so I gave them a call tonight. The guy who answered the phone said yeah, it's still the Royal Hawaiian. According to him the place is a big construction zone right now but they are still serving Lapu Lapus, Scorpions & Big Kahunas like they always have. I asked him how the remodel was going and got a vague answer about it being "tropical", but "more contemporary". Still not exactly sure what the future is for this place, but as long as there's Lapu Lapus, I'll be glad to do some further investigation.
A-A
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"Ah, good taste! What a dreadful thing! Taste is the enemy of creativeness."
-Pablo Picasso
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SoccerTiki
Grand Member (6 years)
Joined: Feb 24, 2005
Posts: 1736
From: TheSoccerTikiGrotto, Island of LongBeach
| Posted: 2007-02-28 4:19 pm Permalink
The Lapus aren't the same and it's been in the same "construction" mode for over 6 months....They may be serving food, I don't know and wouldn't trust it. I'm sad!
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TikiJosh
Tiki Socialite
Joined: Feb 01, 2005
Posts: 735 | Posted: 2007-03-01 12:07 pm Permalink
The Missus and I just drove by the other day. The two large tiki poles are still out front, and I saw the big "Construction underway but business still open" kind of thing. Didn't have time to stop inside, otherwise I'd have given it a try. I sure do miss that place.
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Humuhumu
Grand Member (5 years)
Joined: Aug 22, 2002
Posts: 3536
From: San Francisco
| Posted: 2007-03-03 1:13 pm Permalink
I would love to hear some details about what the current state of affairs is at the Royal Hawaiian. I've gotten two very conflicting reports so far: one was from a PR agency hired by the new owners, who told me "it's still the same old Royal Hawaiian!" -- obviously, I took that with a great big boulder of salt. The other contact I've had wishes to remain anonymous, but was a much more credible source in my opinion -- they reported that some very dramatic, and possibly illegal, renovations were underway. With only those two bits of info to work with, I don't know what to think, but my hopes are not high. If anyone can report back with some details & pictures, it would be much appreciated!
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Critiki - Ooga-Mooga - Humu Kon Tiki
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RevBambooBen
Tiki Socialite
Joined: Nov 12, 2002
Posts: 7217
From: Huntikington Beach
| Posted: 2007-03-03 6:41 pm Permalink
Quote:
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On 2007-03-03 13:13, Humuhumu wrote:
I would love to hear some details about what the current state of affairs is at the Royal Hawaiian. I've gotten two very conflicting reports so far: one was from a PR agency hired by the new owners, who told me "it's still the same old Royal Hawaiian!" -- obviously, I took that with a great big boulder of salt. The other contact I've had wishes to remain anonymous, but was a much more credible source in my opinion -- they reported that some very dramatic, and possibly illegal, renovations were underway. With only those two bits of info to work with, I don't know what to think, but my hopes are not high. If anyone can report back with some details & pictures, it would be much appreciated!
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Sam's Seafood is looking way better!
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