- | Hula's Island Grill and Tiki Room | -
Where: Santa Cruz, CA
Price: $$
Service: Casual
Hula's Island Grill and Tiki Room is known for their alcohol, i.e. the long list of cocktails with names like one eyed pyrat and dr. funk. But being that I went with my parents, who are not big on drinking whatsoever, we went right ahead and ordered a few popular plates from the menu.
The service was very casual and the servers blended right in with the customers, occasionally chatting with old customers and giving friendly nods to new ones. Most times, you would find a male server in a bright hawaiian shirt and jeans heading for a table with a drink or two in hand. Aside from the easygoing atmosphere, the food was delicious and incredibly satisfying. I took some quick snaps of our food before they were all happily devoured:
- cocojoe's chicken plate -
coconut encrusted chicken, lilikoi sauce, with plantains, black beans, and rice on the side
One of Hula's favorites from the menu. The lilikoi sauce was sweet and tangy, which balanced out the coconut-fusioned chicken.
(Halfway through the meal, I switched my plate with my mom's, which was the cocojoe's chicken plate)
- south seas fish tacos -
grilled hapu, taco slaw, sundried tomato pesto aioli
While I didn't know what aioli was, I figured I would give the tacos a try after hearing a friend raving about them. Frankly, the fish was the only part that I liked - it was soft and lightly seasoned. The taco slaw was quite dry and with the slightly sour sauce, it tasted a bit strange.
Lastly, there was the new york steak sandwich;
marinated NY steak, grilled maui onions, jack cheese, and habenero aioli
Unfortunately, I was too distracted when my food arrived that I failed to get a good shot of the steak sandwich to post on here.
According to my dad, the meat was juicy and tender, and he wouldn't have minded if the sandwich came with a few more steak strips. Clearly, it left him wanting more when he finished his food.
Have a lovely weekend,
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