Hula's Island Grill

This place excels in all the areas. Friendly staff on top of an amazing ambience, with outstanding food & drink menu offerings. And not only is the menu fantastic, but the food & drink itself is incredibly delicious. A must go whether you're looking for drinks and/ or food and/ or a great time!
Best part.. only a few blocks away from Cannery row, so totally walkable!

We'd been given advice not to eat inside the Monterey aquarium because of the prices. Hulas is a nice short walk away! We were seated immediately, there wasn't a wait during regular lunch hours. The vibe and decor is definitely on the casual side.
The pulled pork wasn't anything to fuss about but I would definitely order the tacos again. A surprising favorite was the coleslaw side that came with the pork; I'd never had ginger in a slaw before and I loved it!

Came for Tiki Tuesday! The happy hour menu is a little misleading- it says "all pupus" which led us to believe all of them from the menu were $8, but no, it was from their select happy hour menu only. Never the less we were glad to partake. We ordered:
From HH menu-
* Sweet potato fries- HUGE basket. Enormous. They got a little soggy on the bottom but were good!
* ceviche- this was a small portion but really really good
* mac and cheese and cheese- husband LOVED this. I thought it was under seasoned. Salt helped!
* glass of white wine and a Dr Funk- hubs loved the Dr Funk.

From regular menu-
* Jawaiian jerk plate. I had high expectations for this as it was highly reviewed. Since it was described as spicy, I had the sauce on the side. The pork was terrible. It was so dry. The sauce was pretty spicy so I'm glad I had it on the side but I wonder if it would've helped on it because I had to drink water with the pork to get it down. Would not recommend. All the accompaniments were delicious though.

TL;DR: a great bang for your buck if you're looking for great alcohol and appetizers.

parking:
- we arrived for the Tiki Tuesday All-Day Happy Hour yet had no issue finding close street parking.

wait time:
- we were seated as soon as we entered :)

ambiance:
- loud, dark, and moody with maximalism decor

service:
- fast and friendly

food:
[Happy Hour Appetizers]
- spicy edamame: oily, spicy, and yum! this is a bit spicier than sriracha, so be forewarned! (I heard a table complain it was too spicy for them to enjoy)
- Kona style chicken wings: this is the first time where it was juicy AND fall off the bone.
- Hawaiian ceviche: sooo good! If I didn't already order so much I would consider ordering this bad boy again.

[Happy Hour Drinks]
- any of the "Tiki Drinks" are fair game. Also, there is no point in getting a double since it only means you will get double the volume of the same drink for no added discount (unless you really love that drink).
- everything was good and not too alcoholic like other reviews suggested (and I'm a certified lightweight).

bathroom:
- very clean. be careful if you are using the male restroom though as there is a surprising step down that many people don't realize (despite the several signs warning you of the step)

Came here with my best friend, as she was back in town visiting. She raved about this place, so I had high expectations.

Unfortunately, those expectations were crushed.

I ordered the Kalabi Ribs, which come with a scoop of white rice & macaroni salad.

Off the bat, the ribs were so salty, I was barely able to eat any of them. I definitely had to eat my rice and macaroni salad to wash off all that sodium.

Additionally, I also brought this to the attention of our server and she simply did not care.

My best friend had the Hula's burger, with Jack cheese, and she said it was okay. Definitely undercooked, for what she had ordered, (medium.) I could see the pink of the meat & blood dripping.

She also was not able to finish her meal, as it grossed her out.

We ordered 2 drinks from the bar, a painkiller & margarita, and both drinks were good. Definitely on the sweeter side.

The bill came to about $90, which I thought was outrageous. $90 for an undercooked burger and overly salted plate of ribs.

Unfortunately, I do not believe I'll be returning.
Simply lacks customer service and quality of the food. Super bummed because the ambiance was great! Super tropical and nice tiki bar!

Tasty food at fair price. great service.
Very popular in the neighborhood. It is packed on Saturday night.
It offers a diverse drink menu. Would recommend to others.

We had a great lunch there. Just a couple of blocks off of cannery row. I saw it on a you tube channel. I'm glad I did. We sat inside, I had a beer and the Jawaiian Jerk chicken platter. But it was delicious and we had great service.

Will definitely return next time in Monterey

Decided to come and check out their happy hour while in the area and it was a pleasant experience. Items we ordered from the Happy hour Menu were: Sweet Potato fries (which came with a strange sauce, but just ketchup was fine), Kona chicken wings, Lilikoi margarita, and Scorpion bowl.

Scorpion bowl is something that's definitely meant to be shared because it's a lot of liquid, or maybe it just seemed that way because we both already had a drink of our own. Had to get it after seeing another table get it and the fire drew us to order it.

Their menu is pretty extensive to the point where it's a little overwhelming that there's so many choices. For dinner I ended up getting the Jawaiian Jerk Chicken plate which was not super impressive. Chicken was a bit dry and would have to say I prefer BackAYard (or at least that was what I was expecting).

~~Parking: Street parking available near the restaurant.
~~Service: Good.
~~Return: Possibly.

Gimme a tiki bar and I'll give you reviews!

Can't believe after all my years of fun in Monterey this was the first time dining at Hula's. **shaking head** Aside from the adorable interior, the funciful exterior and the ~totally rockin'~ wait crew, the food is outstanding! It's definitely a cool place to hang out for a drink or bring friends for a party.

It was a friend's birthday and we sat outside. The weather was cool, but the patio heaters made sure to keep us toasty. Our first little table was a bit wobbly (I didn't mind, but my friend didn't like the surfing drinks), and we moved to one of the little booths in the side alcove. It was a perfect and cozy.

We started with drinks (it was his birthday) and my friend had a Dr. Fong. He loved it and said it was the best drink of the weekend. It also came in a super cute tiki mug. I was told it was wine special night, but that turned out to be fiction. It happens! Still enjoyed the wine, even if it cost a few more dollars than expected.

The food was really good. Completely enjoyed every bite! Hadn't had wings for a while and their take on it was fun. They topped the evening off with free dessert, complete with a little umbrella.

Will we be heading back anytime soon? Oh yeah, baby! Surf's up!!

So where to start ... we love the Santa Cruz location, although we live in Monterey .. we have been to this location a few times. Tonight was a Wednesday and overly crowded here . The noise level is very high so if you don't want to hear your family or friends you come here with , then this would be a great spot . The food is excellent but the bus service is terrible ! They left all our dirty dishes on our table but then tried to give us our dessert we ordered. The bus person finally came and dropped a dirty knife on our lap. No apology at all. The positives are the bar tender is great ! She's very efficient and nice . The food is excellent if you can tolerate the volume of noise .