We took the opportunity to check out a tiki bar was new to all of us and ventured over to The Hula Hula Room last Sunday night. The bar is located in a Torrance strip mall but the bright logo assures you that there is quality inside, including an all-new interior featuring tikis, neon lights, tropical wallpaper, and some Hawaiian touches. Music leaned retro and Hawaiian, very much to our delight.
The staff was super friendly, though with the question about my Tiki Ti shirt still learning about the genre and other tiki bars. Nonetheless, our drinks were well-prepared and the team showed interest in our visit (“How’d you hear about us?” “Uh, we’re tiki people…”). The bar wasn’t busy, with a few groups coming in and out during our visit.
The cocktail menu features a number of classics, including a pretty reasonable Mai Tai and an inspired Three Dots & a Dash that uses Kuleana Hawaiian Agricole rather than Martinique Agricole. I enjoyed the Aloha-Rita, which is a Margarita with Prickly Pear Syrup and Black Lava Salt. Mrs. Mai Tai loved the Tropical Espresso Martini and a Ube-forward frozen cocktail. The Pali Highway Sunset is a Lychee liqueur cocktail with Aperol and Orgeat that our entire table loved.
This isn’t quite a must-see in the Southland, with so many stellar representatives spanning the San Fernando Valley all the way through Orange County. But we’d be so pleased to consider The Hula Hula Room our neighborhood bar and the quality is a step up from dive-leaning tiki bars.
