Kahuna’s Tiki Bar & Grill

I do not care for Kahuna’s. It’s loud, it’s filled with people seemingly aiming to get wasted. The décor is garish and the food, boring and fatty.
I DO however care for the story i’m about to tell.
I ordered a drink, a Jameson splash of soda, as always. The waitress brings me a Jameson splash of sodaish looking drink which i put straight to my lips and take a big swig of and immediately spit back into the glass out of reflex because it is NOT Jameson splash of soda but Jameson and sprite (which i do not drink because it is grossly sweet).
I tell my friends, «Yuck, this is the wrong drink, maybe the bartender pressed the wrong button on the gun and now i shall send this back when next i see our waitress.» One of my friends takes the glass from me as if to take a drink and i say, «No, the sweetness shocked me and i spit in that,» and he does not test the drink (sensibly).
The waitress comes around i hand her the drink and tell her, «I think the bartender put sprite in this because it isn’t soda.» She then, quicker than my mouth can say, «No, the sweetness shocked me and i spit in that,» takes a drink and says, «Yea that’s sprite,» and goes to replace my drink.
I sit stunned and aghast, i certainly can’t tell her after the fact that she drank my spit up Jameson and sprite. So i drink the drink she brings me and tip her well.
The end.

I enjoyed the effort that Kahuna’s put into decorating in a hawaiian theme. I enjoyed nfl network, espn, espn2 on their tv’s. Food was ok, I had a hawaiian chicken sandwhich, I thought the chicken was rather bland, sauce was sweet teriyaki, the sweetness gets compounded with the pineapple. The fries were the highlight of my lunch.
Now 2 stars because the way we were treated, not by our waitress more so the manager? owner?
The confusion began as we were under the assumption that the Monday special would apply to our checks (M: buy one sandwhich, get one half off) We observe the discount had not been applied so we inquire. The waitress explains a triple 8’s deal (we had no idea of a triple 8 deal, we were all thinking wtf?) We review specials sign on our table, which mentions nothing about a triple 8 deal. She then proceeds to bring a specials sign from a different table with the triple 8 description on the back. At this point, we just wanted the best deal possible and get the hell out. The manager comes by and says he will take care of it. We get our updated checks which turns out to be more than our original bill. Seriously? If you are the manager of a business, and you notice a flaw such as this why would you not give the better deal to the customer. Why have signs for a special that is more expensive than another special for the exact same food? Common sense, if you don’t have common business sense in how to treat your customers, you don’t deserve my business.
It was pretty funny that all the girls treated this manager/​owner like a god. Kim Jung Il is to North Korea as this guy is to Kahuna’s.

Our group of 8 people came here for lunch. The ambiance, the price, the service was all good. The issue was the food. None eof us had anything good to say about the food! I ordered the shrimp tacos… and they were cold. No taste, no salt. Really bad. I would not go back again.

Hit Kahuna’s* for a happy hour with ½ priced appetizers. It made me feel all Island. Appetizers were cheap but overwelmingly deep fried — not so much for me. There was a bar-​wide trivia game going on so we hooked up a team («The Hooligans») and got ready to compete. Getting ready consisted of ordering more beers and trash talking every other team in the bar.
1^st round we swept cleanly, high fives, more trash talk.
more beers
2^nd round, ack, we’re slipping
3^rd round, ack ack, we’re falling
4^th round, somehow we’re back in 2^nd place, no idea how. The final question had a «bet all your points» option. Put these 6 generations in order, Gen X, Gen Y, Lost Gen, Greatest Gen, Silent Gen, Baby Boomer. Huddle, I think we have this.
They read off the answers, we nailed it! 6 for 6. Then it was «you’re in fourth place». ??? We go to talk to the girl running the contest and she’s «lost» our answers. Boo. Hiss. No gift certificate.
Fun times, our waitress was cool and fun too.
* This used to be Curra’s north, but that great restaurant got closed down because, so I heard, some of the staff was dealing drugs.

«Dear Kahuna, you guys rock! «
This place is awesome! I’ve been here tons of times and EVERY time I visit it’s somehow seems better than before. I can not comprehend how this place has a 3-​star average. C’mon people!
The food here is awesome and the service is way more than I expect from a sports bar because it’s not a «typical» sports bar. Its a ‘laid back sports inspired shack’ with tiki-​torches everywhere, vintage inspired wall décor and I even think there is a surfboard (or wind-​glider) hanging from the ceiling.
Everything on the menu is great and each time I visit I try something new. Their burgers are my bf’s favorite. I really enjoy their pork sliders — they are simple yet oh so yummy (it’s pulled pork, BBQ sauce, and pickles on a lil’ Hawaiian sweet roll., Mmmmmm!). Their salads are pretty creative and really tasty with fresh simple ingredients (far from boring).
I would recommend this place for lunch, drinks or dinner. It’s locally owned and operated and as far as sports bars go — I don’t think it gets much better.

The Island Burger Rocks, This place has great service and a fair price. The wife and I luv it

We keep coming back. We live near by and when we are hungry or just want to see the spurs play we drop by kahunas. I have had the tuna steak sandwich about three times. The bun is fresh and toasted, served with Cole slaw and a light wasabi dressing. The have a sweet and spicy Tabasco that I cover the fries in, man that stuff is good. We’ve had the burgers, conch fritters and wings, So far everything has been great, Just a side note for cleanliness, when not busy the kitchen staff is always breaking things down clean up on a ladder etc. that kitchen has to be spotless. The manager and staff are always friendly. Keep it up guy’s we really need a place like this near home.

I get take out from here because it is close to where I live. The food is fast and good. I like the pen that is set up for people’s dogs.

I am going to avoid making look-​and-​feel/​vibe comments and just stick to the food (not literally, obviously).
Good enough food (I tried the tuna sandwich — no double entendre intended :) and good service (i.e. never lacking in iced tea refills, promptly presenting a bill when asked, no fuss with splitting, etc.)
The food specials are actually quite good, especially during the happy hour — the excellent pepper popper appetizer in particular was a great bargain. You can also get some pretty good coupons if you shop at the HEB across the street (look at the back of your receipt). Finally, they have some pretty good daily specials, such as the 2-​for-​the-​price-​of-​1 burgers on Monday and the 8-​for-​8 daily lunch specials.

Went there for lunch. All waitress wear tight pink tops and mini skirt.
The restaurant has a lot of Hawaii style decoration. So I ordered Hawaii fish taco $ 9.99 and pulled pork taco $ 8.99.
I felt it’s a little bit pricey for the small size of taco. Both tacos are tasty, but very spicy and nothing close to Hawaii style.
The waitress doesn’t come to our table often, but hang out at the door area. They are all young and pretty.

Bad service. Would never go back!
Being new to the area my wife suggested we give it a try. We walked in only to be greeted by no one on an unbusy night. While standing waiting a bimbo blonde waitress passed by and did not even acknowledge us. Waited to be seated for three minutes still no one, decided to grab menus and seat ourselves and waited for another five minutes still no one. Got up and left. What a waste. Will never return. STAY AWAY!

I went back and everything I said in my first review is the same, I still like this sports bar. I ordered the pork sliders this time and they were very good. My friend ordered the fish tacos and he also liked his food very much. So a thumbs up for the sliders and fish tacos. And yes the waitresses are still cute and very friendly.

Last Friday I pulled up to Kahuna’s to the sight of one of the waitresses jumping up and down repeatedly for one of the customers. Needless to say, she was «blessed» — well… pretty sure she purchased her blessing, but whatever.
Once we scrambled into the restaurant and sat down the same gal came out behind the bar and literally flashed her bra to the entire restaurant. Classy. Not that I’m complaining, haha.
The outfits the gals wear are short and awesome, but not terribly revealing. They’re just a tank top and some short-​shorts — nothing completely out of the ordinary for Austin standards. The waitresses most definitely flirt with the customers — and we all enjoy it (guys, don’t lie).
The happy hour here is pretty good — $ 3 apps and $ 3 beers/​margaritas is not too shabby. I’ve only had the apps and they’re okay — nothing to get too excited about, but you don’t come to this place for «fine-​dining». Small beer selection — boo. They have live music here occasionally too.
Definitely a good change of pace type of place for northwest Austin.

Nothing I can’t get at a dozen other places in town. It is kinda nice to have another bar up at this end of town, though.
We went for happy hour. They didn’t have Fireman’s 4, which bummed out the hubs. But, they had a decent enough selection of beer, wine, and liquor. I ended up with a house red. It was ok.
We ordered a couple appetizers. We got the pepper poppers– type things. They were good, and came with the requisite ranch dipping sauce. The poppers were crispy, crunchy, not greasy. Hubs got a quesadilla, or something like it. He thought it was just fine. The couple we were with got the deep fried pickles. They make them out of the dill spears (not the chips) here, and were fried nicely as well.
So why not more stars? I guess the vibe here. Yes, there are many young, beautiful, scantily– clad waitresses that work here. That doesn’t necessarily bother me in and of itself, although I don’t think I would bring kids here.
The waitress we had was very nice, if a bit forgetful at times. The thing is, the waitresses seemed to be continually chatting and flirting with a guy whom (we were told) is a manager/​owner of some sort.
These interactions with the waitresses clearly weren’t work conversations, and it grossed me out how he was ogling these young girls. It was really creepy. Clearly this guy has not mastered the art of «looking» without being gross.
Ew. I’ll bet one of the reasons these waitresses are so young is that any woman over 25 would slap this dude and charge him with sexual harassment.
Just. Ew.

This place is just down from where I live. I’ve been there a few times and really enjoyed my visit each time. The drinks are plenty strong enough and the food is good. The service is great. I’ve read some of the reviews complaining about the way the young ladies were dressed and the food not being good. Well all i can say is, I’d rather go to a place where the staff is attractive and friendly than have someone in her mid 50’s named FLO waiting on me, just sayin’. The girls all look «GREAT» and very friendly as well. I say if you are not comfortable with the way you look, then don’t knock the talent at Kahuna’s !!! The management is great and attentive. I’ve never had a problem getting service there. I will definitely go back! The bartenders are fantastic and fun as well as the rest of the wait staff. Also they have the NFL Network and plenty of TVs.

I went to this place recently because some friends invited us to go with. I was very disappointed. The drinks were over priced for quality and the food as well. I had a burger and thought while I ate it «This tastes odd» which should have been a sign. My meal resulted in a icky tummy ache later in the evening. The waitresses were not very helpful, and seemed to be confused about what we even ordered. I agree with Ken H about the all-​female waitstaff being a first sign of the poor quality food.
Summing up, I won’t be going back here.

This restaurant disappoints in so many ways. The all-​female waitstaff in Hooters-​like uniforms was probably the first clue as to the restaurant’s poor quality.
When we were seated, I ordered a Shiner Bock, only to find out a few minutes later that they were out of Shiner! How can a bar in Austin, Texas run out of Shiner Bock? So, the waitress suggests a glass of Fire Rock, a Hawaiian beer from the Kona Brewery, as it was «very similar» to Shiner Bock. So, I decided to try it. Fire Rock turned out to be a pale ale. Shiner Bock is a bock-​style lager. While the Fire Rock was OK beer, it is nothing like Shiner Bock.
There is nothing remotely like Hawaiian food on the menu. I had the «Kalua pulled pork sandwich». Now, I’ve had Kalua pulled pork, in Hawaii, and this was nothing like a Hawaiian style pork. The sauce on the sandwich tasted like KC Masterpiece or some clone of that recipe. It was actually not a bad barbecue pork sandwich, but it has a lot more in common with Kansas City than Kilauea. The French fries were overly salty. The fish tacos were very, very boring. The sauce was basically plain mayonnaise, and (unlike the French fries) the beans and rice that accompanied the tacos were under-​seasoned.
This place is clearly aiming to be a Hooters knock-​off dive bar that feels like it must reluctantly serve some sort of food. If the waitstaff don’t know the difference between an ale and a lager, ordering a mixed drink must be a real adventure.

Try this place for Happy Hour. It has a cute bar area. The menu was average. Not the best choice of beer on tap and the prices weren’t great. I would maybe go back but I always want to walk over to Little Woodrow’s instead.

I wanted this to be a great place, but I wasn’t impressed. I went there for dinner on a Monday. I tried the pulled pork sandwich – it seemed like a sort of specialty. My husband had the burger. The buns left something to be desired. The fries were okay but a little cold. But at about $ 10 per entrée for bar food, it wasn’t as good as it should have been. Service was fine – they were overstaffed. I don’t think I will be back anytime soon.

We checked out Kahuna’s during happy hour today. They took over where Curra’s Long Bar was located at McNeil/​Parmer intersection.
They had a decent happy hour special, $ 3 for domestic 23oz beers.
The menu seemed like basic bar food, but we didn’t try anything today. Burgers, Wings, Sandwiches, etc. There were a few semi-​Hawaiian items such as tuna and Kalua Pork, but I would not consider this place a Hawaiian restaurant by any stretch.
They seemed overstaffed and I’m sure they are working out some kinks, but the first impression was fair enough that I’ll check out food next time.
One major plus is that since they are a restaurant there is no smoking in the bar area. One of my biggest complaints about Little Woodrow’s further down in the shopping center is how bad the smoke gets. Thanks to Kahuna’s, at least I have an option for a drink in the neighborhood without coming home smelling of smoke now.