Royal Hawaiian, Laguna Beach, CA (restaurant) - Locating Tiki

F finky099 Tiki Socialite Orange County, CA Joined: May 15, 2012 Posts: 542	F finky099 Posted posted on Sun, Sep 18, 2016 2:57 AM Some follow up pics to my previous post- I would be very interested to know how the "new" look of the RH compares to its previous incarnations. From what I can tell, the "tropical" atmosphere seems to be ramped up from the 2012 RH a little? There's at least a handful of the same carvings and tiki artistic pieces and lamps, but their locations have been moved around. Those who were familiar with the RH, please chime in with your thoughts based on my amateur photography of the interiors :wink: I am curious what the place looked like in the 50's and 60's. Sven posted a pic in this thread back in Nov 2011 that looked AMAZING in terms of decor (dim with bamboo or luahala matting all around, colored lights etc). The current state is still far from that but it looks better than the "poly pop Denny's" it was previously. I spoke with a couple members of the staff (in particular John Pflueger, the executive chef) who were prepping for a private party this evening, but welcomed me inside to talk and wander around a bit. Whether the tikis are Hawaiian or not (and there's definitely a mix, but the good stuff outweighs the modern poly-pop ones) the "escapist" element was strong and it felt pretty cohesive. The small diorama sections of "indoor outdoor" flowers/garden felt like a tiny piece of the Mai Kai grafted into the dining areas here. Not as lush and detailed as they seem to have been in decades past, but still pleasing to the eye. There's not enough of this kind of thing in Orange County! Yes, two big flat screens above the bar, but this is Laguna Beach, some concessions may be necessary. I didn't get to ask about music but hope the selections will be "thematically appropriate." Josh, one of the bartenders, talked about some of the things we can look forward to from their bar. A menu wasn't available at the time, but it sounds like they will have a good variety of tropical drinks (and of course the lapu lapu), but the mixology seems like it is knowledgeable and looking to be innovative. You can see in the pics below the rums behind the bar feature a lot of English style and Spanish but also some agricole. While they are carrying plenty of nationally known labels, they are also trying to keep smaller "craft" distillers on the shelf. They have Botanica gin from Falcon Spirits up in the Bay Area, and man the nose on that bottle smells KILLER. But, I digress... They are making many/most of their syrups and spices in-house, including some interesting ones like a pineapple cinnamon syrup and a four-pepper spicy tincture that had a good flavor with quite a bit of zing behind it. They are making their own falernum and will be making their own orgeat hopefully in the future. They're curing dried pineapple and angostura-soaked spent lime halves to garnish drinks, and I spied a handful of different swizzles and picks behind the bar. Muggery initially will be "off the shelf" from Tiki Farm (similar to what Hatch over in Tustin District is using) but they are collaborating to bring back the classic Royal Hawaiian mug (perhaps with some new glaze or color) in 6 months or so. Looking in from the front, just beyond the door is the host desk and waiting area. From the inside Pufferfish inside glass float lamps. I was told these were original to the place. Looking back at photos from the most recent previous incarnation of RH, it seems only maybe one of these was hung in this room before. The pufferfish lamp in this room also reportedly dates to the original location. Some of the dining room areas The bar area All in all, I can't wait to go back when they're open! :drink: Cheers! [ Edited by: finky099 2016-09-18 02:58 ] [ Edited by: finky099 2016-09-18 03:01 ] [ Edited by: finky099 2016-09-18 03:04 ]

Some follow up pics to my previous post-
I would be very interested to know how the "new" look of the RH compares to its previous incarnations. From what I can tell, the "tropical" atmosphere seems to be ramped up from the 2012 RH a little? There's at least a handful of the same carvings and tiki artistic pieces and lamps, but their locations have been moved around. Those who were familiar with the RH, please chime in with your thoughts based on my amateur photography of the interiors :wink: I am curious what the place looked like in the 50's and 60's. Sven posted a pic in this thread back in Nov 2011 that looked AMAZING in terms of decor (dim with bamboo or luahala matting all around, colored lights etc). The current state is still far from that but it looks better than the "poly pop Denny's" it was previously.

I spoke with a couple members of the staff (in particular John Pflueger, the executive chef) who were prepping for a private party this evening, but welcomed me inside to talk and wander around a bit. Whether the tikis are Hawaiian or not (and there's definitely a mix, but the good stuff outweighs the modern poly-pop ones) the "escapist" element was strong and it felt pretty cohesive. The small diorama sections of "indoor outdoor" flowers/garden felt like a tiny piece of the Mai Kai grafted into the dining areas here. Not as lush and detailed as they seem to have been in decades past, but still pleasing to the eye. There's not enough of this kind of thing in Orange County! Yes, two big flat screens above the bar, but this is Laguna Beach, some concessions may be necessary. I didn't get to ask about music but hope the selections will be "thematically appropriate."

Josh, one of the bartenders, talked about some of the things we can look forward to from their bar. A menu wasn't available at the time, but it sounds like they will have a good variety of tropical drinks (and of course the lapu lapu), but the mixology seems like it is knowledgeable and looking to be innovative. You can see in the pics below the rums behind the bar feature a lot of English style and Spanish but also some agricole. While they are carrying plenty of nationally known labels, they are also trying to keep smaller "craft" distillers on the shelf. They have Botanica gin from Falcon Spirits up in the Bay Area, and man the nose on that bottle smells KILLER. But, I digress...

They are making many/most of their syrups and spices in-house, including some interesting ones like a pineapple cinnamon syrup and a four-pepper spicy tincture that had a good flavor with quite a bit of zing behind it. They are making their own falernum and will be making their own orgeat hopefully in the future. They're curing dried pineapple and angostura-soaked spent lime halves to garnish drinks, and I spied a handful of different swizzles and picks behind the bar. Muggery initially will be "off the shelf" from Tiki Farm (similar to what Hatch over in Tustin District is using) but they are collaborating to bring back the classic Royal Hawaiian mug (perhaps with some new glaze or color) in 6 months or so.

Looking in from the front, just beyond the door is the host desk and waiting area.

From the inside

Pufferfish inside glass float lamps. I was told these were original to the place. Looking back at photos from the most recent previous incarnation of RH, it seems only maybe one of these was hung in this room before.