A scouting expedition...

HAWAII KAI LOUNGE

: : After meeting up with the gang at the Caribbean Curry House one evening, we decided to check out a rumour: the existence of a Hawaii Kai Bar in the Bill Wong/Beni Hana Restaurant on Décarie Boulevard (we were in the neighbourhood, after all). : :

: : A Tiki Appreciation Society member had clued us in to this place… apparently, his parents were regulars at the Hawaii Kai in the old days but stopped going when all the other regulars began dying off. In fact, he said he’d been there so often to meet his parents, it’s almost like he had been a regular too (even though he was way under age)… “They must’ve thought about putting a crib in that place for me when I was a kid…” : :

: : The Hawaii Kai is hard to spot in the ultra-modern Bill Wong Restaurant but, if you go, don’t be fooled, it’s there if you look hard enough… the entrance is the door just after the coat check area. : :

: : Walking in to the Hawaii Kai, you’ll find it to be a small, authentic Polynesian bar. I didn’t really see any tikis but the joint does have a great dark atmosphere and the decor includes a thatched roof over the length of the bar, plenty of bamboo trim, and fake rock walls made to look like the inside of a cave (with this great recessed lighting in the “rock”). The Hawaii Kai also features a variety of interesting hanging lamps, made out of everything from baskets to blowfish. The only distraction from the bar’s exotic atmosphere was the bright light coming in from a section of the restaurant (which is not entirely closed off from the bar). : :

: : We showed up at about 10 p.m. on a Saturday night, and, seeing as how the supper crowd was gone and the only people left in the restaurant were the remaining guests from an Indian wedding reception, the Hawaii Kai kind of had to be re-opened just for us. But the bartender (if I understood correctly, her name was either Ha Ha or Hi) was very friendly and service was great. Fred and me had the Yellow Bird (a good mix of rum, curaçao, juices, etc.), Dave went with Mai Tais (again), and Betty had the Special (you get to keep the glass but it’s not a tiki mug or anything fancy). : :

: : The Hawaii Kai… just a short and sweet visit but an exciting discovery nonetheless. We all agreed that we’d soon return for happy hour. : :

Salon – Lounge Hawaii Kai

7965 Decarie Boulevard

Montreal, Quebec

(514-731-8202)

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