This review is for Luau Larry's breakfast.
First off, I realize Luau Larry is where you go to get a Wicki Wacker Drink + the hat, and grab a bite for lunch or dinner, but alas I didn't come in here for drinks or a burger, I was stupid enough to come in here for breakfast.
Breakfast here was weak. Portions were small, and expensive. More so than other establishments on the street. Had an omelette, walked out and went and got a burger on the pier.
CLOSING!
Lease has not been renewed and the Santa Catalina Island company plans to demolish Luau Larrys and most of the block.
Leaded paint and plumbing, asbestos construction, leaky sewer system, 5 decades of bird droppings icing it's roof like a cake,, the entire building is declared Haz-Mat.
They run it like a business going out of business because it is a business going out of business.
Attitudes, service and food quality will vary in the meantime.
So get your kicks here when ya can because it will be scraped soon.
Sad but true.
Avalon is becoming like Waikiki,, and that sux.
Sign in front says open for breakfast. In the 2 weeks we were in Avalon they never opened for breakfast.
Service was terrible. Took 15 minutes to get a menu. Â Server had the personality of a rock. Â Asked for the check and he practically threw it at us. Â
Beer was good but overpriced...hard to mess that up. Â Australian margarita was terrible AND overpriced!!
One man hand was entertaining but ruined  a Journey song....  Which is hard to do!!!
My wife and I took our first trip to Catalina a couple weeks back. First place we stop at to eat/drink after arriving is Luau Larry's. Loved the music (rock), although a bit loud for the afternoon time. Had the swordfish sandwich, wife had the ahi tuna sandwich. Both were exceptional, although rather expensive for sandwiches at around $ 18.00 a pop.
So why the single star??? The waitress STOLE from me! My bill came up to $ 90.62, and I graciously left her a $ 14.00 tip (even though half that bill came from the drinks), for a total bill of $ 104.62. After returning to the mainland and getting my credit card statement, I found that I was charged $ 230.62!!! Seems that the waitress  took upon herself to add a ZERO to her $ 14.00, giving herself a $ 140.00 tip!!! Some could say that it may have been an oversight, but not only was the tip amount changed, but the total would've had to have 3 of the digits changed to arrive at $ 230 vs. $ 104.
Thankfully, I got in touch with a manager who researched the situation and discovered the nature of the problem. He arranged to credit me the difference, although I thought he should credit me the entire tip at least for my trouble and time spent rectifying it.
I realize that there's not that many places to eat on Catalina, and several of the restaurants have the same ownership. However, in any business climate, nobody needs employees who steal, let alone steal from its customers! It's a small town, everybody probably knows everybody there, and I think the waitress should be reprimanded. She doesn't need to supplement her high cost of living the island life by stealing from me! The manager stopped short of saying that they would be firing her. I surely hope they're not in cahoots and have a racket going with trying to catch people not auditing their credit card statements. I'm sure they could clean up from many unsuspecting patrons if that be the case.
I can't say much for the food as we didn't eat here but for drinks and live music we loved Luau Larry's (we have about 9 Wiki Wacker hats to prove it ;) Both nights that had a guy playing (with no intermission...that's one crazy long set!) popular rock hits...AC/CD, Bon Jovi etc that by the end of the night had people dancing! I loved the Wiki Wackers although the guy's in our group said they were too sweet and foo foo. I tried Buffalo Milk's elsewhere on the island but these were far the best. They tasted just like a banana milk shake with no alcohol (which could be a very good or bad thing). The bartenders were super friendly and gave everyone heavy pours!
Review Source:"Meh...I've expereinced better..."from Luau Larry's!
I like Luau Larry's... That is why it is hard to give this review. Â Went in towards the end of a Saturday night, crowd was thinning, found a table and sat, waited, waited...and waited more. Â No service. Â I was very surprised as have had many great times getting my wicki whacked! Â Hopefully this was a fluke, not a sign of larger problems.
Big fan of this place. Had a really good experience so we kept coming back. Being from Hawaii i do have a recommendation for the Poke. Use sushi rice, not uncle bens style. That stuff is not supposed to fall apart while you eat, The tower of rice is meant to support the scoops of Ahi you pick up. Also, dont go cheap on the plate. You make a beautiful presentation but you use paper cups for the soy sauce lol. Invest in some cheap ceramic soy bowls and throw some avocado on that bad boy beneath the Ahi. I promise you, i grew up on these Ahi towers. I know my stuff =) It was delicious tho, so kudos guys. Bartender was rad, took good care of us and we met some very friendly locals Sally and Kirk and I think Jason? who let us use their Golf Cart. Catalina rules
Review Source:Basically a dive bar. Rather dark, loud, and cramped inside. Not really my kind of scene, but I tried it out. Robert Irvine would go ballistic over the tacky decor. Kind of cool how they made a little cave room, but it's rather dark and can be claustrophobic for some. Also, service might not notice you in there.
Got poke and clam chowder. Poke was okay. Little heavy on soy sauce and salty. Clam chowder was decent. Definitely had better. If I'm paying a lot for food on the island already, I want something good, not just okay. Wouldn't come back. At least the service was friendly and attentive.
Luau Larry's was OK. We went in with intentions on grabbing a light lunch and a couple drinks. We succeeded in getting a couple drinks in a few minutes, and then we got menus. After ordering fries to share we waited a solid ten minutes for anyone to interact with us again and see if we wanted to order any food, both of our drinks were empty as well. While the drinks and the fries were good, the service was nearly poor. I know this is typically what is seen as par for the course on Avalon, but I want to feel appreciated at a restaurant if that makes any sense.
Review Source:Luau Larry's has a great chowder bread bowl! The coconut shrimp and the fish and chips were great as well. It's a small location and a little pricey but I think for the location it was pretty reasonable. Other customers were raving about their cocktails so we might have to go back some day without the kids in tow!
Review Source:It's not a trip to Catalina without a Wiki Wacker.
If you like strong drinks, great people watching, straw hats, and caves? Â Then this is just the place for you.
I suggest that you do whatever you have do during the day, but you MUST be sure to end your night here. Â
I just wish I didn't have to travel 26 miles across the sea to get there.
I was here on August 25, 2012.
My best memory was of my newlywed Mom & her husband dancing with some serious enthusiasm while my brother and I sat at our table and watched. There were a lot of other people of similar biological maturity who were just as energetic while they danced, arms occasionally flailing wildly enough to smack me in the back/arms.
I discovered a drink that I think is conceptually AWESOME but not as well executed by the folks at Luau Larry's: the BUFFALO MILK, which consists of vodka, dark cocoa, creme de banana, milk, and fresh bananas. What could've been a great drink ended up being ultra sweet, far too thick, and not quite strong enough to justify the calories.
Not really my kind of scene or (live) music.
SIDE NOTE: Bubble wands are AWESOME. It makes sense that someone would pull a ninja and swipe mine at Luau Larry's.
This was our last stop on the way out of Catalina. After noticing their daily specials we decided to stop in and get out of the rain.
After perusing the menu a bit, we decided to get the buffalo burger and the clam chowder bread bowl.
The buffalo burger was surprisingly tasty and came with delicious fried onion strings on it and a side of fries. The fries were even crispy and hot which was nice on the cold day.
The star of the meal thought had to be the clam chowder. Though the top of the bread bowl was a bit odd (almost like they had chopped off the cone of bread that they cut out and used it for another appetizer), it was still really delicious. A generous helping of clams and served piping hot, it really was a great ending to our dining experience on Catalina.
We didn't know what to expect stopping in, but were glad we took a dive.
This place also gets busy for happy hour and drinks and looks to be a fun dive bar type place at night.
My bf and I stopped here on a Friday night. Â There was a live performance that was highly entertaining. Â The bar consisted of locals and tourists. Â It has a small dance floor which was frequently occupied.
Servers were very attentive even though the place was packed. Â We were comfortable here.
Came here on a Thursday night (11.9.12) at around 6 pm. Due to rain, there wasn't many outside activities to do, so my boyfriend and I decided to have an early dinner at Luau Larry's as it seemed like a great place to have a small bite and a drink.
We unfortunately started out on a bad note, for as soon as we walked in we were told to seat ourselves, and the man at the bar was rude to my boyfriend. He said something along the lines of "Grab a menu for yourself and your lady right now, otherwise she's going to be pissed." I'm not sure if he was trying to be funny, but in saying it without a smile, if left a sour note in my mouth that stuck with me through our dining experience.
The tables are large, with great amount of seating for a group of 6 comfortably per table. I can say that as a pro for this establishment, but that's about it.
It took the gentleman at the bar, who seemed to be running the bar, taking orders and bringing out food all by himself, a good 9-12 minutes to walk over to us (at the table right across from him on a slow night with just two groups sitting down) and take our order.
The gentleman offered to take our drink order first, and when my boyfriend listed what he wanted to drink, the waiter told him that he would not like that drink, and that proceeded to list off his own recommendations. I'm sorry, but what waiter (maybe owner?) tells a customer what they will and won't like off their own menu? My boyfriend got the wacky drink at his recommendation...a drink that was meant to come with a hat or sticker, my boyfriend was not offered either but paid the outrageous price for it anyways in the bill.
LUAU LARRY'S DOES NOT CARD FOR ALCOHOL. We are 23 and 26 respectively, and we not asked for our ID's once. The waiter did not card any other guests that came in and ordered drinks while we were there either.
We ordered the appetizer platter that cost $16 for two chicken wings, three poppers, two fried cheese sticks, and five onion rings. WIth only two other groups seated, and two gentleman having beer at the bar, it took 32 minutes from the moment we placed our order to when we received our food. 32 minutes. The waiter did not apologize for the wait once, and while he didn't refill our waters, seeing that they were empty, kept pushing for us to buy more alcohol. No thanks.
The food was cold, and the onion rings were not only still partially frozen, but three of the five had water come out of them instead of oil. I've never had that happen and I buy onion rings all the time. I'm not sure if that is because they were frozen and not put in the oil long enough or what, but it was really strange.
This was the only food we had there, but this specific menu option tastes like they bought frozen food and simply dropped it in the fryer for too short of time. Nothing was fresh, not even the old lettuce that was browning, that was placed under the store bought frozen food.
All in all, it took around an hour and 45 minutes for us to place our order, receive our food & bill, and be able to walk out. Not once was our water filled, not once did our waiter ask to give us anything other than alcohol, not once were we offered the hat that was meant to be given with the drink order, and yet we were insulted three different times.
I'm hoping it was just a bad night, and that this place isn't always like this. I'm sure if you're in a big group you can make your own entertainment and have a great time, but if you're a couple or a family, be prepared for extremely slow service, having to walk up to the bar to ask for your bill, and in our case have rude service.
We don't go to Catalina often, but when we do, from now on we will not be dining at Luau Larry's.
I don't know what happened. I came to Luau Larry's last year (after a much too cold snorkeling excursion in MARCH). :/ i know....and it was fantastic. The fish and chips were great-- the coffee and baileys- perfectly cooked.
This time around, we got the Cobb salad, the ahi tuna burger and the fish and chips. The cobb salad, literally was a head of lettuce, with some tomatoes, and some chopped up pieces of turkey meat from Ralphs. Â If you're charging so much for this salad, you should really put more in it no?
The ahi tuna burger was good, but the bun stuck out because the fish was so delicious. Make sure that all ingredients for the item is on par -- and I was famished! Lastly, the fish and chips were overly breaded, and not as succulent and heavenly as I remembered it to be last time. I was with a friend with diabetes, and the waitress seemed perturbed when I asked her if there was anything with no sugar in it--- please be ready to accommodate ALL customers, especially ones with specific health needs.
After all was said and done, the 60 dollar plus check just didn't seem to do the meal justice. Sorry Luau Larry.... I'm going to the Lobster Trap instead. good food, better prices....
I spilled my drink every where and the waiter replaced my Wiki Wacker (alcoholic) drink! That was so nice and not required. The staff went above and beyond to accommodate my clumsiness.
The atmosphere and decorations are creative and very island themed, obviously since they are on an island. Their service was friendly, outgoing, and responsive. Their food was good. It is a small island and not many reputable places for good cuisine so Luau Larry's is a place to get decent food at an affordable price while enjoying yourself with their island themed decor.
I recommend Luau Larry's to anyone visiting the island.
Want to get "wicky whacked" while spending some down time on Catalina island? After being asked this by a middle-aged cougar who eyed me like an injured doe, I was skeptical. If the rest of the clientele was anything like this former spring chicken, it was likely I'd have to beat off 8,500 combined years of estrogen run amok. After giving in and deciding to YOLO a bit, I obliged... and it ended up being quite the enjoyable first hang after exiting the Catalina Express harbored just a stone's throw away.
What is a "whicky whack," you might ask? Well, it's an island favorite that tastes like any drink you'd find at a TGI Fridays, but the difference is that these overly-sugary libations come with a straw hat that was probably manufactured in China for $0.16. It's a fun touch, so I can't hate on it. The drink was terrible, but I didn't expect to imbibe at Employees Only while weekending in this strange oasis in the middle of the Pacific. It is what it is, and if you need to be whacked, there's no better place than Luau Larry's.
My wife and I Â visited Catalina on a stop from a Carnival Cruise ship. Â Catalina was the best stop on the cruise and Luau Larry's was the my favorite place we visited that day.
The island decor was not too over done and the seeting confortable. Â The service was propmt even though the place was almost full.
We each had the Green Flash IPA beer and I tried the Buffalo Burger with sweet potato fries. Â They all were excellent and worked very well together.
You have to try the buffalo burger. I ordered it medium rare and they got it exactly right. Buffalo can be too lean for a burger but this one was jucy yet not greasy. The meat paddy was thick and large enough to justify the $11 cost for the plate  It came with the right fixings and proper sized bun for paddy.
Luau Larry's is deffinitly desirving a second visit.
Went here at night. Cool spot to have drinks and listen to the one man band. I enjoyed the variety of music he played and I definitely had fun singing along to a couple of songs.
Drinks- 5 stars I got my wiki whacked and some.
Service - 5 stars very friendly and fast service
Food- 4 stars it was good but that's it
overall 3 stars based on the fact that the girls restroom was out of order and I had to use the men's restroom that was really gross!!!! ewww!!
Also remember this is a bar and people come here to get "wiki whacked" drunk so if loud drunk people dancing for you is not your thing skip this place at night lol I enjoyed it.
Went here for lunch after arriving on the island. Â Ordered a Buffalo Burger that was ok, but the meat was a bit dry and couldn't taste much of the meat's flavor (the fritters, red onion slices, and sauce masked the meat flavor). Â Should've known that it was listed as a special for $11.95 (typically is $14.95), which probably meant that they were trying to rid of their buffalo meat inventory. Â I was hungry anyway. Â
The clam chowder in sourdough bread bowl for $8.95 was a better choice. Â The amount of clams was decent and the chowder was quite rich. Â The sourdough bread tasted better than I expected. Â
Service was ok.
Luau Larry's is definitely a pretty happening place, especially at night. Â As other have said, there is a nice mix of locals and touristas. Â I liked the one man band, who works six nights a week and has quite a playlist. Â Some of which I thought me played very well, good enough to warrant a tip from me.
I got lucky and scored the front table, which is a great spot to people watch from. Â A lot of people just hang out in front just to listen to the music and check out the scene inside.
I had the Buffalo burger, which was fine. Â Price wasn't bad by Avalon standards. Â Weakest link in Luau Larry's chain was the waitress - she did her job, but that was about it.
This review is for breakfast only.
We had breakfast here and it was very good. Fast service, huge portions & friendly wait staff. I had the breakfast burrito and my hubs had an omelet. We had to inhale our food since we had to get to our boat tour. I would eat here again if I were to ever return to Catalina.
I forgot some parts of the evening but the locals reminded me as I walked the streets of Avalon the next morning. I blame the awesome Wiki Wacky's; order one and they give you a straw hat. Order several more like me and you'll be stumbling back to your hotel, but happy. It is a fun place to hang out so here's a bit more on the place.
Luau Larry's is open day and night for food and great drinks. The drinks are perfectly made  (bartender knows his drinks too), the food is good (your average fare), the atmosphere is festive, and the lighting is perfect for us drinkers (perfectly dim). Anyone on yelp that complains about the drink prices doesn't get that you are right next to a beach and the drinks are not made with water. Avalon IS pricey so expect that everywhere here.
Great music (most of the time as a one man band and not to loud so you can easily talk to everyone), dance floor which was well used by 1/4 of the people there, several comfortable booths and good bar seating (everything is kept in good shape).
This is the type of bar were locals and visitors mix it up and have a great time. If you're lucky enough you'll run into Tom, a local who writes vivid poetry about the Island of Catalina and has some fun stories.
LL's is right next to the Pavilion Hotel (so its next to the beach). Now this was perfect for me because I don't think I could've stumbled any farther to get back to my hotel. I give it a full 5 stars because of all the reasons above and it is one of the most happenin' party bars in Avalon. Drink well my friends, have a great time, and be safe.
Dad told me if you "wacked the wiki" too much you'd go blind... Mom would say, "You're making God cry..." BUT no one told me it CAME with a hat!!
Photo - <a href="http://www.yelp.com/biz_photos/ejkivioxBWVZO79RkLbd5w?select=GxYymLw8y1fE7pX-gj7ooQ#akffxMOBzDjzorJrMNLW1g">http://www.yelp.com/biz_…</a>
A friend of mine suggested I drop @ Luau Larry's for a drink!...
'Great suggestion!!
We took a seat up @ the bar, lucky us since most of the yelp*views griped & moaned about the sit down, table service. "Suckas!!!" 8)
Great, laid back spot to have a few drinks, make some new friends, maybe lose some old ones... ('All depends on how much you drink.)
Our bartender, Juan - <a href="http://www.yelp.com/biz_photos/ejkivioxBWVZO79RkLbd5w?select=GxYymLw8y1fE7pX-gj7ooQ#VDiwhnwPQMEp3QcVOwiDKw">http://www.yelp.com/biz_…</a>
We sat next to another fellow who appeared to have been there for a bit. (The glazed eyes, staring off at the wall opposite of us was the first hint.) "What's my tab?... Okay, 'kay... I'll have a Maker's shot!," he said to the bartender.
Maker's - <a href="http://www.yelp.com/biz_photos/ejkivioxBWVZO79RkLbd5w?select=GxYymLw8y1fE7pX-gj7ooQ#LKVQ_Hl8EFOQQKuaJd55WA">http://www.yelp.com/biz_…</a>
Hmmm, a Maker's Shot... 'That sounded good! I chimed in, "Set us all up for Makers & put it on my tab!" The guy turned to me, "Thanks friend but this'll be on me..." (hiccup) "Mahalo stranger! Okole maluna!!"
I didn't quite catch his name but he was an engineer, obvious by his E=MC2 & volume vs. mass jokes... The drinks definitely helped his jokes, drinks always do!
I coined him as "Engineer!" EP nicknamed him "Nav," short for Navy. Engineer kept telling us his "good ol' Navy days stories."
The nerdy stranger - <a href="http://www.yelp.com/biz_photos/ejkivioxBWVZO79RkLbd5w?select=GxYymLw8y1fE7pX-gj7ooQ#dNPTjVuwxKk_n8yhqco2bw">http://www.yelp.com/biz_…</a>
So, it was just after noon, we've had two Buffalo Milks, two Wack'n Wikis, & now a Maker's shot! 'And I still have to walk, crawl, be carried down the street to catch the Catalina Express back to Dana Pt. ('Which once I got there, had two more Long Island Ice Teas @ Turks as I waited for my ride. 'She showed up two hours late but what the hell did I care?.... DJ Park had already left the building three drinks ago.)
"Yippy kai yay mo'fo!"
A great last day to a great trip!
Big Aloha Luau Larry & thanks for the hat!
Aloha! - <a href="http://www.yelp.com/biz_photos/ejkivioxBWVZO79RkLbd5w?select=GxYymLw8y1fE7pX-gj7ooQ#U8HCPQdvKKO0XdYHRVTXwA">http://www.yelp.com/biz_…</a>
Food(Drinks only): 5 (No time for food!)
Service: 4
Ambiance: 4
Value: 4
After landing at the Avalon port, I had some time to kill til my friends got to the island. I'd made a new friend on the boat to Catalina and he asked me to join him for a drink - we ended up at Luau Larry's.
Pretty rowdy place already by 2pm. It was loud, it was fun, and the drinks were pretty good. Ken's Punch is the way to go.
Our waitress was a bit of a dummy. My new friend asked if they had Oysters Rockefeller, and she was quick to say yes. I then saw her go behind the counter and ask her co-worker what they were. She came back quickly to say she was mistaken and that it was the previous place she worked at that had Rockefeller, and she was confused (nice attempt at recovery). Then my buddy asked if their oysters were steamed. She again was quick to say yes. And when she served them, they were not steamed at all.
I knew they'd come out raw and I was happy with that. But my new friend was expecting steamed oysters since that's what the waitress said he was getting. We didn't say anything because we felt bad for her. Poor girl - so dumb but so sweet.
The place is cool though with its tiki theme and random mariachi band. The place was packed both with people and luggage. It seemed to be the first stop off the boat for a lot of people and everyone was having a great time.
I really enjoyed myself here. The Wiki Wacker cocktail is a sneaky little drink, you definitely cant taste the booze but you can feel it. The free hat with purchase of the drink up'ed the fun level.
The food here was really good as well. We ordered the Buffalo Burger and a Swordfish Taco, both on special, and both delicious.
Service was acceptable, not bad, not great...average, but average is fine with me, especially with a Wiki Wacker in me.
Just have fun, be a goofy tourist.
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