Mai Tai Bar

I was really looking forward to trying this out.  When I first moved to Hawaii, I heard of the famous Mai Tai bar.  I first confused it with the bar in Ala Moana Center.  I then tried to find it and got lost wandering around the Royal Hawaiian CENTER, not the hotel.  

I finally found it.  I think I had to get more yelp savvy to find this place.  Boy was I disappointed though.  

We came to kill some time before our Magic of Polynesia show across the street.  The hotel was a little crowded because they were setting up for a wedding in the beach courtyard.  Just a side note: if you are planning to get married in Waikiki, please note that you WILL have tourists in all of your pictures, taking pictures of your wedding.  I thought it was weird, but if that doesn't bother you, go for it.

This bar fronts the beach at the back of the hotel.  Just follow the signs.  We sat ourselves and waited, and waited, and waited.  That is what we did most of the time, waited... for two drinks and one plate of duck bao buns, which were two bites for my small mouth and one large bite for my husband's.  They seemed to have quite a few people staffed at the bar.  I think I counted 6 not including bartenders.  For how small the location is, I expected more timely service.  If I had nothing to do, nowhere to be, and I wasn't hungry and could wait forever for food, sure the place could be enjoyable to sit out and relax.  The buns were actually pretty tasty, heavy on the hoisin sauce.  

However, I think I would rather try a different bar in Waikiki than return to this one.

Can you say overpriced? I know we are beachfront in Waikiki, but two drinks came out to 30 bucks. That was as much as I paid for brunch for two a couple doors down! One and done was enough for me.

When I'm in town, I always make an effort to visit this bar.  They have the best piña colada!  Ambiance is very nice although at night I smelled a lot of pot smokers at the beach.