Nalu Hawaiian Surf Bar and Grille

I've been a Yelp member for years...using it only to read reviews, but never actually wrote a review.  Anyway, I liked Nalu so much I felt I needed to add a review.  I loved everything about this place - from the open air feeling, to the food.  We went for dinner....there were 10 of us....I had the crab cakes and thoroughly enjoyed them.  So often I get crab cakes with a ton of filler, so I was a bit leery...anyway, they were fresh, well made and tasted outstanding.  My husband had the tacos and hasn't stopped talking about them....he said they were fresh and light.  I found Nalu to be reasonably priced with excellent food...needless to say, we'd definitely stop by again next time we're in the area.

This review is for the food/restaurant, which could easily be upped to 4 stars with a little attention to detail. First off, the habanero mango hot wings were excellent and would have warranted 5 stars if that's all we had. From there it was down hill. Ahi poke was heavy handed... The ingredients were cut too big which didn't allow proper incorporation of flavors and the avocado was not ripened at all. The mains were delivered 2 minutes after our starters were delivered. We ordered 5 tacos (2 Baja and 3 Korean ribeye)... All were soggy from being wrapped in tin foil and loaded with cole slaw, so the flavor really lacked. The drink specials were small and tasted gross. Waitress was nice, but had no clue. In addition to the above, our waters sat empty, chips were delivered without salsa, and empty appetizer played sat on our table for the full service. This place definitely has potential and I've enjoyed having day drinks here, but don't go here expecting anything more than bar food and bar service.

The place is surprisingly franchisee. Food was at-best average. But the happy hour specials were awesome. Half price tacos and 3 dollar margaritas.