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| - I love walking into a restaurant setting that makes me feel like I'm on vacation. The big colorful Hawaii picture on the wall, the outdoor tables with sand under the feet, the open bar with patron bottles hanging as lamps - the place just looks like fun!
My husband and I were early birds - we arrived at 6pm on a Saturday. The place was not that busy - we chose a pub table by the bar. Our server brought us menus and walked us through all the drink choices, which I love. I decided on the pomegranate margarita and my husband got the Diablo. My drink was extremely sweet and I couldn't taste the tequila. If the entire review were based on my drink, it would get one star. The Diablo, however, was so yummy - a lightly sweet cocktail with a spicy aftertaste - it was so good my husband had two of them.
We ordered four appetizers, which was a lot of food. (1) The steamed mussels in ancho chili sauce were AMAZING - we wanted to lick the plate clean. (2) The calamari was underwhelming - deep fried and rubbery w/ an overly sweet chili sauce. (3) The steak quesadilla was yummy, but they didn't provide enough guacamole, salsa or sour cream for the entire dish - it seemed like there was some serious rationing going on. (4) The coconut prawns were lonesome - four little guys, fried to death, sat on a very large place with more of the same sauce from the calamari.
Our server was over-attentive. She stopped by about every five minutes to see how we were doing. It drove us both a little nuts, but she was really nice, which made up for the constant checks.
Total cost of 1 margarita, 2 diablos, 1 beer and four appetizers: $75. (I think for the cost/value ratio, I am better off across the street at Z' Tejas.)
I feel like this place has the potential to be very great if they could just change up a few things. Don't over-fry things, add some variety to the sauces (maybe chipotle mayo for calamari?), don't ration guacamole and sauces, and don't give me super sweet drinks with a splash of tequila and call it a margarita.
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