Cheeky Tiki — Restaurant in Hawaii

I've never had to walk out of a restaurant because the service was so bad. I've never left a 1 star review. Until now.

Not sure what the heck was going on with the staff that night in mid April 2024. We left after 50 minutes with no drinks or food.

We (2 of us) were excited to try this place because we love tiki bars, drinks and food sounded good. The hostess sat us down with waters and menus. We were then ignored for 25 minutes before someone took our orders. During this time, out of desperation we flagged down the hostess and other server multiple times, but they wouldn't take our order and said our designated server would be over soon. Our server (dark haired thin build woman) passed by us multiple times and I tried to flag her down (waved and said excuse me) but it seemed she was purposely trying to ignore us and pretend we didn't exist. We didn't even get a courtesy "hey sorry for the wait we are understaffed, I'll be right there" or anything. In hindsight, we should have left after this, but I thought once we got our orders in maybe it would be OK.

Our server finally arrived after 25 mins (first time she came to our table) and she was cold, no apology, seemed annoyed, and took our food/drink orders. We then waited another 25 minutes. No communication during this time and no sign of our drinks being made. We witnessed another table of 4 who arrived long after us order drinks and have them arrive (the other server was servicing them), and that was the final straw, we got up and left hungry, so sick of being ignored. To top it off, during all this waiting a large table next to us was being very loud and obnoxious the whole time (they got their drinks).

From what I could tell, there was no dedicated bartender behind the bar, and the servers were responsible for making the drinks. That seems like very poor management for a tiki cocktail bar. If they are truly understaffed (they never told me this but that's what I gathered) they need to limit the number of tables that are seated to something they can reasonably service. Or, let us know when we arrive that they are understaffed and service will be slow. Even just acknowledge us along the way rather than ignoring us!

I'm not sure we'll ever be back. Shame, because the menu sounded good. We went to many other Kona restaurants during our stay and never experienced something remotely like this. I can deal with waiting, especially if I at least have a drink in my hand, but that was completely ridiculous. We got nothing. Never experienced that in my entire life....

I really want this place to do well. It's in a banger location with a view of Kailua Bay and NO POWER LINES in the way. It has a great bit of potential. I sincerely hope it can become all it's meant to be. I am writing this review in hopes that the ownership will take these criticisms constructively. Here's the breakdown.

Ambiance 4 stars While it has a killer view and it's a MASSIVE improvement over it's predecessor the decor and furnishings are good in that they create a fun theme. We sat in the lounge area, (no waiting required). The couches were long with too firm cushions and not enough back support. Please upgrade these. The dining area seems good but I cannot vouch for the comfort. The little touches like the #instagram chair and the swinging chairs and the monkeys in trapeze really make this place fun. With a bit more quality design and decor this place could really set itself apart.

Service 3 Stars The staff was kind and friendly. They seemed adept at guest services. Our contention is the time is took to receive our first drinks, From ordering to receipt of the, really neat, cups it was about 20 minutes. This is far too long.

Food 3 Stars We ordered the: Vegetable Empenadas 2x Fried Plantains Tropical Avocado Salad

Empenadas were good. There were only 2 on the plate which for $14 is a bit steep.

2x Fried Plantains not quite crispy enough. The dipping sauce was weak and uninspired and needed something like more seasoning or a creamier base.

Tropical Avocado Salad had baby arugula which is a nice base but the dressing and toppings made for a forgettable experience. Maybe work on the dressing and add a blue cheese.

Drinks This is possibly the biggest draw of the Cheeky Tiki. I would come here just for the drinks. They come in really neat cups (see pics) but the mixology needs tweaking. The strength guide is much appreciated and seemed accurate. We spoke and decided that is we came back we probably wouldn't order the drinks but would go for seltzers or beers instead. for the price these beverages should be better mixed.

I am willing to come back and I love the direction this place is going in. Please keep up the good work....

I visited yesterday during a long 6 hour layover, I was at a restaurant next door and was recommended this place for drinks and hanging out since I was traveling alone. The bartender (who was a pleasure) was busy but that was fine, I asked if I could charge my phone while I waited for her, she agreed. I pushed a chair over to sit while I charged my phone, this one particular hostess (who had a snarky kind of attitude) didn’t say nothing to me for the 20 mins I was charging my phone and passed multiple times…until a group of men came in and she asked me to move and that “her boss doesn't allow anyone to charge their phone and move the chair over” she had me move with all of my stuff over to another section across from where I was that could have easily seated the group there. Quite embarrassing when the group of men were apologizing to me from the ordeal. If it is an issue to charge my phone (so I'm not stuck with no way to get back to the airport) that should have been expressed to me from the beginning. I think it is weird that a place that is labeled as a “bar AND LOUNGE” doesn't allow people to just lounge, charge their phone and enjoy the views and possibly while partaking in some drinks. She said she could maybe charge my phone in the office if I wanted to however I didn't want my phone not near me especially with constant updates from the airline etc. since I had 4 planes in total with about 2 days of travel to take to get back to the East coast. All in all I didn’t feel comfortable nor welcomed, I got my Guava Lava Flow (less drinks than I intended to partake in during my long layover)which was delicious and called a cab before my phone died to just go back to the airport and wait during my excessive layover. This did not make my first experience of the big island pleasurable. Quite lackluster to have to turn around and just go right back to the airport paying $65 round trip for a cab. It was...