LONO Hollywood — Restaurant in Los Angeles

I'm torn here. I liked this place but I didn't, it's hard to explain. The staff was friendly enough but I felt wildly unwelcomed as a paying patron of the establishment. We had one (delicious) drink and left. Wish we could've sat and tried some bites.

I guess my overall is.. Overall; very busy, get reservations especially for groups. Typical potent, somewhat pricy tiki drinks and nice atmosphere.

With reservations, you get a table ... even if you won't be there for another fifty minutes, the ghost of your future can occupy that space while present physical patrons stand, squished and hovered nearby.

So without reservations you risk carrying a hurrican-sized banana drink being shuffled around the entire place. You'll start in front of the bar trying to get a drink which can be so packed you're blocking the entry or the walkway so you'll get shuffled but any place you get shuffled, they'll have reserved for someone else that's not you and this will continue every five minutes until you're standing by the bathrooms feeling rather unwelcomed despite the staff, barbacks and bouncers rather positive tone and demeanor. (Very very sweet bartenders too.)

The owners should think about utilizing their space more. More cozy yet flexible seating could really fix this one major complaint. Think Chicago Broken Shaker, seating and places for drinks tucked every which way. Or do what your buddies at Three Dots do and have the standing area...

I mean... It's Hollywood... More of a classy deco style bar than Tiki in my opinion. The bartender is AWESOME! LOVED him. The hostess seemed like a stereotypical Hollywood hostess who couldn't have cared less about Tiki... Her ankle boots with her Tiki-esque outfit kind of proved that. We were having a good time until the woman I assume was the manager came in. She completely brought down the vibe of the place and she clearly did not want us there. We were already feeling uncomfortable when she came over to our table, took one of our drink menus and said "you only need one of these" and added ours to the stack of menus she was already carrying. Never mind we were still looking at them. Also, in my opinion, a non alcoholic Pina colada should DEFINITELY not cost MORE than the alcohol version. Come on. It costs way less to make and why am I being penelazied for being a responsible non alcoholic driver? We did go at happy hour so I can't speak to the vibe of the place during busy Friday night hours. If you just want a kinda fun place to go and get some sassy over priced cocktails from a dope bartender, I recommend it! If you don't mind being chased out after half an hour. (the assumed manager is the one smiling...

The place can be a little challenging to find. It has a white paint exterior with a black palm tree emblem and reeks of tiki chic complete with exotic foliage and rattan furniture. The neon sign at the entrance reads, "Where the Wild Things are," and thus started our adventure.

We got there for Aloha hour which is available from 5-7PM Tuesday-Friday. We ordered a round of drinks. Had the pina colada, Beatles are overrated, and Chareau me the Way (which was a bit too tart for my friend). The drinks were nice and strong. We were also with kids who had the virgin pina colada, which is the same price as the happy hour colada. So the lesson is, obviously get the alcoholic one if you're of legal age.

I had the Robata chicken wings as appetizer which was a bit too sour (too much lemon?). The Kauai fried chicken which was nice and crisp on the outside and juicy inside. The menu is rather limited, but everyone seems to enjoy their meal.

The server and hostess were friendly. We got our drinks and food expeditiously and she served us with a smile the whole time. So if I'm ever in Hollywood again, I wouldn't hesitate coming back...