The Tonga Hut Restaurant and Tiki Bar — Restaurant in Palm Springs

Amazing! Daniel is the best server! We came for drinks and dinner and had a blast. Daniel recommended drinks for us and was friendly, helpful, and really went above and beyond to make our experience unforgettable! Our first set of drinks were the Mohave Punch and the Nutty Chi Chi. Both were great but the Nutty Chi Chi is especially delicious. Then we had a Zombie and a Mai Tai. Their Mai Tai is the best I’ve ever had! This is the original Mai Tai with lime, and no pineapple. Daniel gave us a heads up that isn’t what most people expect, but wow! The OG Mai Tai is a revelation! So delicious! We split the pu pu platter and the food was amazing too! The egg rolls were the best I’ve ever had. The coconut shrimp, beef, dumplings, and sauces were all incredible as well. I asked Daniel if they had tiki mugs available to purchase, and he brought the two they had to the table so I could take a look at them to decide which I liked best, which was incredibly sweet and helpful! He really loves and is passionate about tiki culture like us, and his knowledge and care truly elevated our experience at Tonga Hut to be maybe the best dining/drink experience we ever had.

We had so many bests here! Tiki bars are such a fun experience, and Tonga Hut might just be at the tippy top of the best there is! Thank...

Found this place on a whim, and when we got there, the place itself was very unique and interesting, so we were excited for our meal. Then we were seated. After about 20 minutes, we had not seen our server. However a few other new tables were sat after us, and got service fairly immediately. Ultimately, we had to go back up to the hostess stand to ask for a server. It was all downhill from there. We saw our server a total of three (very brief, non-engaging) times the entire time. Each time we needed something in between, we had to go to the hostess stand to ask someone for it. The food was horrible, and not the Hawaiian food you would expect. Its more akin to what you would find in an amusement park. The portions were super small and all of the meat was overcooked, dry, cold, and tough to eat. The drinks were passable, but we only had a chance to order one. By far the service was the worst part of the experience. The bar seemed like a different experience perhaps, so if you just want to grab a drink at the bar, it may be a better experience. Otherwise, feel at ease in ruling this place out as you search for a good...

Food was ok. Huli Huli was not like any I have tried. I've been to Maui, Oahu, the Big Island and Kauai. There are a few items I always eat: Masubi, Loco Moco and Huli Huli. This was disappointing and the steamed rice was undercooked. We were promptly sat and then forgot about. We had to ask for service. Once our server did show up. Salads and entrees all came out quick and at the same time. The Caesar Salad came with anchovies upon request and was good. The pineapple apple fried rice is a must have! The Orange Pop corn chicken was very tasty. The whole place was hot as hell. I do not know if they were having AC issues. They did deploy fans to circulate air but it didn't help much. The staff was very friendly and the drinks are excellent! They pour strong so beware they will sneak up on you. My impression was they were having a bad night and doing the best they could do due to some challenges. The Tiki atmosphere was legit. I will definitely be back. 3 out of 4 dishes I sampled were very good, drinks and Staff (other than the initial delay in service) was excelent and the...