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    Hula's Island Grill

    4.2 (3.4k reviews)
    Closed 4:00 pm - 9:00 PM
    Updated over 3 months ago

    Hula's Island Grill Photos

    HULA'S ISLAND GRILL ATMOSPHERE

    What's the vibe?
    Casual
    Loud
    Dogs allowed
    Happy hour specials

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    Pupus and drinks, (and the baby's snacks)
    Stef D.

    Have I not reviewed Hula's yet?! We LOVE Hula's Island Grill. Tonight our server Jen was fantastic. We grabbed some drinks (Dr. Funk is our fav) and appetizers (if you like ceviche, get it here) before ordering dinner. Happy hour is daily 4-6pm and all day Tuesdays. For dinner I had the udon, one of my favorites, that has shrimp, fish, cilantro, and a coconut milk base. It was plenty large enough for me and my 3 year old to share. My husband ordered my other favorite, Duke's Luau Pork Plate. My parents ordered the crab curry and fish tacos. Everyone was happy with their meals! Service and food are always good here!

    Heidi M.

    We came here years ago and we were not satisfied with our meal but on our recent trip to Monterey, I thought we should give them another chance after reading reviews on Yelp. First, I must admit the Tropical, Hawaiian decor is really cute. We were seated quickly and our waitress was nice and attentive. My husband ordered a steak sandwich which wasn't on the menu but used to be a long time ago. Reviewers on Yelp even recommended it. I ordered the Hula burger with sweet potato fries. The steak was small and thin and was not anything special. The hamburger was terrible. All the toppings are extra from cheese to pineapple to avocado. The bun was a hard ciabatta roll. I imagined both of our meals would have a sweet teriyaki kind of flavor, but no such luck. Hamburgers at Red Robin are way better, even In n' Out would be much tastier. Parking is difficult and the prices are high. Our lunch for two people was over 60.00. We will not be back.

    Pork plate
    Monty H.

    Whether it's happy hour or normal dinner menu, this place is a solid choice. Everything is always delicious, cocktails are strong. Happy hour menu is really great, especially the bites. Main plates are moderately portioned and taste amazing. Pretty fun vibe inside, no complaints. Servers also know the menu well and make good recommendations when you're undecided.

    Calamari was bland
    Rachel M.

    Located in the heart of downtown Cannery Row in Monterey, Hula's offers Hawaiian fusion cuisine with indoor and outdoor seating. There's 60 and 90 min street parking around the restaurant. We got a table for 8 and sat in the outdoor patio, which was covered and had heat lamps for the cooler temp- perfect and spacious enough with our 4 kids in tow. Menu has a good variety, even a separate vegan menu. I got the fish sandwich with Caesar salad (ok- but bread overpowered the fish), mac and cheese (really creamy and cheesy) for my toddler and my hubs got the vegan cashew kale salad with vegan chik'in. We got calamari, which was abalone style and kinda bland. Rest of the table got burgers and fries which overall had good reviews. Service was a bit slow but it was Memorial Day weekend and it was pretty busy.

    Kingston Crab Curry
    Daniel S.

    $35 Kingston Crab Curry: it's very good? Or am I delusional? At the least it was hearty and filling. But I don't think it actually came together. The blackened white fish wasn't a good counterpoint. Crab meat is also more texture than flavor. That means the curry has to do all the heavy lifting here. And it's good curry but I wanted it to be an even heavier presence. I've eaten here multiple times over the years and happy to come back again. I'll just stick to their other menu items.

    Bento box
    Gagan S.

    Food: 4.5/5 Excellent presentation, very creative menu items. The Bento box combines Korean, Japanese, and Jamaican flavors. The ceviche tastes fresh and addition of coconut milk added island touch/Kokoda style. Crab curry had ample meat for the price and serving. Service: 4/5 Friendly Ambiance: 5/5 Loved the interior with the pictures and artwork. Beautiful setting on a rainy day.

    Pie
    Adwait A.

    The hula pie which is so highly rated is a cringe worthy amount of sweetness. The kahlua flavored icecream with chunks of sugar. Felt like pulling after eating that. Should have left it. The Buddha bowl is below average. You are basically eating raw veggies and rice. There was no flavor, tiny amounts of curry. The Brussels sprouts was the only highlight of this bowl. I was so excited by the plant menu and amazing seating, but the food was a let down

    Aarti P.

    Food: Fantastic. Flavorful. They are happy to work with you on substitutions and spice options. Generous portions. Kid approved. Veg approved and overall all good. Drinks were also great. We liked it! Burpppp! :) Service: Quick food. Our host, Meg was superb. She knew the portions that would work for kids and accommodated dishes that works for them nice. She was patient with us all as we were a big crowd with several kids. Cheerful and always checking in with us, we loved her service. Thank you Meg! Ambience: Hawaiian ambience. Chatty friendly vibes. Nice music. Restrooms: Clean, well maintained. Parking: Street parking. Challenging but if you have some patience you will find it a few blocks away and walk it up to the restaurant.

    Leonardo W.

    Ambiance: 4/5 Service: 5/5 Food: 5/5 Drinks: 5/5 Price: 4/5 Parking: 4/5 Second time at Hula's, and I'm a fan. Good food and drinks. Hazen was our server, and he was great. Price is what you'd expect in Monterey, and while often paid, the parking is everywhere.

    Cute photo spot next to the bar out back
    Morgan P.

    Yummy drinks and food, kind service. Indoor or outdoor seating, cute tiki menu. Pricey but feels like a getaway and is good quality at least! The vibes are very cute.

    Poke bowl
    A K A.

    Amazing service and delicious food. Saw reviews of the coconut shrimp roll. It's as amazing as the other review said. We had the pork, chicken bowl,& tuna. Poke bowl was fresh and delicious ! Juan our server was fantastic!!!!! Service was great if in Santa Cruz again I will come back!

    Faye V.

    Super cute tiki bar with amazing food and themed drinks! Was able to be seated right away and waitress was nice and helpful in making suggestions for most ordered drinks. A nice place to stop by along Cannery Row

    Coconut shrimp roll
    Becky E.

    110% wish I could give them more stars. We just happened to see this place on list from our hotel as places to eat. Best price for happy hour appetizers food & drinks-great service ( Kelly) was so sweet & check to make sure we had everything we needed. Definitely worth a 2nd or 3rd. Visit The crispy coconut shrimp rolls come with 4 pieces ( pictured only showing 2.),

    Chicken plate, Coconut Shrimp Roll, Shishito Pepper, Ceviche

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    11 days ago

    Service was great. Food was great. Ambiance was great. Will come back next time we're in Monterey. Their hula dessert was fantastic.

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    Hula's Island Grill Reviews in Other Languages

    Ask the Community - Hula's Island Grill

    Is Parking available?

    Yes

    Do you offer a gluten-free bun with your veggie burger or do you have an option of sourdough bread?

    We were there last night and they have a full menu page of gluten free items

    Do they take reservations?

    yes, they do.

    Are you pet friendly?

    Yes, they have a pet friendly patio in the back. You can also order a meat patty or grilled chicken breast for your pup.

    Are they open for dine in?

    Yes, they have a beautiful patio. There aren't many seats so call ahead to see if you can get a spot. Well worth the wait if necessary

    Does the coleslaw or aioli have dairy?

    Hulas uses vegan Mayo for their aioli. That being said there is one aioli which also contains Parmesan cheese. The cole slaw does have sour cream in it.

    Can you order the pie as a whole, or is it just by slice? I love their lilikoi pie.

    You can order a whole pie, you will need to call a day or two ahead to be sure you get it.

    Are you guys opening for sit down dinner soon?

    There is limited seating on the outdoor patio. Reservations are highly recommended.

    When is happy hour?

    Happy Hour is from 4pm-6pm Sunday and Monday, 2pm-6pm Wednesday through Saturday and Tuesday from 2pm-close

    View All 17 Questions

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    Kuma

    Kuma

    4.3
    (439 reviews)
    1.1 mi
    $$

    I have been wanting to give this place a try and finally got the opportunity. Unfortunately I was…read morein the moment so I did not take any photos. Everything was really fresh and prepared well. The restaurant has beautiful vaulted ceilings and great vibes. Only note was the music was all over the place but not a big deal at all. We ordered a lot since we were both very hungry and left satisfied. Starters: Spicy garlic edamame - great flavor and not overly done (5/5) Shrimp & Veggie tempura- perfect amount of batter (5/5) Gyoza (5/5) Mains: Chicken Teriyaki served with miso soup, salad, and steamed rice. (4/5) only because the salad while good had a little too much dressing, not a deal breaker. Sake sashimi 5/5 Tiger roll 5/5 Would definitely recommend as a great sushi spot and will be back!

    We ended up here after Alvarado brew had a 1+ hr wait and it was a GREAT pivot!…read morePrickly pear marg was a fantastic start, strong and sweet Our rolls came quickly, best of which were the Sun roll and Phoenix (fun fire at the table!) Best of all was the Toro tuna belly sashimi!!! Our server Jaiden went above and beyond recommending this, telling us how to eat it, and even bringing over a special wasabi for us to try!! Ambiance leaves something to be desired, but Jaiden's service and the toro sashimi was the BEST! Definitely visit for fresh sushi when you're in Monterey

    Photos
    Interior
    Interior
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    Edwins Carmel

    Edwins Carmel

    3.9
    (178 reviews)
    4.2 mi
    $$$

    I usually only do positive reviews, but I had to share how put-off I was with my family's…read moreexperience here. When we originally walked in there were very few parties seated. We had a party of nine. Shortly after we were seated, a party of well-dressed ladies that the employees seemed to be familiar with, so I can only guess they were "regulars", arrived. When we first got there, it was fine, but once the other party arrived, we were completely cast aside. We ordered two cups of coffee that we observed an employee walk around with for 20 minutes, stopping to chat , before he plopped it down on a counter before our server brought it to our table. Needless to say, it was already cold. As far as other drinks, we didn't order any. We all drank water and we weren't offered a refill literally until the end when we were almost done with our meal. They were tending to the other party the entire time. When I saw that the other party received all their meals before we did - even though we were there, seated and ordered before they were, I stopped what I can only guess was the manager (dare I say an owner?) and said, "Excuse me sir, we got here before the other party and they've already gotten their food, and we're still waiting." His response was not, "I'm sorry it's taking so long. Let me check on it." Or "I know it's been a while, your food is coming right out." He actually said to me in an irritated tone, "Well because they got all fried food and you got all grilled!" And walked away. And here's the kicker - all our food wasn't grilled. Most of us ordered salads. Granted one had chicken and one had salmon, but who says this to a customer? I honestly wouldn't have cared so much about getting our food after the other party had he responded differently but for someone in the food service industry to treat a customer that way is just gross; for someone to run a business that way is just gross. I wanted to walk out of there without paying, because honestly, the food was gross and the service made it even worse. We got an order of egg rolls (that were all lumpia wrapper with no meat, by the way), my Caesar salad? Every piece of lettuce in my salad was the core, so I pretty much picked out the chicken, and to top it off we ordered clams, which wasn't even part of the delay because they forgot to include it in the order all together. Don't even get me started about how he couldn't answer the question about the menu. I'm Filipino, and that was an insult to Filipino food and to Filipino hospitality. I have so many family and friends in the food service industry and for this reason, I have never given less than 20% gratuity. I cringed doing that here, but I honestly wanted to leave nothing. That's how bad the taste Edwin's left in my mouth. Do better next time. No matter who enters your restaurant, treat all your customers with some warmth, no matter who they are, even if they aren't your regulars, don't make out-of-towners feel like you're doing THEM a favor by LETTING you feed them. Everyone who enters your doors helps keeps your doors open. They have a lot of restaurant choices in the area. Don't make them regret choosing yours.

    Last time I was thinking of a 3.5 star rating if Yelp allowed it, but in trying Edwin's again, it's…read morenow a solid 4 if not a 4.5. We were looking for some lighter eats and Edwin's provides some great options there. Service was improved and very welcoming (I think last time they hadn't been open long). Once again we had the Lumpia-style Crispy Rolls and the Crispy Chicken Strips, and again they were delicious. My wife also had the Apple Salad which was also very good. I chose the Singapore Chili Prawns, which was not overly spicy, and very flavorful with perfectly cooked shrimp. They have a nice selection of wines by the glass. We were only going to have a quick meal and then head back to the hotel to relax, but it turned out to Open Mike night (basically Karaoke). The two hosts were engaging and good singers, so we stuck around as they were taking requests and had an appreciation for 80's music. Eventually other patrons and singers arrived, and we ended up sticking around for 2 hours. It was a lot of fun, and the manager brought us a couple of Coconut Macaroons on the house, that were yummy. One piece of constructive criticism for the owners is that they need to upgrade the space to give it more of a tropical resort vibe, which would make it a really unique option in Carmel along with the menu. The space as is, is a good foundation. Just a few new light fixtures and some larger plants would create a really cool space. As an example, they should look at pictures of Khaluna in Minneapolis.

    Photos
    Javanese Prawn Pasta
    Javanese Prawn Pasta
    House made crispy rolls (aka lumpia)
    House made crispy rolls (aka lumpia)
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    Hula's Island Grill - asianfusion - Updated July 2026

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