Hula Hoops in South San Francisco, CA

Hula Hoops is a tiki bar and restaurant in South San Francisco (which is different from the south part of the city of San Francisco, it is a separate town down the peninsula, closer to the San Francisco Airport). It has a sporty slant, specifically targeting fans of the local Golden State Warriors basketball team. The main dining room has three televisions to show Warriors games, but are not otherwise in regular use. The space was decorated by tiki legend Bamboo Ben. The main room is a large space with black walls and ceiling, and glass windows along a southern wall, bringing in more light than is customary for a tiki bar. Despite the challenges of a large windowed space, there is a coziness thanks to the wall treatments and an assortment of beachcomber lamps, and there are several good-sized tikis in the space. Worth a special mention is a little tiki lounge room built by Ben just off the main room.

Daniel Parks of Pagan Idol

Pagan Idol

San Francisco, CA

Bar

assisted with the drink program, which includes some classic tiki drinks, and also the Bird of Paradise as seen on the menu at Pagan Idol, along with drinks served in real pineapples and coconuts with dry ice effects. The food includes island fare like Spam Musubi, Lumpia Shanghai, and Loco Moco, alongside a selection of inventive pizzas.

Comments

KevinCrossman

KevinCrossman has visited Hula Hoops.

August 4, 2018, 3:13 PM

Tiki Bar #27 in 2018 for me is a new one here in the Bay Area. Hula Hoops is in the city of South San Francisco and is located in an upscale strip mall right off 280. The restaurant and bar serves Hawaiian-inspired fare and pizza along with a nice selection of tiki drinks. I had lunch near opening on a Saturday and it was not crowded. The waitress asked if I�d like to sit in the Tiki Lounge. Well, yes, as a matter of fact I do think I would. The decor here is by Bamboo Ben and the tiki lounge in particular is a nice space. Though the ceiling is mostly open, this space does do a nice job of shutting out the outside world. Currently (this seems to have changed since opening) there are two lounge chairs plus two 2x tables in here. Comfy!

I had the Spam Sliders and they were delicious. Service here was excellent. I first ordered the Mai Tai which is made with Real McCoy rum. This was a lighter but still high-quality 1944 Mai Tai. No pineapple juice at all! Several of the selections are listed as being from Doc Parks/Pagan Idol, which is an indication that ownership wanted to make sure the cocktails were on point. I then had the Pineapple Express, which is from Parks. Delicious! There were several other cocktail selections that looked good and their rum selection is also fairly robust.
This is a family-oriented space and does feature several large TVs and a focus on community gathering for local sports. I know this place was packed for the NBA playoffs. They have Hawaiian-inspired live music on Wednesdays and Fridays, which in my mind somewhat makes up for the Reggae that was playing when I visited. I�m not a total hater for this (better than Top 40!), though would have loved more Hawaiian or Surf inspired music.

Hula Hoops is a neighborhood bar and restaurant. If it was in a lower-rent location we�d call it a dive bar, which is why I�m willing to give them a wide berth of the benefit of the doubt. They can�t all be dark caves playing Les Baxter. I�m happy to endorse this family destination and plan to return.

Tiare

Tiare has visited Hula Hoops.

July 11, 2018, 5:58 PM

It is a tiki bar with a loose sports theme so you can�t really fault them for TVs playing sports. It�s in a mini mall and was nice some families could go. Many of their drinks could be made virgin for the kids. The decor was nice and they had a back little private room that would be great for a group. They seemed very concerned about making reservations and if people had them despite empty tables. It�s more of a place to have a drink and food then just a bar to hang at. There is a tiny bar area so might not always be free.

The food portions were a little small but everything was tasty. Our drinks were good. I�d go back. Pro tip: in a mini mall with Goldilocks Filipino bakery. Dangerously good.