Kapu Hut is the tiki bar within North Bank, a McMenamins restaurant, overlooking the Willamette River. North Bank used to have a non-tiki bar, but in October 2014, it was tikified and became Kapu Hut. There is a small menu of Polynesian Pop-tinged food available, and the drink menu has tropical drinks and over 60 rums. Given McMenamins' focus on brewpubs, it makes sense that there is an unusual (for a tiki bar) number of beers available here, too. The theming is light, and mixes Tiki with Asian and African elements.
This is a tiki themed restaurant (like Trader Vic’s), not a dark and mysterious tiki bar. For what it is, they did a great job. Certainly tiki’s abound, but not over the top. The food, as expected, was very good. I was passing them town (and driving), so I can not comment on the tiki drinks. But McMenamins (owner of Kapu Hut, North Shore in Bothell Wa, and numerous others in Oregon and Washington) brews their own beers, and I know they make a good beer. Overall great place for a meal.
This is a tiki themed restaurant (like Trader Vic’s), not a dark and mysterious tiki bar. For what it is, they did a great job. Certainly tiki’s abound, but not over the top. The food, as expected, was very good. I was passing them town (and driving), so I can not comment on the tiki drinks. But McMenamins (owner of Kapu Hut, North Shore in Bothell Wa, and numerous others in Oregon and Washington) brews their own beers, and I know they make a good beer. Overall great place for a meal.
So first of all the Kapu Hut is inside of this McMenimins North Bank. McMenimins are known as brew pubs throughout Oregon though they have expanded into making their own spirts and wine too. The Kapu Hut resides in the bar area not the main restaurant, still there is plenty of seating though only a small area around the bar itself. The area has some tiki aspects as far as lights and carvings, but you get the strong impression that its still lacking a true tiki vibe. Music could have made a big difference here, but there were only a couple songs that I could hear at all and seemed to be mixed in with some non tiki stuff, which didn’t help the vibe.
I did have my doubts about the drinks after looking around. I appreciated that they offered a Tiki Flight which included a Jungle Bird, Mai Tai & Singapore Sling. The Jungle Bird was good as was the Mai Tai I would have enjoyed full drinks of both I think, the Sling was way to sweet for my liking. For my meal I had the Kalua Pork Plate with Hawaiian-style pulled pork, pineapple sambal, rice & mac salad, the pork was great as was the sambal.
As far as Tiki Bars go, Kapu Hut has a way to go. I hope they will keep adding to it, and give it some tiki love so that it can be come a full fledged Tiki Bar and not a Tiki Bar with an identity crisis as it is now.
This is a tiki themed restaurant (like Trader Vic’s), not a dark and mysterious tiki bar. For what it is, they did a great job. Certainly tiki’s abound, but not over the top. The food, as expected, was very good. I was passing them town (and driving), so I can not comment on the tiki drinks. But McMenamins (owner of Kapu Hut, North Shore in Bothell Wa, and numerous others in Oregon and Washington) brews their own beers, and I know they make a good beer. Overall great place for a meal.
This is a tiki themed restaurant (like Trader Vic’s), not a dark and mysterious tiki bar. For what it is, they did a great job. Certainly tiki’s abound, but not over the top. The food, as expected, was very good. I was passing them town (and driving), so I can not comment on the tiki drinks. But McMenamins (owner of Kapu Hut, North Shore in Bothell Wa, and numerous others in Oregon and Washington) brews their own beers, and I know they make a good beer. Overall great place for a meal.
So first of all the Kapu Hut is inside of this McMenimins North Bank. McMenimins are known as brew pubs throughout Oregon though they have expanded into making their own spirts and wine too. The Kapu Hut resides in the bar area not the main restaurant, still there is plenty of seating though only a small area around the bar itself. The area has some tiki aspects as far as lights and carvings, but you get the strong impression that its still lacking a true tiki vibe. Music could have made a big difference here, but there were only a couple songs that I could hear at all and seemed to be mixed in with some non tiki stuff, which didn’t help the vibe.
I did have my doubts about the drinks after looking around. I appreciated that they offered a Tiki Flight which included a Jungle Bird, Mai Tai & Singapore Sling. The Jungle Bird was good as was the Mai Tai I would have enjoyed full drinks of both I think, the Sling was way to sweet for my liking. For my meal I had the Kalua Pork Plate with Hawaiian-style pulled pork, pineapple sambal, rice & mac salad, the pork was great as was the sambal.
As far as Tiki Bars go, Kapu Hut has a way to go. I hope they will keep adding to it, and give it some tiki love so that it can be come a full fledged Tiki Bar and not a Tiki Bar with an identity crisis as it is now.
As a hybrid of a tiki bar/brewpub, it is a small piece of civility in a town that seems to have no reason to have a Tiki Bar. Relaxing atmosphere - excellent service and what few tiki drinks they offer at the place were not bad - overall it's pretty good. It was just the respite I needed after a long hard day trying to do a football game for fox TV.
Wonderful theme cohesiveness on entrance, kind of breaks down once you are sitting for a while. Good amount of non-tiki remains from previous theme.
Drinks-pleasantly surprised by drinks on first visit. Mai Tai and Jungle Bird completely on-point. They need a couple more strong drinks on their list; for $9 a drink, I want to feel the booze. Garnish was lovely, with luxardo cherries on bamboo picks providing the finishing touches. I was impressed enough that I came back within a couple weeks with other friends.
On second visit, the Jungle Bird was the stand-out. Mai Tai just wasn't what it should have been. And garnish was completely absent. Boo. I want my cherries, dang it! Bartender recommended something off-menu, called the black pearl, a berry Long Island. Not yummy, but at least it was strong. Pina colada was solid, for those who like sweeter drinks this is a great choice.
Food-Pad Prik green bean sauce was amazing, and beans were cooked to perfection.
I'm thrilled we have a solid tiki option here in Eugene, and I certainly hope that it's a work in progress. Consistency needs work, and the tiki drinks menu needs expanding.
My recommendation: Add a Nui Nui and maybe a Zombie too. Prices should come down or presentation should come up.
I did have my doubts about the drinks after looking around. I appreciated that they offered a Tiki Flight which included a Jungle Bird, Mai Tai & Singapore Sling. The Jungle Bird was good as was the Mai Tai I would have enjoyed full drinks of both I think, the Sling was way to sweet for my liking. For my meal I had the Kalua Pork Plate with Hawaiian-style pulled pork, pineapple sambal, rice & mac salad, the pork was great as was the sambal.
As far as Tiki Bars go, Kapu Hut has a way to go. I hope they will keep adding to it, and give it some tiki love so that it can be come a full fledged Tiki Bar and not a Tiki Bar with an identity crisis as it is now.