The Banana Hut started out in 2004 as a simple fair-food shack selling banana fritters and ice cream. In 2009, owners Ken and Fatima Evans expanded into a full restaurant in downtown Eureka. In 2011, they were able to purchase the remains of the interior of Chicago's Kona Kai
, and are planning to expand to add a tiki bar and banquet room.
The restaurant has plenty of thatch and a scattering of smaller tiki masks on the walls, with a bright and airy modern surf feel. The food is Hawaiian cuisine with all the plate lunch favorites, and tropical cocktails are available.
KevinCrossman has visited The Banana Hut Hawaiian BBQ.
August 15, 2020, 9:15 PM
Sadly, Eureka's Hawaiian restaurant with a tiki theme will be closing on August 29; the owners are retiring. Glad we made it. As of today they are offering to-go food, a limited beer and canned soft drink selection, and Pina Coladas. So, I didn't get to try what is likely California's northern most on-menu 1944 Mai Tai.
The decor here is great, and I love the way they used the popcorn ceiling to make the cloud effect. Lots of tikis left over from Chicago's famed Kona Kai. When we were waiting for our food, someone came in expressing interest in buying the lot. It is too bad this place is closing.
Our food was pretty good. Mrs. Mai Tai had her favorite, Macadamia Nut Mahi Mahi, complete with rice, gravy, and macaroni salad. I had a teriyaki chicken sandwich and spam musubi. Good Hawaiian food. I bought a menu as a memento.
A sad reminder; visit tiki bars when you have the chance.
Tikisteffie has visited The Banana Hut Hawaiian BBQ.
September 5, 2018, 7:35 PM
The orner is tooooooo funny
He was standing at ouer table and we had so much fun with
The food was greate Realy lovely
Te service was reel lovely and good. Ther was Hawaiian muzik Nice
Tikis al over. I only miss the decorations , swizzelstiks and the tiki mugs with the cocktail
The cocktails need more love they are good but it missed the tiki spirit
They have no tiki mugs and no swizzelstiks but they have a stolen pen and a glas stain with there name on it
NeilSmith has visited The Banana Hut Hawaiian BBQ.
July 25, 2018, 1:12 PM
I wasn’t convinced at all by this bar, it’s had some great vintage pieces of decor, but then let itself down by using African masks/crap Tikis over the lights.
It has a funny damp smell, and the drinks were kinda ok.
I won’t be visiting here again
KevinCrossman has visited The Banana Hut Hawaiian BBQ.
August 15, 2020, 9:15 PM
Sadly, Eureka's Hawaiian restaurant with a tiki theme will be closing on August 29; the owners are retiring. Glad we made it. As of today they are offering to-go food, a limited beer and canned soft drink selection, and Pina Coladas. So, I didn't get to try what is likely California's northern most on-menu 1944 Mai Tai.
The decor here is great, and I love the way they used the popcorn ceiling to make the cloud effect. Lots of tikis left over from Chicago's famed Kona Kai. When we were waiting for our food, someone came in expressing interest in buying the lot. It is too bad this place is closing.
Our food was pretty good. Mrs. Mai Tai had her favorite, Macadamia Nut Mahi Mahi, complete with rice, gravy, and macaroni salad. I had a teriyaki chicken sandwich and spam musubi. Good Hawaiian food. I bought a menu as a memento.
A sad reminder; visit tiki bars when you have the chance.
Tikisteffie has visited The Banana Hut Hawaiian BBQ.
September 5, 2018, 7:35 PM
The orner is tooooooo funny
He was standing at ouer table and we had so much fun with
The food was greate Realy lovely
Te service was reel lovely and good. Ther was Hawaiian muzik Nice
Tikis al over. I only miss the decorations , swizzelstiks and the tiki mugs with the cocktail
The cocktails need more love they are good but it missed the tiki spirit
They have no tiki mugs and no swizzelstiks but they have a stolen pen and a glas stain with there name on it
NeilSmith has visited The Banana Hut Hawaiian BBQ.
July 25, 2018, 1:12 PM
I wasn’t convinced at all by this bar, it’s had some great vintage pieces of decor, but then let itself down by using African masks/crap Tikis over the lights.
It has a funny damp smell, and the drinks were kinda ok.
I won’t be visiting here again
Tiki Hayrani has visited The Banana Hut Hawaiian BBQ.
August 3, 2016, 3:18 PM
This is a great little place I was happy to find in downtown Eureka. It has a great range of appropriate cocktails which are made exceptionally well with proper ingredients, great balance and care. That point is a real standout given that so many places today have far less well-made tiki drinks. The Singapore Sling, for example, was the real thing - it looked beautiful with a nice pale pink glow, pineapply foam at the top, and nice boozy gin character with noticeable Benedictine, a key ingredient in a true Singapore Sling. It was not some generic rum-and-juice thing thrown together with a famous name. The food we had - korean chicken, kimchee, musubi, and saimin were all excellent. They took a lot of effort to decorate the place, although it is still basically a small, standard diner that has been tikified. I score decor efforts pretty highly but still the overall mood and tikiness are limited at this point due mostly to the nature of the location I think.
A great place for some Hawaiian food with a tiki vibe. It's more of a restaurant than a tiki bar, but it's got a very respectable selection of tiki drinks to pair with the food. The decor has a lot of tikis with both free standing and wall mounted ones. It even has some (generic) tiki mugs. The musubi and deep fried musubi really hit the spot. The only caveat I'd have for the tikiphile about the place was the "mood." It felt like a restaurant rather than an exotic escape where you left the daily grind of the real world behind.
Overall, a great place to drop by, have some tasty food, and grab a nice rum drink. I'd definitely go there again when I visit Eureka.
The decor here is great, and I love the way they used the popcorn ceiling to make the cloud effect. Lots of tikis left over from Chicago's famed Kona Kai. When we were waiting for our food, someone came in expressing interest in buying the lot. It is too bad this place is closing.
Our food was pretty good. Mrs. Mai Tai had her favorite, Macadamia Nut Mahi Mahi, complete with rice, gravy, and macaroni salad. I had a teriyaki chicken sandwich and spam musubi. Good Hawaiian food. I bought a menu as a memento.
A sad reminder; visit tiki bars when you have the chance.