Famous Hukilau Cafe??
Okay so we went on a bit of an adventure the other day. To find the elusive Hukilau Cafe from the movie "50 First Dates" ya know the one with Drew Barrymore and Adam Sandler? After about a 40 minute drive (I know this is an island but... these annoying mountains really get in the way of a direct route to anywhere) anyhoo...we are looking for the quaint little cafe in the movie and THIS is what we found. hmmm...we went in anyway and had breakfast. I ordered the local plate LOCO MOCO which said it was spam and rice ( no mention of thick brown gravy or eggs) but what I got was a large styrofoam plate mounded with rice, spam, two eggs over easy and then covered with brown yummy gravy. Not exactly on my new clean eating plan. But if you know me at all I am not one to for go a meal so... It was so yummy. I only ate 1/2 the rice (still about 2 cups of it though), the spam 3 slices, and none of the eggs. I just couldn't do gravy on eggs my little cholesterol meter was screaming already. My friend had the banana pancakes and said they were just okay. So during our meal the waitress, noticing our lack of localness, gave us the low down on why we weren't dining in the cute little cafe visited by Adam Sandler. Apparently the movie makers liked the cafe's name and gave said restaurant $$ for using the name. So instead of filming in this little dive they made their own Huki Lau Cafe over on Dillingham ranch about an hour away...filmed it there and then ripped it down. hmmm is all we had to say.
posted by Jill Army @ 12:53 PM
12 Comments:
That's cool that you found the Hukilau Cafe. I thought it was a cute little place. I had the coconut pancakes which were pretty good.
The Hukilau Cafe used in 50 first dates was actually a special building built at the fishpond on the Kualoa Ranch property which is about 20 minutes south of where you found the real Hukilau. I think it was torn down after the movie.
Actually, the Hukilau Cafe from the movie isn't torn down. About 2 weeks ago I was there. They will actually take you on a tour there and let you see the building. There's not much to it. It's also the film place of the reception of You, Me, and Dupree; so it's white now.
I just had breakfast at the Hukilau this week on vacation in Laie on Oahu. It's totally a tiny little local hang out and is not the same place as the movie. I wanted to make a little waffle house, but ended up ordering the macademia nut pancakes and an egg on the side. YUMMY! They were giant and my sweetie had to finish them for me. Super fun and now I can say I've been there!
Funny, I am glad I found this site.
My husband and I are on our honeymoon and thats our fave movie.
We have been searching how we could find the Hukilau Café.
Could anyone tell me where I could find the real Hukilau Café?
As well one of you mentioned somthing about the set not being torn down, and doing tours, any info you could give me?
Today I called the Hukilau Café at 10:20 AM to make sure they were still open, the lady who answered the phone told me they would be open for another 15 minutes. I arrived at the packed Café at 10:30 to place a to-go order and I was rudely told by the same lady that they were closed. This is the second time this has happened to me in two weeks. The same thing happened when I showed up at 1:40 PM as they were putting up chairs in preparation for the 2 PM closing time. If I wasn’t vacationing in Laie I would not have made the same mistake twice. These events shocked me as the previous reviews made the staff sound very friendly, I found the local staff to be somewhat rude and unfriendly to white tourists. Hopefully you will have a better experience.
We just had breakfast at the Hukilau Café in Laie on December 24, 2008 and it was nothing like the movie 50 First Dates. The food was good and staff was really friendly. When we got home, we watched the movie with the director's commentary and Peter Segal mentioned that the entire scene of the Hukilau Café was shot in California with the background being completely digitalized. We were disappointed that we weren't able to sit in a booth like Adam Sandler and Drew Barrymoore, but the ono food made up for it. Upon further research, we found out that Sam Choy actually started in that same restaurant before it became the Hukilau Café.
I had the Hukilau deluxe cheeseburger and it blew my mind! Best burger I've had, hands down. Staff was super friendly as well. Aloha!
The building they used is still standing at the Tropical Farms Macadamia Nut farm on the windward side of Oahu. They pointed it out on a tour of the farm that I took a few weeks ago when visiting the island. It was a great tour, I highly recommend it.
Is someone up there mad that they show up five minutes to closing and don't get food? Have you ever been to a restaurant before?
i was hoping to find that cafe too..good for me i found this site and comments..
Its my favorite place on the North Shore. When I'm there I eat breakfast every day they are open. Oddly, they remember my wife and I from previous years and are always friendly.
The place can be busy and it isn't supposed to be fine dining. The food is good and I have always found the staff to be friendly.
Ate the Loco Moco bowl and Hukilau burger in one sitting. Best burger no doubt. Wife had Teri Burger and I helped her eat that too. Awesome. Friendly staff. One thing to notice...only rude people were the tourists. The locals have treated use like family.
Post a Comment
<< Home