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DEBUG: Number of visits in registry: 2
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Construction Time Again!
April 17th, 2009Text on the left.
La Jolla Cafe
July 15th, 1992When visiting my first Hard Rock in Maui, I noticed on the menu that there were several other locations across the globe. Unfortunately, none of them were anywhere near me, so it was nearly two years before I had the opportunity to visit another property.
Originally known as the Hard Rock Cafe San Diego (until San Diego got their own in 1998), this cafe was actually located in the beautiful beach community of La Jolla about 20 minutes north (or much, much longer if the traffic was bad!).
The property itself was kind of middle-of-the-road both inside and out. The interior looked like a Hard Rock, but never quite felt like a Hard Rock to me. During my many visits the service was typically glacially slow even when the restaurant wasn’t busy. But, even despite it all, I still loved the great location and never passed on an opportunity to visit. The one thing I remember most about this cafe is that the chocolate shakes were consistently thick and tasty. In the end, I don’t know how well the property fit into La Jolla, but I will certainly miss it.
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Maui Cafe
August 16th, 1990My first Hard Rock Cafe experience was fairly uneventful. I was in Maui with friends and we needed a place to eat. After walking along Front Street in Lahaina, there was the Hard Rock Cafe at the end, beckoning us to enter, so we did. I had never heard of the chain before, but the music, laid-back atmosphere, great service, and good food had me hooked instantly. On subsequent Maui trips the Hard Rock Cafe became a traditional stop, and I started buying pins and T-shirts to commemorate each visit. Little did I know where this would lead!
While the property’s exterior is fairly reserved and boring, it fits nicely into its surroundings and has plenty of screened windows so diners can enjoy the beautiful Maui weather while they eat. The interior, however, is 100% Hard Rock. From the outside you can’t tell that there’s a A-frame roof inside, which is kind of a surprise. This cafe features wide open spaces, classic wood fixtures and plenty of memorabilia (including a surfer wall). The bar is situated in the center of the restaurant and has a beautiful wood-paneled convertible propped above it. The merch shop is right at the entrance, but is roped to facilitate traffic flow (I wish more Hard Rocks would do this).
I have never had a bad experience here in the over half-dozen times I’ve visited. Before the menus were all standardized, you could get an order of Maui Onion Rings made with the island’s freshly-cut signature sweet onions, but I can’t tell if they do that anymore or are just using frozen.
Overall, I cannot recommend the Hard Rock Cafe Maui highly enough. Probably in part to the “no worries” attitude that permeates the island, this is one of the most laid-back, relaxing, and enjoyable restaurants in the entire chain.
