Costly pupus cloud
hidden bar gem
Kiki's After Hours
Open 2 p.m. to 2 a.m. daily
1633 Kapiolani Blvd.
948-8777
Don't underestimate the potential of Kapiolani Boulevard near the Hawai'i Convention Center, the stretch that's home to some of Honolulu's finer adult establishments. For every hostess bar and massage parlor in the area, there are just as many small restaurants and hole-in-the-wall bars for those of us on the straight and narrow.
Just Ewa of the world-famous (or is it infamous?) Club Femme Nu sits a strip, so to speak, of restaurants and other businesses you would expect in the area. Pass the two restaurants that flank the parking lot's Kapiolani entrance, and you'll find Kiki's After Hours in a space that would easily make you think it was a hostess bar. An all-too-familiar shoji screen theme and icicle lights hanging inside also don't help to set Kiki's appearance apart from most other spots in town.
On the night the Barfly visited, about a half-dozen customers sat at the bar while a few others occupied Kiki's 15 tables. A second room holds two pool tables and a bit more seating. The crowd ranged from three women in their mid-20s out for ladies' night to some old men that knew both the help and half the customers in the place. Two braddahs in shorts and slippers also took turns belting out karaoke by Linkin Park and Blink-182.
And if you're pinching pennies, be sure to eat before going to Kiki's. Try the Japanese or Korean restaurants mentioned above, or head down Kapiolani to 7-Eleven. While you can't go wrong with the $2.50 domestics and $3.50 wells at Kiki's, the bar makes their money back and then some when you order off their pupu menu.
GEORGE F. LEE / GLEE@STARBULLETIN.COM
Kiki's After Hours patrons Nick Garces, left, of Kalihi, and April Fukushima, of Makiki, enjoyed a little karaoke.
For an order of french fries, deep-fried mozzarella, a plate of fried noodles and a piece of miso butterfish, the Barfly spent $24. The fries and cheese sticks looked and tasted like the ones you get from Costco, and the fried noodles were just too greasy. The butterfish was OK, but for $9 one would expect some sort of side dish. An order of rice is on the menu, however, for 75 cents a scoop, if you're willing to pay.
For the second week in a row, it seems that the Barfly landed in a spot good for warming up before heading to bigger and better things at Blue Tropix or the Wave. Kiki's is worth a visit on Sundays, however -- there's free karaoke all night.
How much for a Bud Light?
$2.50 a bottle; imports are $3.50; and mixed drinks range from $3.50 to $4.50. Drink specials vary each night; Mondays feature $2 domestics and Thursdays offer $3 Heinekens, for example.
Get things to do?
Three Megatouch game machines and two pool tables are available; karaoke offerings range from Staind and Metallica to P. Diddy, the Backstreet Boys and Nelly Furtado.
What about the grinds?
Not enough bang for the buck; save your money and stick to drinking while you're there.
And the help?
Service could be characterized as leisurely at best. On a relatively slow night, it's not a good thing to be studying an empty beer bottle and wondering where your server went. Sit at the bar for better service.
Barfly appears every Friday in Star-Bulletin Weekend.
E-mail Jason Genegabus at jason@starbulletin.com with suggestions of neighborhood bars to visit.
