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Barfly Jason Genegabus |
Log on for beer
at Sand Bar
THE SAND BAR
Location: 2375 Ala Wai Boulevard (corner of Ala Wai and Kanekapolei)
Hours: noon to 4 a.m. daily
Phone: 922-4744
Imagine kicking back with a cold beer, surfing the Internet and watching the day's sports highlights on a big screen television -- all at three in the morning.
No, I'm not talking about a nightcap on the couch at home before calling it a night. Take a trip to the outskirts of Waikiki and you'll find a gem of a watering hole in the lobby of the Waikiki Sand Villa Hotel.
NIGHTLIFE veterans will remember the Sand Bar as the former home of comedian Frank DeLima, who performed regularly in the space when it was known as the Noodle Shop.
Back in 2000, the hotel decided to renovate its lobby and take the bar in a new direction. Instead of focusing on live entertainment, the Sand Bar now serves as a multi-faceted resource for tourists during the day and a pau hana hangout for industry workers and barcrawlers who want to grab one last drink late at night.
Stop by in the afternoon and you'll find visitors from around the world sipping on a Lava Flow, Mai Tai or Blue Hawaii and talking story with one of the bartenders. The hotel's pool is just a few steps away, so it's not uncommon to see entire families passing through during the daylight hours.
But in my opinion, this bar's appeal increases as it gets later in the evening. Most of the tourists have gone to bed, replaced by what's normally a mellow crowd of locals. On most nights, all six tables and eight barstools in the main room are taken by 2 a.m., and it's standing room only until last call.
WHILE IT'S entirely possible to sit down and enjoy yourself in the Sand Bar's main room, there are two other options for customers who want a little variety during their visit.
Walk through the open-air bar area towards the makai end of the building, and you'll come across a door to the air-conditioned game room. On most nights the tradewinds will blow strong enough to keep the bar cool, but it's nice to know you're just a few steps away from air-conditioned bliss if it gets too hot outside.
A pair of dart machines, a jukebox and a pool table are located in the game room, with a couple of tables in a corner for people to sit at. I've seen this room packed shoulder to shoulder at times, which can make playing pool a little difficult.
Want to enjoy the most intimate seating this bar has to offer? Head out through the rear entrance toward the pool, and you'll find another four tables outside that you can sit at. I was amazed by this particular seating option the first time I visited the Sand Bar, since the tables' close proximity to guest rooms at the hotel would virtually guarantee noise complaints -- or at least that's what I thought.
As it turns out, I've yet to see (or hear) anyone come out and tell customers that they need to keep quiet. Grab a table outside and you'll be able to enjoy a drink under the stars while still getting service from the employees inside.
IF YOU decide to pay a visit here, be sure to also take advantage of the complimentary Internet connection that's provided with any purchase at the bar.
While they might not all be working at the same time, five terminals provide the means to surf the Web or send drunken e-mails to friends (which can be a lot less annoying than drunk dialing them, but still entertaining). All you have to do is ask, and one of the employees will hook you up with a username and password that gets you a half-hour of free Internet access.
How much for a Bud Light?
The Barfly drank $3 Bud Light bottles during his visit to the Sand Bar. Draft beer is also available, with brews like Guinness, Bass Ale, Kona Longboard Ale and Newcastle available to customers.
Get things to do?
Dart machines, Megatouch game machines and a pool table are all located in the game room at the Sand Bar, and there are three smaller televisions in addition to a big screen in the bar's main room. Again, be sure to take advantage of the free Internet access that's available to paying customers at the bar if you decide to stop by.
What about the grinds?
There aren't a lot of choices on the menu here, but they all seem to taste pretty good at 3 a.m. after a long night of partying. Spicy chicken wings ($5.25) are a favorite here, although I prefer the boneless chicken tenders ($5.25) myself. French fries ($2.50), onion rings ($3) and jalapeno cheese poppers are also on the menu.
And the help?
Drink service at the Sand Bar is better the closer you sit to the bar itself. If you're close by, servers are always hustling past you, but it's relatively easy to get their attention and place an order. Hang out in the game room and you'll have to wait a bit longer, but I didn't have a problem keeping the drinks coming. Sit outside, and you're in for an even longer wait, but it's worth it to just relax on a lawn chair and talk story near the pool deck with friends.
See the Columnists section for some past articles.
Barfly appears every Friday in Star-Bulletin Weekend.
E-mail Jason Genegabus at jason@starbulletin.com with suggestions of neighborhood bars to visit.
