Grog

It looks like the Grog is no more. So sad. I really liked this place. I knew they weren’t long for this world when they drastically reduced their hours (Notice to all business owners, cutting way back in your hours, while perhaps solving some immediate cash flow problems, is a great way to kill your business in the long run. If you’re never open, or not open when I want to patronize you, then I’m going to start to forget you exist, or I’m going to always wonder when you are open. Rent, electricity, insurance etc are all fixed costs, you pay them if you’re open or not, the few bucks you save on payroll isn’t worth closing for.
Sigh, Grog, you will be missed.

I absolutely love everything about Grog — except one thing. Every time I’ve gone there, an awesome local band will be playing, and while the music is great — it is impossible to have a conversation with ANYONE without yelling, because the speakers are turned up WAY too high. The atmosphere has such a cool vibe, though — and I really like it. I completely recommend going there — but just be aware that if you are looking to have any sort of in-​depth conversation with anyone while a band is playing — you will find it extremely difficult. Otherwise — rock on!

Thanks Cheri A. for setting up this UYE!
I’ve always been curious about this place after passing it by many times on PCH. I’ve never set foot in this establishment as I rarely frequent bars these days. However, I met up with Cheri and her beau John, Angela T. and John S. here last night to enjoy some bluegrass music. One of the ensemble members is John’s (Cheri’s John) good friend from way back.
The ambiance is done in a Hawaiian-​ish flair but somewhat modest in décor although it’s a comfortable enough setting for a dive bar.
They had some great bar appetizers on the menu such as calamari and nachos with beef but I ordered the turkey burger with fries for my dinner. It was somewhat ordinary as one would expect as the turkey patty was slightly mushy. I should have had the steak sirloin burger instead.
The staff is very accommodating and I really liked that our waitress was friendly and cheerful. She was prompt in filling our water glasses and whisking away dirty plates without being asked. She was definitely a cutie!
The music was somewhat loud at points during the night and being in such tight quarters only exacerbated the volume but we still managed to converse by shouting at each other now and then!
Don’t know if I’d come back again on my own but if we were to have another gathering, I wouldn’t be opposed to it!

DAMN… I wrote the review then accidently deleted it… grrrrr.
I came here last night with some Unilocalers and a few friends to see a friend perform in his bluegrass/​folk band The New Low [photo]
The décor is a cross between Old Hawaiiana and old aviation history such as the Pan Am Girls and their pilots (I am a plane geek so I like that kind of stuff)
I had already eaten so I had a couple of their Mai Tai which were strong but decent (not a true Mai Tai like in Hawaii but the standard one gets here… FYI Tony’s on the Pier makes real ones)
I disagree with Antho on the noise level. I have really bad ear problems so I have zero tolerance for loud music and I was happy it was not too loud.
The waitress was super friendly and attentive and we all had a good time.

Stopped in early on a Sat nite around 9pm. Great décor and the waitress /​bartender were very cool but it was pretty evident they were laying it on thick to get us to stay… as we were the only 3 people in the joint. lol
We ordered drinks and food which came out quick, go figure, and we settled into dinner. I ended up ordering the sliders which sat like a rock in my stomach for the rest of the evening. Not so good. I mean, come on… it’s 3 mini burgers. How hard is that? However, I swiped a sweet potato fry from my buddy which was very good.
I was enjoying some surf stoke on Fuel TV when the band started up and the bartender shut off the big flat screen… even though the sound wasn’t on. But the band, whom I believe to be Jeremiah Roiko had a great sound and was a nice substitute. They were an odd looking trio, but that didn’t stop them from from producing some nice tunes.
At this point, considering there were now around eight people in the bar besides the staff, we opted to head out and were a bit surprised with our bill… guess those cocktails weren’t so cheap after all. But, that’ll happen.
I’m sure Grog has a lot of potential and on certain nights it’s jumpin, but it was lackluster at best. Not sure if I’ll go back or not. Maybe if we bring a group to invade with… and steering clear of the sliders for sure.

The place is small and unassuming, but it has a good atmosphere. Luke usually bar tends the nights that we have been there and has always treated us well. Excellent food and decent bands!

This place looks cool on the outside… love the name.
I always drive by and have wanted to go in and grab a drink.
Inside though, it is a bit smaller than I hoped and the band playing wasn’t good at all (sorry if you are reading this).
Drummer looked half asleep and basist guitarist needed me to fill in to liven things up (and I don’t even know how to play).
Singer was decent-​he had an Elvis-​like sound.
They played cover songs-​Jimi Hendrix, etc.
Kinda weird.
We left after 20 minutes.
Bartender was super nice and very attentive (since there were only 5 people in the place).
They weren’t serving food so I can’t mention anything about the food.
My boyfriend had a beer and I ordered an Absolute and Red Bull, so how can you possibly pour a bad drink?
Those 2 drinks cost almost $ 20.
I still like the outside and the name. I don’t know if I will go back. Nothing special.

Stopped into this place for the first time last Saturday to do some pregame warm ups. Nice «loungish» atmosphere and the bartender and server were very nice. They also had this kickass tiki/​surf band playing original songs. I would say this place has got potential. Oh and they have happy hour from 5 – 8 Wed-Sun…Which isn’t bad at all.

I showed up on an empty Saturday during the Memorial Weekend, but I have to admit that the DJ of the night, DJ Lunatic, was awesome. He mixed up the hip-​hop so well that although we were the only crowd in the dark corner of this tiki bar, he certainly gave us a reason to bounce our head while we drank our drinks.
The bartender confidently informed us that normally the place is packed on the weekends. The service is great, our waitress was not only helpful but she humored our drunken crew.
It’s a small tiki bar themed with all things islander and it’s lit pretty dimly in the corners. The drinks were poured pretty strongly and the specialty drink, The Grog, tasted as awkward as its namesake. One person said he tasted «air freshener», while another referred to it as «Pine Sol» and I considered it a watered down lemonade with rum. Not pleasant.
Also, what was thought of as a Adiós MF was probably a Blue Hawaiian, and what was thought of as a Blue Hawaii was probably an AMF. Still, this place brought drunken times.
Parking is available, across the street and out in front. The menu is small, mainly drinks, and I highly recommend the Grog Dessert. Their martinis are great, not too strong and not too sweet (or sour), and the DJ — if you show up on a great night — is absolutely worth the standing ovation.