Bahooka Family Restaurant
The Details:
4501 Rosemead Blvd
Rosemead, CA 91770
Phone: (626) 285-1241
Mon-Thu 11:30am-9:00pm
Fri 11:30am-10:30pm
Sat 12:00pm-10:30pm
Sun 12:00pm-9:00pm
The Los Angeles Foodie Rating:
The Summary:
Bahooka is like The Enchanted Tiki Room at Disneyland, except that instead of a Pineapple Whip, you can order drinks with three different kinds of rum. For those who know and love Bahooka, it is quietly acknowledged that the food is mediocre. But the food isn’t the foremost reason to visit.
The Place:
It’s not hard to win Los Angeles Foodie over with a nautical theme, and Bahooka is up there with the best of all of the maritime/Tiki restaurants. A stroll around the dining room reveals seemingly endless nooks and passages, all of which are full of tacky fish lamps, vintage signs, nets, and buoys, and lined with countless aquariums glowing in the dim light. The atmosphere is the main reason to come here, and in a unique way, Bahooka is beautiful.
The Food:
Get the Crab Puffs. Fried crispy and served with three different sauces (cocktail sauce with horseradish mustard, sweet and sour sauce, and tartar sauce), this is the best thing on the menu. Given Bahooka’s cocktail-centric menu, it’s no surprise that the Crab Puffs arrive with plenty of plastic drink skewers to move them from plate to mouth. The ribs and pork sandwich are ho-hum, as are many other menu items, but nothing I have ever tried at Bahooka is bad. The funniest menu item of all is the Shrimp Louie salad, which is comically gigantic. Tip: if you want the Shrimp Cocktail, order the Shrimp Louie salad instead. It’s less expensive, and you usually get more shrimp. The house salad dressing is good (and available for purchase, by the way). But the real stars of the menu are the many tropical drinks. Any of the Flaming Bowls for Two are worth ordering, especially since they are served on fire, which is a silly and fun spectacle.
The Service:
Some user-driven reviews sites would have you believe that Bahooka’s service is anything but top-notch, but I have never experienced anything but the friendliest and most attentive service.
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