Description: Location, location, location!
Cheeseburger in Paradise
is located on Kalakaua Avenue, one one of the busiest corners in Waikiki. It's hard
not to walk by it ten times a day. It's the kind of place that draws in kids--very open, fun music, waitstaff in grass skirts, and lots and lots of kitsch and color. So whenever we had the nightly dinner debate, the kids demanded
Cheeseburger in Paradise. One night, they finally won.
We found the wait to be about 45 minutes. You are asked to wait out on the sidewalk, but there are no pagers to call you. DON'T you dare miss hearing your name called! They do it once, very quickly, and then it's onto the next party! Everyone was huddled at the front door, hoping they would hear their names. The hostesses seemed a bit put off by the crowds and were void of that aloha spirit. No matter what time of day or night you walk by Cheeseburger, you will see a line of hungry tourists waiting for tables. This is a very popular place.
We were seated, and soon a hula-skirted waiter came to our table. They run the traffic in and out of here fairly quickly, and there was little personality to the service. It was more like, "Hurry up, order, eat up, and clear the table for the next party".
The name suggests cheeseburgers, so that is what we all ordered. I had the mushroom burger, Patrick had the Hawaiian burger, and everyone else had the signature cheeseburger. They came in a flash, served in a basket. The burgers were good--not the best I have ever tasted, but by no means the worst either.
The place was fun, but there are lots of burger places across the country with a similar feel. The thing I enjoyed the most was the live music. It was a rock band who was pretty good, and it was nice to be somewhere to listen to good music while enjoying a meal.
In reading the menu, I learned this was started by two woman who cashed in everything in Orange County, moved to Maui, and made a success of selling cheeseburgers in paradise! Good for them! You often hear of people doing this and losing everything. It's nice to hear a success story. They have restaurants all over the islands and have now opened in Mexico and Las Vegas, as well. They seem to have a formula going, and I expect that they will be opening up more very soon.
I can't say I was disappointed by our meal here. It's a very predictable kind of bar-and-burger joint. It surely delivers what it promises. The kids loved it, we all left full, and we even enjoyed some good music. I guess you can conclude that they did their job, and we got just what we came for!
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