Tiki Terrace Polynesian Restaurant Review

On Saturday evening we went to the Tiki Terrace restaurant and Polynesian show. It is a family owned business located in Des Plaines, Illinois in a strip mall. The restaurant was decorated from top to bottom with island decor. It was filled with artificial foliage and palm trees, lanterns, lights, bamboo and large decorations made to look like stone idols.

We started out with some appetizers. That was my favorite part. I’ve seen a lot of Samoan recipes that incorporate taro so I was glad to see that taro chips were on the menu. They were delicious and served with Hawaiian salsa. We also had potstickers which were very good. There were five entrees to choose from on the menu. I ordered the Kalua Pork and my brother ordered the Coconut Chicken so that we could try both. I liked the Coconut Chicken. The pork was okay as well. It was accompanied by coconut rice and the rice was delicious. (The rice is very easy to make so I’ll be making that at home too!)

The service was a little slow. Our party received their dinners at different times. The luau began towards the end of the meal. My favorite dance was a hula dance in which each dancer performed with an ipu (gourd). A dance to prepare for battle was included along with some chanting and drum playing. There was one dance from Tonga and one that originated in New Zealand, but most of the others were Hawaiian dances. There was a comedy portion to the show that was a little over the top with an Elvis impersonator and someone impersonating a High Chief.

I’m glad I went as I had the opportunity to try some of their Polynesian dishes, watch some of the different dances and listen to some of the songs of Polynesia. I do wish they incorporated a little more of the culture rather than the comedy aspect. Overall, I had an enjoyable evening, but I’m not sure that I would highly recommend Tiki Terrace.