Cheeseburger Beachwalk

While eating dinner at the Cheeseburger Beachwalk in Waikiki, we noticed a very strong claim on their Tropical Drinks menu: "Maybe you've had it on the beach, or at your hotel, or at the luau, but you haven't really had it until you've had it here! Our made-from-scratch MAI TAIS are World Famous!" We also noted that these famous 'Tai's were greatly discounted during the nighttime happy hour.

We strolled around the streets of Waikiki and, when the happy hour struck, returned to Cheeseburger to try their Mai Tai. I watched the bartender pour 3 various rums, 2 juicy looking things, and a rum float into the glass and was excited to taste the outcome. The Mai Tai had a great presentation, complete with a tiki cup, pineapple slice, maraschino cherry, and umbrella. The ice was a weird pyramidal shape, but okay enough.

The taste, however, fell short of my already mediocre expectations. The rums were a notably lower quality than those I have grown used to having and gave the drink a somewhat unpleasant aftertaste. In retrospect, I am unsure that the "juices" I saw the bartender pour were actual juices. Instead, I think they were Mai Tai mixers of some sort, as the drink tasted pretty syrupy and fake; I did not taste fresh orange or pineapple juice. I think this is an acceptable Mai Tai, especially for a restaurant bar, but it is far from meeting the outlandish claim made by the Cheeseburger menu writers. It is a mediocre Mai Tai that will do in a pinch, but had nothing that made it above average.

4.5/10