Hale Pele Media Preview Party

Last night we had the privilege to attend the media preview party for Portland's newest tiki bar, Hale Pele. A selection of drinks and small food plates beckoned for all to try. It also finally provided a look inside to see the overall product of everything they had done to the previous tiki bar that was there before.

Greeted at the door of the new Hale Pele.

Once inside, we saw how nicely everything had been cleaned up. For those of you who use to go to the tiki bar that was there before, you may remember that the ventilation system didn't work very well. It was usually smokey from the pupu platters and kitchen food. At times, it made it hard to breath. This is a thing of the past! We actually talked to Blair, the owner of Hale Pele, about this issue and he guaranteed us that all of that has been fixed. You will now be able to breath freely while visiting Hale Pele!

From the moment we stepped inside, we were amazed. The bar had been fully enchanted. The space appeared to be so much bigger with just a few changes that opened it up, yet created a more cozy atmosphere. Hale Pele is for sure a place that we are looking forward to going back to.

The enchantment of Hale Pele.

The bar and chairs have all been updated.

Lots of new decoration has been added.



With the removal of certain tikis, relocating different lights and getting new tables, the space feels much larger than before.

Even the back tiki hut had some improvements with the addition of jade tiles.

A view from the tiki hut.

A fence of native influence.

After we fully looked around and settled into our seats, we started looking over the menu that was being offered for the night. Even with only 6 cocktails to choose from it was hard to decide which ones to go for. With the full menu featuring 20 drinks and having 5 rotating specials, it will be even harder to choice in the future. I guess that just means we will have to come back. Many times! In the end we decided to just work our way through the menu until we had tried all of them between the two of us.

Enjoying Hale Pele.

First we started with the Jungle Bird and Pieces of Eight. The Jungle Bird was a sophisticated combination of Campari, Black Strap Rum, lime and pineapple juice. It dances around nicely on your pallet requiring a little time between each sip. Pieces of Eight was a light frothy mixture of white rum, lemon, lime and B.G. Reynolds' passion fruit syrup.

Jungle Bird and Pieces of Eight

Many small plates of food were sampled through-out the night. Local, as well as exotic ingredients were used in creating the new menu. On it they have something for everyone from the carnivore to the vegan. Everything we tried was delicious. Our favorites being the grilled Hawaiian bread with guava jam, the Puaa Puaa Pork of slow roasted pulled pork shoulder, pan seared in B.G. Reynolds Falernum and the Koloko Moco of grilled Portuguese sausage served with scrambles eggs, rice and banana ketchup. We can't wait to be able to eat some more. Especially, the bread with guava jam and the Koloko Moco.

Grilled Hawaiian bread with guava jam.

Lekuke Salad with palm hearts, avocado and papaya served with salad greens in a creamy citrus dressing.

Koloko Moco

Through-out the night, we made it through the rest of their drink menu tasting the Beachcombers Punch, Suffering Bastard, Jaspers Rum Punch and the Nui Nui. Many patrons loved the Suffering Bastard, but my two favorites were the Jaspers Rum Punch and the Beachcombers Punch. These are not your mom's bridge club punches! They both have incredibly sophisticated palettes with the Jaspers Rum Punch having a bite that sneaks up on you a few seconds after you've taken that first sip. The Nui Nui is always an all time favorite and continued to live up to it's reputation.

Suffering Bastard and Beachcombers Punch.

Drew enjoying his Suffering Bastard.

Jaspers Rum Punch with Allspice dram, Jamaican rum and lime.

Hale Pele Mixologists busy making tropical liberations.

All in all it was a great evening. We got to try delicious new drinks and food all while spending time with friends. To top it all off, we have a new tiki bar to add to our favorites and look forward to coming back.

Craig and Heather

If you'd like to venture into Hale Pele for yourself, their doors open tomorrow, Wednesday August 29th at 5pm. You may just catch us there trying out their 14 other tropical cocktails. If you'd like us to join you some time, let us know. Just make sure no matter when you make it to Hale Pele to watch for falling coconuts.

Hale Pele is located at 2733 NE Broadway in Portland, OR.


All photos from our personal collection.