Kahunaville: The bar that has it all

by Ashley GressStaff Writer

If you’re sick of the small town bars of Indianola, look no further than the latest hotspot in Des Moines, Kahunaville. The new bar and restaurant is located in Valley West Mall, downstairs right next to Von Maur.

Kahunaville calls itself the island restaurant/party bar, and it’s true. You definitely have the option of going to a tropical restaurant or a fun and exciting bar.

The restaurant is a tropical paradise. Kahunaville is divided, and the front section is a nice restaurant. It has the look of a family restaurant-in fact, it has a large video arcade in the restaurant to entertain children. The problem is that the menu was made for adults.

Most of the menu was unusual for a family restaurant, and a lot of the food would be something people would find on a Pacific island rather than the Midwest. It did not look like there was one thing on the menu a child would like for dinner.

However, the restaurant would be a fun place to go on a date or out with friends. It was nice, but not too expensive. The food ranged anywhere from $8 to $20 for an entrée. The mozzarella triangles appetizer was good, but considering that they only give you three for $8 dollars, they’re not quite worth it.

If a plate of fried cheese or any kind of meal isn’t on your agenda, Kahunaville is fully equipped to turn into a bar and nightclub.

A short walk down a hall takes you to the bar, which is completely separated from the restaurant area. If you want a new place to try happy hour, Kahunaville is the place to be.

The bar has a different drink special every day of the week. The drink special on Simpson’s favorite party night, Thursday, was a dollar off any specialty drink. They have a wide variety of martinis, shots and beer. The Bomb Pop and Pink Panther Martinis were amazing. They were $7 a piece, but since it was Thursday, they were only $6.

Kahunaville can also cater parties in the bar area with food and alcohol. The drinks are expensive, but the ambience makes it worth it.

The bar also had its own special brand of entertainment. In true “Cocktails” fashion, two of the bartenders were doing all kinds of flips and tricks with the bottles while they served people drinks.

The most entertaining part of the night was the Bar Flare Show. This is when the bartenders did all kinds of different tricks with the drinks. One of the tricks was a very large pour. The bartenders gathered a bunch of glasses on the bar and then put a bunch of mixers together and poured all of the different drinks at the same time. The best part is they gave all the drinks used in the trick out for free. If happy hour isn’t for you and you’re looking more for of a dance club, than Kahunaville has what you need on Fridays and Saturdays when they remove all the table and chairs for your wild dancing.

It doesn’t matter if you’re looking for a restaurant, a bar or a dance club, Kahunaville has it all. So if you’re tired of Indianola, make the trek out to Kahunaville. It’s worth it.