The Hurricane Club
I have to say my excitement level for the opening of the Hurricane Club was just about as high as for the opening of Eataly. Polynesian food, fruity tikki drinks and only steps away from my apartment- what’s not to love.
I somehow missed opening day but the very next night I stopped in for a drink and to check out the space. First of all it’s absolutely gorgeous. Big wooden doors greet you at the entrance and it feels very dark and mysterious walking through. Once inside I was greeted by a large dining room covered with golden chandeliers and a big square bar as the centerpiece.
The bar has a separate menu of little snacks each $12 a piece. I wasn’t exactly hungry and $12 seemed slightly too high for the offerings so I stuck to drinks.
The cocktail menu is divided into multiple numbered categories ranging from frozen drinks and martini’s to large bowl drinks for big groups to share. It was a little bit overwhelming at first but luckily the friendly bartender gave me a break down of the menu.
I ended up ordering the #26 martini which was a blend of vodka, raspberry and yuzu. Obviously this cocktail is beautiful. I loved the raspberry stirrer and the floating flower just made me feel like the luckiest girl in the world. The cocktail was extremely tasty. The sweet raspberry and sour yuzu played well off each other and the drink tasted very balanced. I easily could have had another but it was Tuesday night and this lady had a big day at work tomorrow.
Fast forward to Thursday when I received a call from friends who just happened to be in the city for work that day. They wanted to meet up for dinner and drinks so it just seemed like a no brainer to go back for a meal at the Hurricane Club.
After showing them around Eataly for a bit we walked over to the Club and got seated in one of the little alcoves to the left of the main room. It was about 7:30 Thursday night and the main bar area was packed. I love the lively vibe of the place but I was also happy to be seated where I could see all the action but also have some space.
I was so busy talking with friends I didn’t have time to peruse the drink menu again before our waitress came. Feeling my #26 was a safe tasty option from last time I ordered it again along with our food and a round of shots.
Unfortunately the #26 presented this time looked very different from the last. The flower and raspberry stirrer were still there but the alcohol was not. Both my martini glass and my friends weren’t even halfway full! I was shocked by how little they poured.
Unfortunately our #5 shot had some problems as well. It was listed as a blend of spiced rum, passion fruit jello and coconut foam. I’m not sure if it had been mixed earlier in the day then chilled maybe but the whole shot was frozen. We literally toasted, tried to put one down and all came up with a slushy, sticky mess. We thought it was a little strange and when the waitress came over my friend told her about the shots. Well immediately a manager came over and apologized profusely and then took the shots off our check. He was so wonderful I didn’t have the heart to say anything about the missing cocktail as well but I felt pretty confident he would be checking on our drinks from now on.
Maybe he was because my next cocktail a frozen concoction of pisco, strawberry and passion fruit was filled to the brim, frothy and delicious. Whew! Thank goodness. Now the drinks are worked out let’s move onto the food (lighting made these difficult so please forgive me).
Our first round of Poke was Hamachi with Avocado and Yuzu. This dish was excellent. The hamachi was so fresh its texture could almost be described as buttery. The tomatoes and yuzu gave nice acidity to the dish and each bite was bright and refreshing.
Our next Poke was Tuna Toro with Coconut Snow. This poke was fantastic as well. The tuna was presented more like a tartar and the toro was insanely fatty and rich.
Our last appetizers, the Club Coconut Shrimp were probably the least favorite of the starters. The outer casing was too thick and crunchy for my tastes. It really masked the flavor of the shrimp and also made for quite a mess on the table. I can’t imagine ordering these at the crowded bar and trying not to get covered in crunchy shell pieces.
For our mains the two meat dishes were the highlights of the night. The Wok Seared Filet Mignon gets my vote simply because I hadn’t been expecting much and it really blew me away. The steak came in cubes and each bite had a perfectly charred crispy edges and a warm red middle. I wish I had asked what spices they used for the sauce because it was out of this world. I’m sure I could have figured it out eventually but the dish was devoured in about two seconds flat by my friends. I was lucky enough to eat as much as I did.
The other meat highlight was the Honey Glazed Baby Back Ribs. The honey glaze had the perfect balance of spicy and sweet. Also the texture of the sauce was ample enough for flavor but thin enough that my fingers were left virtually clean after each bite.
The Noodles with Lobster was decent but not memorable. It seemed a little strange that there was only one big claw on top. I think cutting the lobster into pieces would make more sense if you encourage people to share their dishes.
The biggest disappointment of the night was the Societe Island Grill Mahi-Mahi. Sorry I don’t have a picture but it was basically overcooked fish on a skewer with six different house sauces. Unfortunately the sauces and fish came out separately so we never really understood that they went together and the fish itself was a dry tasteless mess. This is one dish to avoid.
So there were definitely some hits and some misses at Hurricane Club but I think once the kinks are all worked out this place will be killer. I was able to have a fruity drink out of a coconut, they offer a shoe shine service downstairs along with a shot of rum and I saw a cocktail party bowl on fire. They just need to work on more consistent drinks for sure. However the staffs were extremely friendly and I could tell the managers were trying very hard to make sure everything was running smoothly. This is another welcome addition to the neighborhood for sure.
The Hurricane Club
I somehow missed opening day but the very next night I stopped in for a drink and to check out the space. First of all it’s absolutely gorgeous. Big wooden doors greet you at the entrance and it feels very dark and mysterious walking through. Once inside I was greeted by a large dining room covered with golden chandeliers and a big square bar as the centerpiece.
The bar has a separate menu of little snacks each $12 a piece. I wasn’t exactly hungry and $12 seemed slightly too high for the offerings so I stuck to drinks.
The cocktail menu is divided into multiple numbered categories ranging from frozen drinks and martini’s to large bowl drinks for big groups to share. It was a little bit overwhelming at first but luckily the friendly bartender gave me a break down of the menu.
I ended up ordering the #26 martini which was a blend of vodka, raspberry and yuzu. Obviously this cocktail is beautiful. I loved the raspberry stirrer and the floating flower just made me feel like the luckiest girl in the world. The cocktail was extremely tasty. The sweet raspberry and sour yuzu played well off each other and the drink tasted very balanced. I easily could have had another but it was Tuesday night and this lady had a big day at work tomorrow.
Fast forward to Thursday when I received a call from friends who just happened to be in the city for work that day. They wanted to meet up for dinner and drinks so it just seemed like a no brainer to go back for a meal at the Hurricane Club.
After showing them around Eataly for a bit we walked over to the Club and got seated in one of the little alcoves to the left of the main room. It was about 7:30 Thursday night and the main bar area was packed. I love the lively vibe of the place but I was also happy to be seated where I could see all the action but also have some space.
I was so busy talking with friends I didn’t have time to peruse the drink menu again before our waitress came. Feeling my #26 was a safe tasty option from last time I ordered it again along with our food and a round of shots.
Unfortunately the #26 presented this time looked very different from the last. The flower and raspberry stirrer were still there but the alcohol was not. Both my martini glass and my friends weren’t even halfway full! I was shocked by how little they poured.
Unfortunately our #5 shot had some problems as well. It was listed as a blend of spiced rum, passion fruit jello and coconut foam. I’m not sure if it had been mixed earlier in the day then chilled maybe but the whole shot was frozen. We literally toasted, tried to put one down and all came up with a slushy, sticky mess. We thought it was a little strange and when the waitress came over my friend told her about the shots. Well immediately a manager came over and apologized profusely and then took the shots off our check. He was so wonderful I didn’t have the heart to say anything about the missing cocktail as well but I felt pretty confident he would be checking on our drinks from now on.
Maybe he was because my next cocktail a frozen concoction of pisco, strawberry and passion fruit was filled to the brim, frothy and delicious. Whew! Thank goodness. Now the drinks are worked out let’s move onto the food (lighting made these difficult so please forgive me).
Our first round of Poke was Hamachi with Avocado and Yuzu. This dish was excellent. The hamachi was so fresh its texture could almost be described as buttery. The tomatoes and yuzu gave nice acidity to the dish and each bite was bright and refreshing.
Our next Poke was Tuna Toro with Coconut Snow. This poke was fantastic as well. The tuna was presented more like a tartar and the toro was insanely fatty and rich.
Our last appetizers, the Club Coconut Shrimp were probably the least favorite of the starters. The outer casing was too thick and crunchy for my tastes. It really masked the flavor of the shrimp and also made for quite a mess on the table. I can’t imagine ordering these at the crowded bar and trying not to get covered in crunchy shell pieces.
For our mains the two meat dishes were the highlights of the night. The Wok Seared Filet Mignon gets my vote simply because I hadn’t been expecting much and it really blew me away. The steak came in cubes and each bite had a perfectly charred crispy edges and a warm red middle. I wish I had asked what spices they used for the sauce because it was out of this world. I’m sure I could have figured it out eventually but the dish was devoured in about two seconds flat by my friends. I was lucky enough to eat as much as I did.
The other meat highlight was the Honey Glazed Baby Back Ribs. The honey glaze had the perfect balance of spicy and sweet. Also the texture of the sauce was ample enough for flavor but thin enough that my fingers were left virtually clean after each bite.
The Noodles with Lobster was decent but not memorable. It seemed a little strange that there was only one big claw on top. I think cutting the lobster into pieces would make more sense if you encourage people to share their dishes.
The biggest disappointment of the night was the Societe Island Grill Mahi-Mahi. Sorry I don’t have a picture but it was basically overcooked fish on a skewer with six different house sauces. Unfortunately the sauces and fish came out separately so we never really understood that they went together and the fish itself was a dry tasteless mess. This is one dish to avoid.
So there were definitely some hits and some misses at Hurricane Club but I think once the kinks are all worked out this place will be killer. I was able to have a fruity drink out of a coconut, they offer a shoe shine service downstairs along with a shot of rum and I saw a cocktail party bowl on fire. They just need to work on more consistent drinks for sure. However the staffs were extremely friendly and I could tell the managers were trying very hard to make sure everything was running smoothly. This is another welcome addition to the neighborhood for sure.
The Hurricane Club
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