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Tom Arnold's Old Places: Bali Hai
Tom Ham's party palace lives on
Bali Hai exterior
The idea of writing about old places in San Diego County has been something I’ve been mulling around for years – but I kept putting it off because coming up with the parameters was a lot harder than I imagined. In the end, I decided to focus on businesses and restaurants that have been in the same place, with the same name and line of business, for at least 50 years.
This iconic Shelter Island landmark, with its panoramic views over San Diego Bay and the San Diego skyline, is a throwback to the tiki fad that swept America — particularly the West Coast — in the '50s and '60s. World War II soldiers returning from the Pacific Theater talked of tropical paradises; Thor Heyerdahl’s Kon-Tiki: Across the Pacific in a Raft topped bestseller list; Hawaii was on its way to statehood; and South Pacific and Blue Hawaii brought the South Seas fantasy to the big screen. The restaurant was originally a Christian Hut, part of a franchise named after the bar where Clark Gable and his crew drank while filming the 1935 movie The Bounty in a makeshift Tahitian village on Catalina Island. Local restaurateur Tom Ham rescued the restaurant after it fell into bankruptcy and rebranded it Bali Hai, from the movie South Pacific. Ever since, it’s brought a taste of the South Seas to San Diego, from its zesty pupus to its potent Mai Tais, made with no fruit juice and subject to a two-drink per person limit. I remember going there every Mother’s Day as a kid; it was my very first buffet, and at least according to my memory, remains the grandest.
Video:
South Pacific: "Bali Ha'i"
Editor's note: The Reader's Matt Potter wrote his own epic history of Bali Hai in 2014. A couple of years later, Reader columnist Barbarella Fokos paid the place a visit and shared a review.
Here's something you might be interested in.
Tom Arnold's Old Places: Bali Hai
Tom Ham's party palace lives on
Tom Arnold's Old Places: Bali Hai
Tom Ham's party palace lives on
Bali Hai exterior
The idea of writing about old places in San Diego County has been something I’ve been mulling around for years – but I kept putting it off because coming up with the parameters was a lot harder than I imagined. In the end, I decided to focus on businesses and restaurants that have been in the same place, with the same name and line of business, for at least 50 years.
This iconic Shelter Island landmark, with its panoramic views over San Diego Bay and the San Diego skyline, is a throwback to the tiki fad that swept America — particularly the West Coast — in the '50s and '60s. World War II soldiers returning from the Pacific Theater talked of tropical paradises; Thor Heyerdahl’s Kon-Tiki: Across the Pacific in a Raft topped bestseller list; Hawaii was on its way to statehood; and South Pacific and Blue Hawaii brought the South Seas fantasy to the big screen. The restaurant was originally a Christian Hut, part of a franchise named after the bar where Clark Gable and his crew drank while filming the 1935 movie The Bounty in a makeshift Tahitian village on Catalina Island. Local restaurateur Tom Ham rescued the restaurant after it fell into bankruptcy and rebranded it Bali Hai, from the movie South Pacific. Ever since, it’s brought a taste of the South Seas to San Diego, from its zesty pupus to its potent Mai Tais, made with no fruit juice and subject to a two-drink per person limit. I remember going there every Mother’s Day as a kid; it was my very first buffet, and at least according to my memory, remains the grandest.
Video:
South Pacific: "Bali Ha'i"
Editor's note: The Reader's Matt Potter wrote his own epic history of Bali Hai in 2014. A couple of years later, Reader columnist Barbarella Fokos paid the place a visit and shared a review.