Damon's Steak House makes by far the best Mai Tai. Made from scratch it ranks with General Lee's in Chinatown who makes a killer Scorpion. I have Damon's Mai Tai recipe comitted to memory forever. Mmmmm I could go for one right now.

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Date Visited: 1977
Reviewed By: Pete Beamer

Demons at Damons

The wait at Damon's on a Friday night was an hour, so I bagged it, only to return the following Friday. The wait was 20 minutes, during which I had a $4.50 Mai Tai, served by a waitress more interested in a co-worker than in the customers. I waited on an ugly vinyl bench too near the rest rooms, watching a group of young folks, one with a big professional video rig in tow. The decor was aging Polynesian, and a sign said that they'd be closed a few days for repairs.

My complaints are that the service was a step below mediocre, and the menu is laughably limited. The salad is chopped and tossed at the table, which is kind of fun, but there is only one salad dressing available! The menu features steak, with few varieties, and absolutely no sauces or spices - just John Wayne sized hunks of meat. There are no desserts at all. The house wine was Paul Masson. Another problem was that I was between two large tables of jubilant revelers in Hawaiian shirts. The din was deafening, and though it was generally a good time, the fact that I was alone made it somewhat unpleasant.

Everyone in the place seemed to have a Mai Tai. I've never seen such a high proportion of Mai Tai guzzling patrons. The drink was pineapple, orange juice, light and dark rum, and a "secret ingredient." Not traditional, but not bad. The Chi Chi is the same drink but with coconut instead of orange. Add a strawberry and call it a Lava Cocktail. Yawning variations on a theme.

But folks, this was the stealthiest Mai Tai I've ever had! I regretted ordering a second when I was only half done with the first. Maybe there was something else wrong with me that night, a lack of sleep or something, but before finishing my first drink, I had a very strange, blanking out sort of buzz. The noise pounded me into a glassy-eyed shell from which I could not emerge. I had to keep reminding myself to remember to speak to the waitress when she returned. If I turned my head, I got disoriented. No, I wasn't drunk. I didn't stagger upon leaving, and though I tried to sleep in the car before driving, I could not. Que Bizarro! The best description I can give is that I felt like one is supposed to feel after drinking a few Zombies, except that my desire for flesh had been more than satiated by a large slab of delicious steak.

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Date Visited: November 15, 1999
Reviewed By: David Bartell

This tiki room, Polynesian atmosphere serves the strongest Mai Tai in the Los Angeles suburbs. The place has been open since 1947. From blue-haired ladies from Pasadena to trendy hipsters from the Los Feliz/Hollywood/Silver Lake, Damon's has the best tropical drinks east of La Brea. Only Trader Vic's on the westside can compare.

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Date Visited: February 29, 2000
Reviewed By: Carmelo Quito

Damons is the place to be on any night, they are famous for steaks, and cocktails, and let me say their Mai Tais will mess you up on one and it is a Pleasure drinking one.

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Date Visited: March 10, 2000
Reviewed By: Shannon Wammack

Don't let the name fool you. Damon's is no Sizzler or Black Angus clone. It is a Polynesian restaurant masquerading as a steakhouse.

We came for dinner at about 6:00 on a Saturday night. Not a good idea. The wait was 45 minutes. You'll have better luck if you arrive promptly at 5:00. We returned later in the evening for drinks instead. The "lounge" is in the back part of the restaurant. There is a sign hanging which says "Try a real Hawaiian MAI TAI or Chi Chi- a smooth blend of exotic fruit juices and imported rum." The Hawaiian flowers on the sign were a nice touch, although we do quibble with the text. Since the Mai Tai was invented in Oakland, CA, there can't be a "real" Hawaiian Mai Tai. And, "real" Mai Tais only use the juice of a lime. But, the sign is a good way to get people into the Mai Tai "fold", so who are we to argue?

We started to relax and the waiter took our order. When he brought us our drinks (Mai Tai, Blue Hawaiian, and two Pina Coladas), he told us a story about how he went to Hawaii on spring break and drank twenty Blue Hawaiians in one day, causing a good deal of distress. Cute story. He wore a Hawaiian shirt, as did all of the staff and several patrons. This definitely enhanced the mood.

Our drinks were $9 each, which is pretty steep even by Trader Vic's standards. However, the drinks did not disappoint! Our Mai Tai was served in an old- fashioned glass, topped with a small piece of pineapple and a cherry on a toothpick. Lots of crushed ice made it cool and refreshing. It tasted excellent; a good blend, potent and smooth.

If any word can describe the interior atmosphere of Damon's, it is "bamboo." There is literally bamboo everywhere! There is a bamboo framing doorways. There is bamboo on the walls. There are even tiki hut overhangs over booths and along all of the walls (featuring bamboo, of course!).

The rattan furniture, lamps covered in shells, and murals depicting Hawaii were just a prelude to the vast aquariums found inside Damon's. Our only gripes were the large-screen TV next to the bar and that the location of the restrooms and back entrance made the lounge a pretty high-traffic area. We would have loved to have felt totally isolated in our own little bamboo world.

There's absolutely no doubt that Damon's goes into the Mai Tai Hall-of-Fame. On the Search for the Ultimate Mai Tai, Damon's is a required stop!

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Date Visited: August 21, 1999
Reviewed By: Kevin Crossman

You walk into the bamboo fronted restaurant and immediately are transported into a 50's "high class" establishment. Walls are bamboo, lots of fish in aquariums, lots of fish on the walls, Hawaiian shirts, Hawaiian music and a mean Mai Tai.

The Mai Tai was on the strong side, but not in a bad way. I'm no Mai Tai expert, Bloody Maria's are my specialty, but the Mai Tai at Damon's was not syrupy or too sweet, it was served with shaved ice, lightly mixed, slice of orange, no monkey shaped coconut cup with a loony toon straw or umbrella, served in a glass the way a drink should be.

Lots of wall size Hawaiian murals and lots of bamboo. It's in Glendale so it doesn't have the atmosphere of south shore Maui, but it reminds me of a place that if it was 1960, you may actually run into one of the rat packers. Very old Vegas/Palm Springs version of a tropical restaurant.

Highly recommended for steaks and seafood....and Mai Tai's.

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Date Visited: April 18, 1999
Reviewed By: Glen Darcey

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