Holland America Hula Tiki Menu: Complete Dinner and Cocktail Pairings
Holland America Line’s Hula Tiki dining menu turns dinner into a tropical multi-course experience, combining Polynesian and Hawaiian-inspired flavors with a progression of tiki cocktails. Rather than presenting a conventional cruise restaurant menu where passengers independently choose an appetizer, entrée and dessert, this menu is structured as a culinary journey with specific cocktails paired to individual courses.
The photographed Hula Tiki menu begins with Crab Rangoon paired with a Blue Hawaii before progressing through soy-spiced baby back ribs, snapper and shrimp soup, a choice of three main courses, tropical side dishes and warm pineapple-coconut upside-down cake. Cocktail pairings include a Trader Vic’s Mai Tai, Tahitian Rum Punch, Spice Island Grog and Piña Colada.
The menu pages do not identify the specific Holland America ship on which this dinner was offered, so this article documents the photographed Hula Tiki experience without attributing it to a particular vessel.
CruisePrism readers can also explore our Holland America menus, Holland America drink menus and Holland America onboard guides for more onboard food and beverage information.
Holland America Hula Tiki Dinner Menu
The Hula Tiki menu is organized into an amuse followed by four courses, with tropical cocktails incorporated throughout the meal.
The progression shown on the photographed menu is:
• Amuse – Crab Rangoon with Blue Hawaii
• First Course – Soy-Spiced Baby Back Ribs with Trader Vic’s Mai Tai
• Second Course – Hula Tiki Snapper and Shrimp Soup with Tahitian Rum Punch
• Third Course – Choice of three entrées, served with Spice Island Grog
• Side dishes – Four selections listed
• Final Course – Warm Pineapple and Coconut Upside Down Cake with Rhumba Line Piña Colada
The cocktail pairings are particularly important to the concept. Instead of functioning as a separate bar menu, the drinks are placed directly beneath their corresponding dishes.
Amuse: Crab Rangoon and Blue Hawaii
Dinner begins with Crab Rangoon.
The menu describes the amuse as:
• Crab Rangoon
• Crispy wonton wrappers
• Polynesian dipping sauce
It is paired with a Blue Hawaii.
This small opening course immediately establishes the overall direction of the dinner: familiar tiki and Polynesian-inspired flavors combined with classic tropical cocktails.
Holland America’s separate Hawaii-themed Pinnacle Grill menu also features a Blue Hawaii among its tropical cocktail selections.
First Course: Soy-Spiced Baby Back Ribs
The first full course is Soy-Spiced Baby Back Ribs.
According to the menu, the ribs are accompanied by:
• Grilled pineapple
• Red chili
• Scallion
The cocktail pairing is a Trader Vic’s Mai Tai.
The Mai Tai is one of the defining drinks of tiki cocktail culture, making it a natural pairing for a dinner built around the Hula Tiki theme.
This is also one of the more recognizable combinations on the menu: pork, pineapple, chile and a tropical rum cocktail.
Second Course: Hula Tiki Snapper and Shrimp Soup
The seafood course is the Hula Tiki Snapper and Shrimp Soup.
The menu lists:
• Kombu
• Kaffir lime
• Coconut
• Lemongrass
• Sake fish soup
The cocktail pairing is a Tahitian Rum Punch.
Holland America also lists a Tahitian Rum Punch on its published Hawaii Pinnacle Grill cocktail menu, reinforcing the cruise line’s use of this drink within its Hawaii-themed culinary offerings.
The soup itself moves the dinner toward seafood and aromatic ingredients, with coconut, kaffir lime and lemongrass providing the tropical and Southeast Asian elements.
Third Course: Three Entrée Choices
The third course gives passengers a choice among beef, seafood and a vegetarian entrée.
All three selections are presented under the same course and are served with Spice Island Grog.
Hawaiian Teriyaki-Glazed Beef Tenderloin
The meat entrée is Hawaiian Teriyaki-Glazed Beef Tenderloin.
It is served with:
• Tempura onion rings
• Grilled asparagus
• Toasted white sesame seeds
The menu places a public-health advisory symbol next to this selection.
For passengers looking for the most steakhouse-like entrée of the three, the tenderloin is the obvious choice while still keeping the Hawaiian theme through its teriyaki glaze.
Scallops Boom Boom
The seafood option is Scallops Boom Boom.
The scallops are accompanied by:
• Stir-fried vegetables
• Spicy mayonnaise
• Scallion
This selection also carries the menu’s public-health advisory symbol.
Compared with the teriyaki beef, the Scallops Boom Boom continues the seafood direction established by the preceding snapper and shrimp soup.
Sweet and Sour Vegetable Tempura
The vegetarian entrée is Sweet and Sour Vegetable Tempura.
It is served with:
• Scallion pancake
• Spicy tamarind plum glaze
The menu marks this dish with its vegetarian symbol.
That means the Hula Tiki dinner shown here does provide a meat-free main-course option rather than requiring vegetarian passengers to simply remove the protein from another entrée.
Spice Island Grog Cocktail Pairing
All three entrée choices are paired with Spice Island Grog.
The photographed Hula Tiki menu does not print the cocktail ingredients, but Holland America’s separate published Hawaii Pinnacle Grill menu identifies its Spice Island Grog as a rum-based cocktail featuring Demerara and overproof rum, lime and chai tea spices.
That combination fits the progression of the Hula Tiki dinner particularly well, moving from the Blue Hawaii and Mai Tai through rum punch and into a more spice-forward tropical cocktail alongside the main course.
Hula Tiki Side Dishes
The menu lists four sides:
• Hawaiian Fried Rice
• White Steamed Rice
• Garlic Bok Choy
• Mushrooms Tiki Style
The menu marks Hawaiian Fried Rice, White Steamed Rice and Mushrooms Tiki Style with the vegetarian symbol.
Garlic Bok Choy is also listed among the sides, although the photographed menu does not display the same vegetarian marker beside it. For that reason, passengers with dietary restrictions should not assume its preparation without confirming onboard.
The side dishes continue the Asian-Pacific influence seen throughout the dinner.
Final Course: Pineapple and Coconut Upside Down Cake
The final course brings the tropical theme directly into dessert.
The menu lists:
Warm Pineapple and Coconut Upside Down Cake
It is served with Tahitian vanilla rum ice cream.
The cocktail pairing is the Rhumba Line Piña Colada.
Pineapple, coconut, rum and vanilla bring several of the dinner’s recurring tropical flavors together in the final course.
Rather than finishing with a standard chocolate or cheesecake dessert, the menu carries its island theme all the way through the final plate.
The Hula Tiki Cocktail Pairing Progression
One of the most interesting aspects of this Holland America dinner is that the drinks are integrated into the menu instead of simply being available separately.
The photographed progression is:
• Blue Hawaii – Crab Rangoon
• Trader Vic’s Mai Tai – Soy-Spiced Baby Back Ribs
• Tahitian Rum Punch – Hula Tiki Snapper and Shrimp Soup
• Spice Island Grog – Choice of main entrée
• Rhumba Line Piña Colada – Pineapple and Coconut Upside Down Cake
This makes the experience much closer to a paired tasting menu than an ordinary cruise dinner.
Several of the cocktail names also connect directly to the history of tiki drinking.
The Mai Tai is particularly significant. Trader Vic, or Victor Bergeron, is strongly associated with the creation of the Mai Tai in the 1940s, and the cocktail eventually became closely associated with Hawaiian tourism and Polynesian-inspired restaurant culture.
The Blue Hawaii is another famous mid-century tropical cocktail, while rum punch and grog connect the menu more broadly with the rum-driven traditions that shaped tiki cocktail culture.
How the Hula Tiki Menu Uses Hawaiian and Asian-Pacific Flavors
The food follows the same theme as the cocktails.
Across the meal, the menu uses ingredients and preparations including:
• Pineapple
• Coconut
• Teriyaki
• Sesame
• Kombu
• Kaffir lime
• Lemongrass
• Sake
• Tamarind
• Scallion
• Bok choy
• Tempura
This is not presented as a traditional Hawaiian meal. Instead, it is a themed cruise dining experience combining Hawaiian, Polynesian and broader Asian-Pacific influences with classic tiki-bar imagery and cocktails.
That distinction is useful when deciding what to expect from the dinner.
The emphasis is on a fun tropical tasting experience rather than reproducing one specific regional cuisine.
Vegetarian Options on the Hula Tiki Menu
The photographed menu uses a leaf symbol to identify vegetarian dishes.
The explicitly marked vegetarian choices include:
• Sweet and Sour Vegetable Tempura
• Hawaiian Fried Rice
• White Steamed Rice
• Mushrooms Tiki Style
The Sweet and Sour Vegetable Tempura is especially important because it provides a dedicated vegetarian option for the third course.
It includes a scallion pancake and spicy tamarind plum glaze.
Passengers with allergies or specific dietary requirements should still discuss them with Holland America staff onboard rather than relying solely on the symbols printed on a historical or photographed menu.
Public Health Advisory on the Menu
The bottom of the photographed menu includes Holland America’s public-health advisory.
It warns that consuming raw or undercooked meats, seafood, shellfish, eggs, milk or poultry may increase the risk of foodborne illness, particularly for guests with certain medical conditions.
The advisory symbol appears next to the Hawaiian Teriyaki-Glazed Beef Tenderloin and Scallops Boom Boom.
Hula Tiki Compared With a Regular Holland America Dinner
The format shown here is notably different from a conventional main dining room menu.
Instead of offering large categories of appetizers, entrées and desserts, the Hula Tiki menu follows a defined sequence.
Passengers begin with an amuse, move through two predetermined courses, select one of three entrées and finish with a predetermined dessert.
The drinks also follow that progression.
That structure is what makes the photographed menu useful for passengers researching Holland America specialty dining and themed culinary experiences. It shows not only what dishes were served, but how the entire dinner was designed to move from one flavor and cocktail pairing to the next.
Holland America and Hawaii-Themed Dining
Holland America operates cruises that visit Hawaii and has developed destination-influenced food and beverage offerings for those itineraries.
The cruise line’s Hawaii Pinnacle Grill menu provides a useful point of comparison with this Hula Tiki menu. Holland America has featured Hawaii-influenced seafood, meat dishes and tropical cocktails, including Blue Hawaii, Tahitian Rum Punch and Spice Island Grog.
The Hula Tiki menu takes that tropical direction considerably further by building an entire multi-course dinner around the theme.
However, the photographed pages do not identify the specific ship, sailing or date on which this particular Hula Tiki menu was served. Those details should therefore not be assumed from the food selections alone.
What to Expect From a Hula Tiki Dinner
Based strictly on the photographed menu, passengers experiencing this version of Hula Tiki could expect a substantial progression of food.
The dinner includes:
• One amuse
• Two additional predetermined savory courses
• Choice of one of three main courses
• Tropical side dishes
• One dessert
• Five named cocktail pairings across the meal
That is a much broader experience than simply ordering a tropical entrée and a Mai Tai.
The cocktails appear to be part of the storytelling of the menu, with each course moving further through the tiki theme.
Holland America Hula Tiki Menu FAQ
What is the Holland America Hula Tiki menu?
The photographed Hula Tiki menu is a tropical multi-course dining experience featuring Polynesian, Hawaiian and Asian-Pacific-inspired dishes paired with tiki cocktails.
What is served first?
The dinner begins with Crab Rangoon made with crispy wonton wrappers and served with Polynesian dipping sauce.
What cocktail is paired with the Crab Rangoon?
The amuse is paired with a Blue Hawaii.
What is the first course?
The first course is Soy-Spiced Baby Back Ribs with grilled pineapple, red chili and scallion.
What cocktail is paired with the ribs?
The ribs are paired with a Trader Vic’s Mai Tai.
What is the second course?
The second course is Hula Tiki Snapper and Shrimp Soup with kombu, kaffir lime, coconut, lemongrass and sake fish soup.
What cocktail comes with the seafood soup?
The menu pairs the soup with a Tahitian Rum Punch.
What are the Hula Tiki main-course choices?
The photographed menu offers Hawaiian Teriyaki-Glazed Beef Tenderloin, Scallops Boom Boom or Sweet and Sour Vegetable Tempura.
Is there a vegetarian entrée?
Yes. Sweet and Sour Vegetable Tempura is specifically marked vegetarian and comes with a scallion pancake and spicy tamarind plum glaze.
What cocktail is paired with the main course?
The third course is served with Spice Island Grog.
What side dishes are available?
The menu lists Hawaiian Fried Rice, White Steamed Rice, Garlic Bok Choy and Mushrooms Tiki Style.
What is served for dessert?
The final course is Warm Pineapple and Coconut Upside Down Cake with Tahitian vanilla rum ice cream.
What cocktail comes with dessert?
The dessert is paired with a Rhumba Line Piña Colada.
Is Hula Tiki a regular Holland America restaurant?
The photographed menu presents Hula Tiki as a themed multi-course dining experience rather than documenting a conventional everyday restaurant menu. The pages provided do not identify a permanent venue or specific ship.
Which Holland America ship has Hula Tiki?
The photographed menu does not identify the ship, and the available information is not sufficient to reliably assign this particular menu to one Holland America vessel.
Is this the same as Pinnacle Grill?
The photographed menu does not identify itself as a Pinnacle Grill menu. Holland America’s Hawaii Pinnacle Grill material does, however, feature several of the same tropical cocktails, including Blue Hawaii, Tahitian Rum Punch and Spice Island Grog.
Will I receive these exact dishes on a future Holland America cruise?
Not necessarily. Cruise menus and themed dining experiences can change by ship, sailing and itinerary. This article documents the specific menu shown in the photographs.
Final Thoughts on Holland America’s Hula Tiki Menu
The Hula Tiki menu is one of those cruise dining experiences where the theme extends well beyond the name of a restaurant or a single tropical dish.
The meal starts with Crab Rangoon and a Blue Hawaii, moves into soy-spiced ribs with a Trader Vic’s Mai Tai, follows with snapper and shrimp soup alongside Tahitian Rum Punch, and then lets diners choose among teriyaki beef tenderloin, Scallops Boom Boom or vegetarian tempura.
Even dessert remains firmly within the theme: warm pineapple and coconut upside-down cake, Tahitian vanilla rum ice cream and a Piña Colada.
What makes the menu particularly interesting is the deliberate food-and-cocktail progression. The drinks are not an afterthought. They are printed alongside the courses and form part of the experience from beginning to end.
For passengers researching Holland America dining menus, Hawaii cruise food or the Hula Tiki experience specifically, these photographed pages provide a detailed look at a genuinely unusual multi-course dinner built around tropical food, classic tiki cocktails and island-inspired flavors.
