Tonga Room & Hurricane Bar - Fairmont San Francisco

Review summary

1. P

   Pamela

   San Francisco

   2 reviews

   3.0

   2 reviews

   Dined 2 days ago

   1. Overall 3
   2. Food 2
   3. Service 4
   4. Ambience 4

   For the money we paid it was not what we expected. Food was very low quality, very small selection. When you pay for buffet style you expect verity. They could have offered at least complimentary soft drinks for the price. Over all experience was not as expected for New year celebration .
   

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2. t

   trish

   VIP

   San Francisco

   62 reviews

   4.0

   62 reviews

   Dined 2 days ago

   1. Overall 4
   2. Food 3
   3. Service 5
   4. Ambience 5

   Very nice NYE 2025 party! Excellent service and a fantastic band with great music. The only downside was that the music ended too soon
   

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3. S

   Sarah

   VIP

   San Francisco

   73 reviews

   4.0

   73 reviews

   Dined 2 days ago

   1. Overall 4
   2. Food 4
   3. Service 4
   4. Ambience 4

   This was our third New Year’s Eve at the Tonga room. Food: the buffet was surprisingly good with tasty selections. Drinks: We know it’s the Tonga room but we prefer a nice bottle of champagne to the umbrella drinks. We had to sweet talk our waiter into tracking some down for us. Music: The Island Groove band is great fun, dance cover songs through the years of my life, but the party only lasted until about 12:10 so we were sad about that. Overall: we love the goofy, kitsch vibe of the Tonga Room, it’s so much fun to visit and enjoy. It’s not for everyone but we love it.
   

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4. W

   Wayne

   Tahoe

   1 review

   4.0

   1 review

   Dined 2 days ago

   1. Overall 4
   2. Food 2
   3. Service 3
   4. Ambience 5

   The Tonga Room is a Wonderful, Exciting and it’s Alive you can feel the Energy when you walk in. We thank you for the Wonderful experience. Happy New Year
   

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5. S

   Stacy

   VIP

   Las Vegas

   7 reviews

   3.0

   7 reviews

   Dined 2 days ago

   1. Overall 3
   2. Food 1
   3. Service 5
   4. Ambience 5

   Such a fun place! The music is fantastic and the drinks are great but don’t come for the food. We were highly disappointed but weren’t terribly hungry so we still had a great time!
   

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6. D

   Deann

   VIP

   Minneapolis

   3 reviews

   1.0

   3 reviews

   Dined 2 days ago

   1. Overall 1
   2. Food 1
   3. Service 1
   4. Ambience 5

   Paid in advance for New Years Eve. Food buffet was terrible. Limited service. Band was fantastic!
   

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7. D

   David

   San Francisco

   20 reviews

   1.0

   20 reviews

   Dined 2 days ago

   1. Overall 1
   2. Food 1
   3. Service 1
   4. Ambience 3

   if i can give it zero stars for food i would. I was born abd raised in SF and my mom had her wedding here at the garden court. i took my teenagers to Tonga room and stayed at the hotel. It was $159 pp for NYE dinner buffet and it was inedible! I am big foodie but I would eat spoiled Panda express and that is an insult to Panda! The food was soo bad. The service I couldn't get past the food! What a shame, this is a historical place I can not believe the food was so horrible!
   

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8. D

   Danielle

   San Francisco

   1 review

   5.0

   1 review

   Dined 2 days ago

   1. Overall 5
   2. Food 5
   3. Service 5
   4. Ambience 5

   We had a wonderful time! The Tonga room made New Year’s Eve so much fun! Thank you!
   

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9. B

   Ben

   San Francisco

   2 reviews

   1.0

   2 reviews

   Dined 2 days ago

   1. Overall 1
   2. Food 1
   3. Service 1
   4. Ambience 1

   TLDR: Worst dining experience I've ever had. BEYOND BAD VALUE: AN OUTRIGHT SCAM. Blatant false advertising, exorbitant pricing, shameful quality, and utterly unhelpful staff. AVOID THE TONGA ROOM LIKE THE PLAGUE. This place falsely advertises the services/food/drink included in its prepaid offerings, and preys on consumers' numbness to inflated city prices as an opportunity to charge fine dining fees for reheated, diner-quality food. This is BY FAR the worst dining experience I've ever had. My two friends and I booked the Tonga Room's 2024 New Year's Eve Luau Experience @ $159/person, plus mandatory 20% gratuity, for a total bill of $613.57 after tax. (See images attached). This was a prepaid booking, so full payment was required in advance. The event description (see attached image) stated that we would enjoy a luau buffet, live music, dancing, and “California’s best Mai Tai” for our booking fee. Upon arrival, we discovered that: 1) We would be charged an additional cover to stay at the restaurant once live music started, 2) Drinks were charged separately and not included with our $600+ booking, and 3) The “luau buffet” was actually just a skimpy selection of roughly seven, sad-looking buffet dishes tucked away at the back of the room -- the kind that would have been disappointing as a complimentary continental breakfast at a motel. But serving this as a $200/person dinner at a five star hotel? Unacceptable. My party could have enjoyed a full tasting menu at any number of the city's fine dining restaurants for this price. Each dish looked like gloppy, reheated Chinese takeout. Hardly the advertised "buffet luau of Polynesian inspired classics". We walked out without even touching our waters. Staff would not offer more than a half refund. We filed a credit card dispute for the full charge. Lesson learned - check Yelp reviews first. We discovered there are many other similar experiences here. A terrible way to start the New Year.
   

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10. C

    Chad

    Minneapolis

    1 review

    1.0

    1 review

    Dined 6 days ago

    1. Overall 1
    2. Food 1
    3. Service 2
    4. Ambience 3

    This place has to be one of the most overrated restaurants/experiences ever!! $21 drinks, $24 for a bowl of fried rice, mandatory $15/pp cover charge if seated near 7pm for a lack luster band you could barely hear and who took a break 30mins after starting late. The worst of all is the overpriced mediocre (at best) food that had zero flavor. Stop by the bar for a drink and to take a look but go elsewhere for dinner totally not worth it!
    

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