The Crouching Lion, the Kaaawa restaurant with a troubled history of repeated failures under a string of owners, has reportedly gotten a new lease on life, according to Pacific Business News.
Advanced Fresh Concepts, one of the largest fresh sushi suppliers to supermarkets across the United States is moving ahead with plans for its second Oahu restaurant, at the historic Crouching Lion Inn complex in Windward Oahu, Pacific Business News has learned.
But PBN repeats an error when it refers to “the 90-year-old inn along Kamehameha Highway in Kaaawa.”
Although the building was built in the 1920’s, it was originally a private residence. The man who built the house was George F. Larsen, originally from Oslo, Norway.
According to his granddaughter, Larsen was “a successful mason contractor who arrived in Honolulu in 1912 to help with the construction of Schofield Barracks.”
In 1937, the home was sold to Reginald Faithful, then the head of Dairyman’s Association, one of the islands’ largest dairies and predecessor of Meadow Gold Dairies.
Then in the early 1950’s, my father, John M. Lind, came up with the idea of converting the building to a roadside inn. He approached Faithful and proposed a partnership. Faithful would make the building available, and my father, who managed a restaurant supply firm, would operate the business. They finally reached an agreement, and the Crouching Lion opened in 1952.
Here’s how my dad described it years later, in 2005 at age 92.
We set up a nice little kitchen. We put in tables and chairs for four people each, total seating about 60 in the living room and dining room, with a huge fireplace on one end, and it created an atmosphere that we weren’t very accustomed to in Hawaii. It made a very very nice setting.
We arranged to get a chef who was from Ireland, Joe Sheridan, and we had menus set up. We had Aggie Kellett, one of the women from the [Waikiki] Surf Club, come in as hostess and manager. So we had the chef in the kitchen, a gal in the dining room to greet the guests, and it was set up pretty much as a chafing dish-type food service from the cart to the table with fancy chafing dishes, ladles, and things of that nature.
We served luncheon and dinners. It was all specialty food. The dinners were all candle lit tables with tablecloths.
Joe Sheridan, the first chef, was quite colorful with his white coat and his high crown chef’s hat working the dining room as well as the kitchen.
Carl Reber, who was manager of the Commercial Club, asked if there was any possible chance of him getting work out there. When Joe decided he was going to leave, Carl was given the job and he seemed to enjoy it.
It was outstanding, but not to the point where there were a lot of people (chuckle).
We were told we were about 10 years too soon because round the island travel was not too heavy, and the attempt to get the cars to stop wasn’t too successful.
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I remember staying with friends on Scofield in 1977 and being treated to dinner at the Crouching Lion, white table clothes & candle light with the sound of the surf. Nice..
We took visitors there…..all the way from Kailua. It was special.
Ahh…. Slavonic Steak!!
Always a treat to dine at the Crouching Lion. In the 70’s I worked at The Bistro on Kapiolani. The Slavonic Steak was the only steak that gave our Filet Mignon a run for the money.
Great memories – wonderful restaurant.
The Crouching Lion was a favorite when coming back to ‘town’ from the Country. The Slavonic Steak was a must! And, after I turned 20, there was a terrific drink called the Red Lion (gin and ????).
I lost a brand new hard contact lens one night. The staff and many diners helped search the floor for it. It turned up on the table itself. I was a very embarrassed teenager.
There was a standing family joke. If we started debating where to have dinner (we lived in Waialae), someone would always say “the Crouching Lion” knowing the real choices were closer to home.
It’s on the list with the Tropics and Trader Vic’s and Canlis of special places that have disappeared.
Thanks for the back-story.
is the crouching lion inn closed and if so when does it reopen and or is it doe sale???thx Noreen 808-225-0635. ???
Apparently it is currently under renovations. I do not know about the schedule for reopening.
We would rent a car for a day simply to come here for lunch. The attraction was the coconut pie. A slice of heaven.
After getting a refund from the luau at the hotel we were staying at my dad took us here for a nice dinner i had steak teriyaki this was 1973 i always wonderd if was still there!
So what is the current status of the Restaurant, 2019. My favorite place to go for years.
The Slavonic Steak was to die for. I remember trips returning to the mainland from Kauai where I’d schedule a long layover in Honolulu, rent a car, and drive to the Crouching Lion Inn just for a farewell dinner.
It was my husband and my favaorite romantic restaurant to celebrate his return from being at sea during the Vietnam years in the late 60s. I hope it is revived.
Just saw it featured on an episode of Tom Selleck’s Magnum P.I. on Cozi TV network. That show ran from 1980-88 according to Wikipedia. Nice product placement, nice looking place.
Ha! I can’t believe I am watching that Magnum episode right now and came across this.
April 28.
What are status and outlook for Crouching Lion now. My memories go back to early 60s when I proposed to my wife nearly 58 years ago over Beef Wellington.
It was the highlight restaurant outing for us while my husband and I were on our honeymoon in 1975. We were too young to rent a car, so made our way over hill and vale in the rain that night, and it was worth the effort! I love learning more of the history. The steak cooked in a fabulous sauce tableside that evening was beyond delicious! We revisited that memory 25 years later on our anniversary, the same item for dinner, with the same magical feelings in a magical place! I hope it comes alive again as a landmark and a place for making memories and enjoying an exquisite meal
The Crouching Lion, my favorite place on the whole island. Having discovered it on my second visit in 1973, and since then have visited it over thirty times, lunch and/or dinner, what a gem. A place where I have shared with many special friends. Always kept a day free with rent a car and drive from Waikiki, many times in the dark and rain yet so much worth it. Not only for the ocean view , the dinning room or veranda, the candle lit tables and table cloths, staff but the “Slavonic Steak”!!! Now 45 years latter I hope it has reopened, and yes we will be renting a car just to go there. Aloha!
My father, Al Pierce (AP), owned the crouching Lion Inn for a few years in the mid-sixties. I remember playing in the old outrigger canoe that sat outside, and in the thatched shack nearby. My four sisters and I would run up and down the slope from what I guess was the parking area up to the inn. My father would sometimes drive the family around the island from Honolulu where we lived to Kaaawa on Sundays after church. We would have lobster tail in butter or a beautiful steak to share. We weren’t allowed to cross to the beach, even though there was just a two-lane road then: I think it was Kalanianiole Highway, and there wasn’t very much traffic. In the end, my mother always said my father lost his shirt. Still, those are good memories.
Kamehameha Highway. Still two lanes. My dad didn’t make any money. Although he never talked about taking big losses back then, that must have been the case. It was way too early to count on visitors stopping on, and the coast was (and is) not populated enough to draw sufficient local customers. But, as you say, good memories.
Aloha! Are you aware of any zoning issues that would restrict his ability to operate as an restaurant of his space?