By Jason Genegabus

DJ Doggfather on the decks at Bonsai Restaurant and Lounge’s grand opening last weekend. (Jason Genegabus photos)

Following a private soft opening last week, the new Bonsai Restaurant and Lounge opened its doors to the public for the first time on Saturday.

The newest addition to Restaurant Row opens in a space with a reputation for being the black hole of the property. A new business will open, suck all the available capital out of its owner(s), then shut down a few months later.

It’s happened at least twice in the last decade (Carnival Las Palmas, Meritage), but I really hope it doesn’t happen again with Bonsai. There are a lot of quality industry folks on the payroll here, and a number of improvements have been made to make the space more conducive to partying.

I’m sure you’ll see a ton of party pics online in the next few weeks, as the rest of Honolulu’s Clubland chroniclers jump on the bandwagon and check this place out.

But for now, I’ve your exclusive first look at this new spot after the jump.

After a slightly messy exit from Fashion45 in 2007, Bonsai general manager Burt Kawasaki spent the last year securing a lease and building out the space that would house his next nocturnal adventure.

Here he is, in the lei, with some of the veteran security staff in front of Bonsai’s main entrance on Saturday:

According to Kawasaki, construction and remodeling costs ran in the “high six figures,” but the results are evident as soon as you walk into Bonsai. My memory is a little fuzzy, but I definitely remember it being a lot harder to explore when Las Palmas was in operation.

I’m told a wall on the first floor was removed to open up the room, and a back staircase has been added to make it easier for guests to walk around during late night events.

Before, there was only one way in and out of the three rooms here. Now, you can walk in the front door, head upstairs, walk back downstairs and make your way outside without having to double back.

Here’s a look at the main bar area, just past the main entrance:

It was pretty crowded around 11 p.m. on Saturday, but there was no problem getting a drink. Most of the bar staff appears to have migrated from Pipeline Cafe, so these folks are used to high volume:

There are more tables upstairs, with lots of flat screens on the walls and more than enough room to walk around and mingle:

While the lower level contains more of the same – hardwood floors, contemporary furnishings and a clean, classy feel:

KT and Doggfather are the resident DJs at Bonsai on the weekends. Again, these guys aren’t rookies, so you won’t have to put up with questionable music selection or mixing abilities, as is the case at some venues that try to save a few bucks by hiring inexperienced staff:

When I got to the downstairs level where DJ Doggfather was spinning, I was happy to see the dancefloor wasn’t just a place for people to stand around and stare at each other.

Channette (in the tiara) was in the building with her girlfriends, celebrating her birthday. She just turned… 22.

Right, Channette? =)

Even the outdoor seating area was packed with people kicking back and talking story:

And it’s always a good sign to see entire tables occupied by the fairer sex. More ladies always equals a higher propensity for a fun night:

Want to check out Bonsai for yourself? Head over to Restaurant Row on Tuesday for the kickoff of “The Tanuki Lounge” with Tantriq Entertainment:

This entry was posted on Monday, October 20th, 2008 at 1:06 pm and is filed under Nightlife, Clubs/Bars, Picture Blogs, Adventures in Clubland. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.