Originally Posted By Inspector 57 And how were they? By that I mean... Did that particular restaurant/bar/shop incorporate elements from its location in a way that made the place feel unique to its location? or did it feel like a "generic" Hard Rock? If you had been blindfolded, dropped inside that particular Hard Rock, and then un-blindfolded, would you have been able to figure out where you were without looking to see which city's name appeared on the server's t-shirts? This question/idea-for-a-thread occured to me because I just (finally) visited Detroit's Hard Rock Cafe. Sitting there, I thought about the HR's I've visited and how they varied in terms of the above. (Some were very successful, some not as much.) I'd love to hear about HR's I haven't visited. And I think it would be fun to hear where LP'ers have been and what they thought of those HR's.
Originally Posted By Mr X Been to the Hard Rock in LA (back when it was special, in 1989...THAT was a huge hype)...Osaka (at Universal), Yokohama, Roppongi (Tokyo) and Ueno (Tokyo). Out of all 4, the one in Ueno is quite new and in the train station (generic) and REALLY feels like a chain store (totally TGIFridays vibe...way too many out there now!)...the other 3 in Japan I've seen are "okay", but only the one in LA seemed "special" to me but that might have been cause it was unique. I believe the one in Roppongi was the first in Japan, and it used to be THE place to go for "American cuisine" back before there were any other choices like Outback, TGIFridays, Planet Hollywood, Rainforest Cafe, etc...
Originally Posted By TALL Disney Guy Nashville, TN. It was about 14 or 15 years ago, but I do vaguely recall some country star outfits, instruments, and decorations, etc. (I was too taken by the replica of ancient Greece's Athens Parthenon down the road to retain much of the HR)
Originally Posted By Lisann22 It's been a really long time for almost all of them. Some I just went into bought something and left. San Francisco - hometown favorite Sacramento - kind of a clone to SF Tahoe LA - same as Mr X went in it's heyday. Vegas Chicago - I think it's my favorite due to location Memphis - loved the Blues atmosphere Atlanta - blech New York - way more happening than all the others. Hong Kong - Too crowded!!!
Originally Posted By knightnfrees I've been to 4... The one on the ground floor of the Beverly Center in L.A. It's been years, so I don't remember the atmosphere. The one at Universal Citywok..er CityWalk. It seemed rather small to me. Nothing to write home about. The one in Tj. Nothing like taking a bandit cab across the border with NO seatbelts, mind you. It didn't seem like a HR. It appeared rundown, but the food was ok. I liked the one in Vegas. It kept with the vibe of Vegas and what a HR should be.
Originally Posted By Inspector 57 FWIW, I thought the Detroit Cafe was okay. As with the other HR's I've visited, the food was not the greatest for the price. But I take that as a constant for the chain, and I accept it. And as I've experienced at other locations, ALL the young and tattoo'd staff were REALLY friendly, helpful, and seemingly sincerely welcoming to me. [Okay, THAT part of the experience was definitely NOT in keeping with "authentic" Detroit! You just don't know how rare that type of service is in this town. Normal service here is to be greeted with a look and an indeciferable muttered comment that are equal parts: (A) apathy; and (B) irritation that you've interrupted the server's personal life.] The service at HR Detroit was outstanding, from the cheerful 21-year-old multi-pierced hostess who went out of her way to get me seated as soon as possible to the waiter who -- 10 minutes after I left his table -- saw me on the other side of the restaurant taking a photo of Madonna's "wedding" dress and dashed over to ask if I wouldn't rather have a photo of me in front of the display. Him: studly young black guy. Me: nerdy late-40's white guy. And Mr. Goth in the Gift Shop could NOT have been any better with me -- or any more charming with the little kids who came into the shop. Wow. "Love all, serve all." Amazing. That said... It's a small Cafe in a new Office Building. There was absolutely nothing uniquely "Detroit" about the facility. (Of course, "uniquely Detroit," in terms of facilities, would have meant either "abandoned building" or "personality-less chain store". So I guess I forgive them that.) The "Detroit" in the place came from a huge prominent stained-glass wall that featured likenesses of local musical icons such as The Supremes, Stevie Wonder, etc. And ALL the photos and memorabilia were from local musicians: Madonna, Eminen, Kid Rock, The Temptations, Iggy Pop, Bob Seger, Ted Nugent, etc. All in all, a good experience mostly because of the service. And because it was "unique" in that the displays were cool things from a nice range of Michigan-based artists.
Originally Posted By chickendumpling CityWalk - I like this one but really only because its the one I get to go to with family when I'm down home. It's just tooo much fun to take your grandma and grandpa there and watch them look at all the memorabilia. A hurricane glass from this one is in my office on the bookshelf. T.J. - yeah, really don't remember that one too much. lol. London - what can you say about the one where it all started? What a surreal experience. I felt honored to be there. I know, I know, I'm a dork. lol. I just couldn't believe I was really there. I was totally enthralled. For a while it was my goal to go to every single Hard Rock in the world just so I could say I did. I had forgotten all about that until this thread. lol. Ahh, memories. Maybe I still will do that someday. Until then, I have my Hard Rock London t-shirt (wore that baby 'til it was nearly thread bare, lol). What's left of my t-shirt is framed and hanging on the wall in the playroom right now. And the napkin and drink coaster are in a photo album upstairs. Now you've got me itchin' to go to the one in Las Vegas since it's the closest and one I could actually do!
Originally Posted By Inspector 57 Whoa. I admit that I didn't see ALL of the photos in the place, but now that you mention it, I don't remember seeing any MC5 stuff. I'll have to check that out. I did notice that they devoted a disproportionate amount of space to Kid Coda. (Huh?!)
Originally Posted By Kar2oonMan I've been to: San Francisco (now closed Van Ness location & current Pier 39) San Diego Honolulu Sacramento Las Vegas I went to the Van Ness location the most, but the one in Honolulu seemed best "themed" to the location with a lot of surf stuff all around. It's been a really long time since I've been to a Hard Rock Cafe, though.
Originally Posted By DlandJB I was in the one in Toronto, Canada once. Just went in long enough to buy a sweat shirt. It was a long, long time ago - -about 17 years ago or so.
Originally Posted By Inspector 57 LAS VEGAS. It was my first. The place is lucky ("Lucky." Get it?) in that it can feature almost any artist and still be "in theme". Great memorabilia. And it's unique in that you can play video poker at the bar. Cool. SAN FRANCISCO (Van Ness). A great visit. I don't remember any Chris Isaak or Huey Lewis stuff, as I would have expected. [Maybe it was there.] My memories are... (1) I had never seen a person as pierced as our bartender. (2) The theme wasn't "Haight Asbury" or "Gay" or "Tony Bennett." It was... Cows! SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico. VERY cool, in that it occupied an old building. Unique layout -- very vertical. Cool that the "logo" was a native frog species. The place was full of locals. "Authentic" seeming. ST. THOMAS. New building, but very glassy, so that you got that Caribbean feel wherever you looked. Using the view as theming: cool! Lizards and huevos rancheros and Bloody Marys. Perfect vacation brunch. CANCUN. Maybe my best HR visit ever, mostly for personal reasons. (The facility was okay. I think you could tell you were in Mexico and not the US.) I went alone. Coincidentally and happily, my partner and a couple of friends showed up shortly thereafter. We had great conversation, great appetizers while standing at at table in the bar, and great beers. And then all of a sudden our waiter and several others were part of a rock band that was performing on a stage that was right in front of us and that I hadn't noticed before. Perfect! Loved the music! It wasn't until later that I realized that I had been listening to and speaking with people there in a combination of English and Spanish without being conscious of which language was being used at the time. OMG! A lifetime first! This was a dream come true after studying Spanish for seven years. Thank you, Hard Rock and Corona! LOL!
Originally Posted By davewasbaloo Ok, here is my list in no particular order: San Francisco Van Ness location - ok, but nothing to write home about Universal Citywalk California - very small for location. Tahoe - felt special because we popped in after getting married. Orlando - the most amazing HRC I've been to - a caddy on the ceiling and Kiss Drumkit cool. Grand Caymen - largely forgetable Cancun - not bad The original HRC London - very small, but amazing due to the gigs and vaults they have there. Nottingham - fun for live music Birmingham - not far from my office so a nice hang out. Cardiff - Full of welsh band memoribilia and one of my Dad's drum heads from when he was with the Drifters hangs in there. Bristol - this one is just a bar with a stage, very surreal. Hard Rock Casino London - it's not Vegas Edinburgh - felt like a TGI's Paris - forgetable Barcelona - like all the others Copenhagen - very 60s/70s. Dubai - this is awesome - it looks like Las Vegas' New York New York on a smaller scale and has a nightclub. I do love them though for the menu options and the music. And they are all over the UK, it's original home. I do prefer the House of Blues though.
Originally Posted By davewasbaloo One cool thing, at Tahoe, because we popped in with our wedding clothes on, they gave us a Tahoe Cast Lanyard - very cool.
Originally Posted By u k fan I've never been to a Hard Rock Cafe. I feel totally out of the loop now! Maybe next time I'm in London I'll make an effort to stop there!!!
Originally Posted By Mr X That'd be the one to go to (the original, like Disneyland!)... When I visit London, I'd like to check it out. But no other place in particular (maybe NY).
Originally Posted By Liberty Belle New York - very cool! Tijuana - very ordinary and the sleazy waiter kept sitting at my table trying to hit on me - I was 16, and it freaked me out! Surfers Paradise - this is the one I go to most often because it's closest to where I live. Melbourne - the first one I ever went to, it's pretty cool, loud and fun. I didn't really like it the first time I went but when I went back I had a blast!
Originally Posted By debtee I've been to the one in London. Also we were at the opening of the one in Sydney. Bruce, Demi and Sly were there in real life and were the star attractions. It's been a while though and my memory is rusty. We were given special tickets to attend, be inside with them while they were there signing items etc. However it was so crowded we didn't get any personal photo's with them. I remember George street was closed down to traffic and people without tickets, it was a fun night. We have been back a few times since then but not for years and generally with friends who want to go there and check it out!
Originally Posted By disney pete hard rock cafe orlando loved it great atmosphere great food great service great service. hard rock cafe barcelona great food ok atmosphere service not that good as waitress was also serving managers friend (freebie)so we were ignored a lot. hard rock cafe amsterdam great food no atmosphere poor service which was made worse when my girlfriend came back from the toilet and said she had witnesed are server snorting cocaine all had great food but i prefer planet hollywood myself.
