Scenes from the Hurricane Club, New 'Polynesian' in Flatiron

By Sarah DiGregorio Mon., Oct. 11 2010 at 11:49 AM

Categories: DiGregorio, The Early Word

The Hurricane Club is an odd duck--meant to be a fun revival of old-school, faux Polynesian food and drink, it ends up seeming more all-inclusive-beach-resort than anything else. The cocktails make some tiki references, but are mainly too sweet and weak to make an impression, the food is served in large, fry-heavy portions--it's tasty enough but not particularly clever or memorable. The restaurant might serve just fine as a stop on an evening out, but as a destination for food and drink--as of now-- it's not much worth a visit, except for the glittery spectacle of the place.

Is anyone else disappointed that this pu-pu platter ($28) is not served on a pu pu platter? Isn't the fire in the center part of the whole kitschy point? But these snacks were the best food we sampled that night--the hot green Korean chiles stuffed with pork and deep-fried are particularly delicious, as are the Sriracha-spiked deviled eggs.

Billed as Singapore prawn scampi, it was unclear what was Singaporean about this perfectly nice garlic shrimp dish. The fried potatoes on top?

Shanghai lobster noodles fra diavolo sounded like an odd and compelling fusion, but it's actually just a bowl of very tame fra diavolo sauce with a few bits of lobster and gummy noodles. We asked for Sriracha.

360 Park Avenue South
212-951-7111