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Happy 20th Anniversary to Forbidden Island

If we’re making a list of the most important tiki bars of the 21st century, Alameda’s Forbidden Island is a sure bet for the top 5. Opening in 2006, the bar set a new standard for the genre by combining the friendly confines of a neighborhood bar along with deep and traditional decor and a focus on craft cocktails. It made an immediate splash and set the template for the next decade of tiki bars.

Owner Michael Thanos at Tiki Central event in 2020

Forbidden Island has had a week of special events this week, and while we didn’t participate in any of the evening events or Sunday’s luau style event, we wanted to make sure to visit sometime this weekend. So Mrs. Mai Tai and I dropped in Saturday afternoon for a drink in between other things. We sat at the bar and enjoyed one of Miami Dave’s original creations called the Disco Ball, juicy, complex, and made with several rums. I tried the Infinite Coastline, a Blue Hawaii riff that now uses Mexican rum and is still fantastic. It was even better with a little pour of The Funk Jamaican rum that I checked off on my latest Kill Devil Club rum list.

Thank you to Michael and all crew members past and present for leading the tiki revival and keeping the flame burning though the rough waters of COVID, changing tastes, and local bureaucracy. Things have changed over the years (I loved the old jukebox), but Forbidden Island is still doing things right. From special events to Tuesday Ohana nights, plus friendly staff and great hospitality, Forbidden Island is one of the greats. Cheers!

Disco Ball and Infinite Coastline
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Tiki Brunch at Hula Hoops

Our San Francisco weekend finished with Sunday brunch at Hula Hoops in South San Francisco. We didn’t partake in any cocktails but enjoyed the Ube Waffles and Avacado Toast, both a good value given the portion size and quality. We also ordered the cornbread – Julie liked this more than I did but warm cornbread is always welcome.

The staff seated us in the tiki room built by Bamboo Ben, where there are two tables for four. We enjoy the quiet escape and relaxing feel of this space.

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Amazing New Flotsam Fizz Cocktail is a Cocktail / Mug Bargain

One of the new offerings we tried during our recently visits to Smuggler’s Cove is a new cocktail and mug pairing featuring one of the Cove’s signature crate mugs paired with a new cocktail from Dane Barca (of Dr. Barca’s Fluffy Banana fame). The Flotsam Fizz and mug combo is only $25 and you can choose your mug from those still available.

The Flotsam Fizz contains “potent rums,” lemon, coconut, passionfruit, pineapple, and cola. It has a wonderful fruity taste and a nice foamy head, garnished with an orchid and lemon twist. I really loved this cocktail, with some of the spices from the cola working very well with the tangy fruit flavors from the passionfruit. Honestly, I wouldn’t have felt ripped off if the cocktail itself was $25, but to get a mug alongside means this combo is a steal!

Our friend Kristi also ordered one and we both chose Demerara as our mug of choice from those available.

Additionally, the good Dr. Barca also mentioned he has a new drink he’s been working on called Fool Me Once… That’s the one pictured with the Hibiscus Rum Punch and the details of the evening are hazy, thus I’m not certain what’s in it but it sure tastes fantastic, so ask Dane next time you’re at the Cove and you’ll be in for a treat.

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Fluffy Banana More Popular Than Mai Tai

During our staycation weekend we had two late visits to Smuggler’s Cove, finding it full but not overly packed to enjoy the myriad cocktails the venue is famous for. We tried some old favorites including the Hibiscus Punch and a Mai Tai of course.

I don’t exactly take precise attendance but we do take mental notes on what people are drinking when we go out. Often it is the venue’s signature cocktail or it might be the latest cocktail fad (hello, Espresso Martini), and at a tiki bar it’s often the Mai Tai. But during our visits to Smuggler’s Cove it was easy to see which drink it seemed like everyone was drinking, and it wasn’t the Mai Tai.

The memo is out in San Francisco, and sure seems like SC’s most popular drink is Dr. Barca’s Fluffy Banana.

Dane Barca‘s original cocktail featuring cachaca and banana has moved from cult favorite to mainstream awareness because every “normie” we saw seemed to be carrying one of them around. Mrs Mai Tai always gets this and joined the crowd both nights, and it’s easy to see why everyone loves the rich flavors and foamy head, especially when Barca himself makes it for you. It’s fantastic and if you’re one of the few who haven’t tried it, well, you know what you need to do.

Update: Smuggler’s Cove replied to our Instagram post and says that the Mai Tai is the second most popular cocktail and the Fluffy Banana is number six.

Dane Barca at Smuggler’s Cove
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Checking in at Bamboo Hut

Every once in a while we find ourselves in North Beach with maybe some time to kill or looking for a cocktail escape. Such was the case on Saturday after an amazing dumpling and noodle focused dinner at nearby China Live but where I was underwhelmed by the cocktails. So we walked over to Bamboo Hut shortly after opening to see if the cocktail game would get any better.

Bamboo Hut is one of the most unusual tiki bars in San Francisco in that it doesn’t fit in neat boxes. It opened in 1997, so it predates the craft cocktail renaissance, but also doesn’t have the longevity of Trad’r Sam or Tonga Room. The interior has some nice decorative elements, including a large tiki mask that dates from the 1940s, yet also has a lot cheap wall tikis and neon signage that plays up the party bar aspect that’s a focus for the venture. The cocktail program was refreshed in 2019 and there are some craft elements, but the nods of “blow job shots” and frozen drinks again leans in the party vibe. So it is sort of good, sort of not for the average tiki aficionado.

Who Burnt My Banana Bread

There was no issue with our service though, as the bartender was quite personable and even indulged in a called rum Mai Tai, where I asked for Planteray Xaymaca to replace the Planteray 5 Year that I don’t enjoy. The Mai Tai turned out pretty good, way better than the limey one I had at China Live. Even better was Mrs. Mai Tai’s Who Burnt My Banana Bread, which is a sweet old fashioned style drink with walnut bitters and liqueur, banana liqueur, spiced rum, and served smoked. It was actually really great.

This place has a party vibe later in the evenings including DJs playing anything but tropical, but the island vibes and music during our visit were very nice. All of which means that Bamboo Hut isn’t bad at all and I’d be more than willing to pre-game here anytime.

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Tweaks at The Tonga Room

Mrs. Mai Tai and I had a couple weekend events in San Francisco so made it a staycation weekend. We started with dinner at The Tonga Room on Friday, arriving for our reservation right at opening and seated along the water with our friends Kristi and Jessie.

There are still a lot of things going well here, including our server Ahmad who was on top of everything during our visit. I was interested in checking the Mai Tai, but knowing that they batch some of the drinks I thought I’d take Ahmad on his prompt that the bartenders can make anything by asking for a Mai Tai with Jamaican rum rather than the Bacardi rums it normally comes with. I figured they would use Appleton Signature which is exactly what they used, with the overall result being just okay but at least they didn’t charge me anything extra.

I had better luck with the full-flavored Fair Fashioned, featuring rye and amaro. Mrs. Mai Tai’s Seafoam Espresso Martini was also pretty good as was the vodka-based Divine Dragon. The Tropical Itch was also quite good, the kind of complex tiki drink that Tonga sometimes had trouble with in the past. The revised cocktail menu sadly drops the Tiki Hunter which was our favorite, though the prices are a little lower than last time. A little.

We did enjoy the food as well, though my Ahi Tuna came in sort of a weird format with little chips. The side of fried rice was a good addition and the tiki noodles and veggie duo featured large portions.

The fine for jumping into the pool remains $1000, though more notably the cover charge for when the band plays is now $20 per person, which we feel is far too much and hence why we come early before they start at 7:00. We felt the overall value was a little better than our last visit, and though it is still very expensive here for dinner and drinks we do enjoy visiting for the vibe, decor, and frequent thunderstorms.

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Tiki Tom’s Ultimate Mai Tai is Still Great

We had another wonderful visit to Walnut Creek to have a family dinner and drinks at Tiki Tom’s. They don’t do reservations on the weekends but we only had to wait around 10-15 mins for a table.

We did very well with the food including a fantastic smash burger with kalua pork. Even better were our cocktails including a couple Ultimate Mai Tais that are still made correctly to spec and taste great. I also enjoyed a Tiki Negroni that comes with Jamaican rum and a bit of amaro. Quinn enjoys a good Navy Grog and said that Tiki Tom’s made it the way it should be.

We still love the Ohana Punch, which does include bits of walnuts and apples. Our server made sure to note this is a little chunky so patrons should avoid it if those little bits aren’t your thing. There’s also a new Espresso Tikini, though we suggest avoiding the option to use Bailey’s in place of coffee liqueur.

The tropical music and vibes remain at Tiki Tom’s, nice and cool inside as well. It’s an indoor and immersive tiki bar that all fans of the genre should be sure to check out.