Finally made visiting The Grass Skirt a priority. We thought that since it is all-ages at dinner time that it would work for our family trip, plus we were interested in experiencing Sippin’ Santa pop-up one more time this season.
Definitely a mixed bag.
The decor here is pretty nice, but the music was nothing but reggae covers of pop songs. Which got old very fast and kind of ruined the Christmas vibe too. They also had sound system issues with their special effects. We do really dig their speakeasy entrance and there were some nice Christmas decorations up, though this is not as elaborately themed as some holiday pop-ups we’ve patronized.
We enjoyed the Shrimp and Pork Wontons, but overall didn’t think the food was that great here, with small portions and some odd choices (why does the tofu come with ground beef?). Our service was pretty good, and our server had a nice Christmas sweater on.
We ordered cocktails off the Grass Skirt menu rather than Sipping’ Santa, which in retrospect was overall a mistake. We didn’t care at all for the Clarified Painkiller (doesn’t taste like a Painkiller at all) or the Banana Berry Old Fashioned (barely any banana or berry flavors). The Tropical Soda needed more tropical flavoring. Boozing’ Susan’s World Famous Chi Chi did not live up to the hype in the name (like nearly all cocktails claiming to be “world famous” truth be told) and felt a little flat to me. Mrs. Mai Tai didn’t really like it at all and this type of cocktail is right up her alley.
Thankfully, I’m pleased to report that Tropical Tony’s Mai Tai was really good. A very nice rum blend and a nutty orgeat put this on my honorable mention list for best Mai Tai of the year. I would definitely return for this, one of the better Mai Tais in the city.
