We had a great time in West Hollywood at The Lucky Tiki’s first New Year’s Eve party. The ticketed event began at 9:00 and included all inclusive food and drinks. Food included hot dogs from the adjacent Tail o’ the Pup, sushi, and also some Chinese favorites such as chow mein and egg rolls. Drink orders for anything off the regular cocktail were at the bar or from a couple servers who circulated mainly to those seated. A champagne toast capped the evening at midnight.
For a first time event there were a lot of things done well here, especially the bar staff who worked very hard for that three plus hours making constant cocktails. We also salute Genesis and Shane for also keeping up with deliveries of the wild frenzy of orders and sticking to the script for some of Lucky Tiki’s signature display cocktails such as Elvis in Hawaii. Overall our drinks were of the same quality that we had on our previous visit, with one exception, and we were pleased to check out the expanded cocktail menu that includes some tiki classics such as the Three Dots & a Dash that I thought was pretty good.
For an inaugural event there are some things that could be tweaked. While there was an expansion of seating on a heated patio, there simply weren’t enough chairs for those in attendance. I suspect some might not have cared the least, but for a three hour event some of us really needed the chairs and I felt sorry for those who arrived too late to snag one. Having more passed appetizers would have enhanced the experience as well.
One of my Mai Tais was pretty bad, far too limey. It was replaced by another one (and later another) that were better but not really at the same level of quality as the other cocktails on the menu. I give a lot of leeway for the nature of the event but I suspect that the problem lies with the orgeat – and it needs to change. The rum needs to be bolder than Flor de Caña Eco too.
Given the quality of the event and all-inclusive food and drinks NYE was certainly a great value. We had a lot of fun hanging out with our impromptu table-mates and socializing with a few familiar faces. The tropical music was on point and again I must praise the staff for a great job on this event.
