We had a fab time checking off a few “first visit” tiki bars up in the San Fernando Valley before New Year’s. Tiki No was said to be more of a dive bar in North Hollywood (the “No” in Tiki No) but we arrived shortly after opening on Monday to find that it was couples night as everyone in the venue was paired.
I was so pleased to see an elaborate bamboo palace inside with some nice booths, plus a seating area parallel to the long thatch-covered bar. It was cold but we admired the small patio as well. Lighting is very cohesive and while the tikis are off the shelf I did admire the collection.
We tried and liked two cocktails, including their juicy Mai Tai that includes some pineapple juice in modest amounts plus Appleton rum and Cachaca that I didn’t really get major notes from but overall felt balanced pretty good. Mrs. Mai Tai was impressed by her flaming Toasted Marshmallow that included rum, vodka, Licor 43, spices, and apple juice. This cocktail had a great visual interest and the taste was pretty good too. We spotted a few nice rums but a lot of the back bar was filled with rums I don’t normally see there (I see you, Captain and Kraken). I’d come back for more drinks on future visits to LA.
The music at Tiki No deserves special mention since the music spanned many popular genres (though not surf or exotica, sadly). It was like all of Spotify was on shuffle as we heard these artist in consecutive order:
- Hip Hop song (didn’t catch the artist)
- The Cure
- Motörhead
- Cher
- Delta Spirit
- Miami Sound Machine
- No Doubt
- Sixpence None the Richer
- Foreigner
Quite the collection, including This is Spinal Tap on the TV. Not really my preference for a tiki bar and I’d prefer pre-80s, but all in all not terrible. We enjoyed our short visit, though not as much as the couple in the booth next to us who were getting very… cozy.
