I’ve had the pleasure of visiting Alameda’s Forbidden Island twice in the last few days. Their patio is open and is expanded to fill the parking lot.
The crew has done a good job filling the space with socially distant tables and two-seat barrels, with some nice decor, a shade netting, and a fine selection of diverse but appropriately retro/exotic music. The crew works hard to accommodate groups in whichever seating they are most comfortable, and upon entering everyone has use some hand sanitizer and to read the rules (my favorite: No “Freedom Rights” Outbursts). Masks are supposed to be worn when away from the table, and encouraged to be worn except when you are actively eating/drinking.
Food is still a required part of your experience, if you want cocktails. This is basically an extension of the same rules allowing to-go cocktails but only when accompanied by food.
The new setup means that Forbidden Island is now able to have a much larger set of cocktails to order from, and they’re presented in all their regular garnished glory. The crew is also able to have a brief bit of conversation and camaraderie that Forbidden Island is famous for. The set up is a big draw for patrons working on their Kill Devil rum lists order rums from the list. Rums can be sampled neat, on rocks, or in a Daiquiri, Ti Punch, or Mai Tai.
To-go cocktails have been great, but there’s nothing like getting a freshly made Chamborlada or another expertly prepared cocktail. I ordered a Mai Tai and John Peterson somehow after all these months remembered that I like it a little bit heavy on the orgeat. Man, that is customer service at it’s finest.
It was a great couple visits, and I got to see some tiki friends in the flesh, too. Mahalo to Forbidden Island, let’s keep this going.
