After an exciting day of tasting and socializing at the Rum Curious Summit we decided to keep the party going in a more relaxing fashion by going over to Long Beach’s Bamboo Club for a meal and drinks. The team was able to let us have a larger table for our group and between us and others from the event it was sort of like a final farewell with friends.
There was a DJ playing some great retro tunes including lounge and exotica favorites, and we enjoyed the atmosphere inside this tiki bar with dive leanings. There’s a Bamboo Mai Tai that uses 122 proof Copalli aged rum, which I’m sure would have been my preference had I not been looking to limit alcohol. So I went with the standard Mai Tai with Jamaica and Martinique rum and found it to pretty good especially on a Monday when it is only $8!
We’d only visited once before but Bamboo Club was a fun time and we enjoyed exploring all the little rooms and patio outside, featuring eclectic artwork and cool lighting.
We had another amazing visit to Strong Water Anaheim, coasting on Nav’s reservation for a totally relaxing Sunday evening over superior cocktails. While reservations are especially important here and can limit spontaneity, it is nice to be able to get them and plan your day around the time. Mrs. Mai Tai and I arrived a bit early and had dinner at the Packing District Food Hall, a short walk away.
After overindulging the previous night I stuck to one cocktail, so I made sure it counted by having Strong Water’s excellent Mai Tai – rich and nutty with some flavorful but approachable rum. It is one of the best Mai Tais of the year so far, once again. Mrs. Mai Tai’s Pearl Diver was also top-notch.
This was the first visit for Nav and Alissa, and the crew made a great impression by being so responsive to food and additional drink orders. We hardly had to wait when the mood struck, but at the same time we were never pestered, a delicate balance. Alissa was impressed by the merch for sale and went home with a mug and the staff took care to fulfill the order. Music was relaxing exotica and vintage music, totally appropriate and setting the mood for great conversation.
Strong Water’s commitment to high quality never seems to waver, making it one of the best examples of the genre. But as with the best tiki bars where quality is a concern, there’s never any snobby attitude from the staff who know you are there to have a great time. And that’s how it went for us, once again.
We Lyfted over from Downtown and made it to our reservation at The Lucky Tiki in West Hollywood in the nick of time, just as our friends Alissa and Nav arrived to join us. With a small space and high demand it is nice to be able to score a reservation on a Saturday night. This was our first visit since New Year’s Eve and they’re still serving the same cocktail menu that has a little something for everyone.
I’ve been on record saying I don’t love the standard Mai Tai here, but the staff told me they were working on a new formula. Though the one I received wasn’t the final version thanks to Dave and crew I’m pleased to report it was a lot better. Meanwhile Mrs. Mai Tai got her favorite, the New York Sour riff called Elvis in Hawaii featuring peanut butter whiskey, creme de banana, and a cabernet float. Delicious. As first timers, Nav and Alissa enjoyed their drinks including the Grog, Mai Tai, and Daiquiri.
The “Ghost of Jim Morrison” was playing the part of trickster this evening, as the cocktail of the same name was quite delicious but also super potent – I’m sure the Doors frontman held his liquor better when the L.A. Woman album was recorded in the same building.
It seems like the patio section is a little bit more elaborately decorated since our last visit, and remains a fairly enclosed space where you can hear the music a little better and get a little bit more of that fresh Los Angeles air. But we really like the dark and traditional tiki environment inside where everything is a bit of a higher energy yet still relaxing. The Lucky Tiki concept has been so popular there are plans for a second location which we are eagerly awaiting.
Pacific Seas is the exotic travel and South Seas themed bar inside Clifton’s Republic in downtown Los Angeles, but since it is only open on weekends and has an up and down return from COVID it has been many years from our last visit. We made sure to visit on this trip, securing a reservation right at opening at 6 pm Saturday.
None of the speakeasy or dress code rules of years past are enforced at opening, but we still wore aloha wear and joined the line to get in. We made our way upstairs, eventually finding the secret entrance and then exploring upstairs until we found the venue. The interior here is of the same quality as a Disney queue with so many items to look at and so many tikis too. Ambient music with an electronica lean was playing, a precursor to the club music that plays later in the evening.
We were seated on the floor at a table, rather than in the more decorated booths – a disappointment. But, our server was very friendly and efficient, working solo during the first hour across the entire floor. Also working solo was a young bartender who wasn’t exactly killing himself to work through orders so our drinks took some time to arrive.
The venue asks if you’re there for drinks only or for “drinks and snacks” – yet some of the menu items included a burger and the very large chicken sandwich that I had, so “snacks” is a weird label. The food here was pretty good and was delivered before our drinks were.
It appears all the cocktails are batched, which meant that Mrs. Mai Tai got the last Jet Pilot during service even though it was only just after opening, so one wonders if they’re batched only on Fridays. The Himalayan Mai Tai includes some mango liqueur but is actually a pretty good Mai Tai since it includes overproof Jamaican rum and Copalli rum. However, the Saturn did not taste like any Saturn I’ve ever tried. So the cocktails were hit and miss, and going off menu seems very risky.
Mai Tai
Still, the eye candy in here is amazing and Clifton’s Pacific Seas is a must-visit for any tikiphile. We really enjoyed the energy and overall our food and service were pretty good. We hear the people watching can be good later when it is a nightclub vibe, if that’s your thing.
Even though Paso Robles is a wine town, there are some great cocktail options including the speakeasy Eleven Twenty Two Cocktail Lounge, located behind the rear patio of Pappy McGregor’s Pub. Entrance is on Railroad Street, with a convenient alley next to Pappy’s being a convenient cut-through. This small classic cocktail bar doesn’t take reservations, so we joined the line hoping to get in.
There are no cell phones allowed to be used inside, and once you step through front door into a library style foyer they drop the phone into a bag that you keep with you. Next, you enter the space and are seated at the bar or one of the cozy booths. Inside there are many bottles of whiskey in all forms, with just a few other spirits, so this is a great option for bourbon and scotch fans. Music was jazzy including a number of tunes from Nouvelle Vague, a French group that does Bossa Nova versions of New Wave tunes.
There’s a non-alcoholic Orange Julius on the menu, available optionally with spirit added. We opted for the straight version and while it was reminiscent of the real thing it wasn’t nearly cold or sweet enough.
For our two cocktails we were both completely blown away at the flavors and complexity on display from very different formats. I had the Strawberry Coconut Daiquiri that exploded with flavor even from a tiny sip. Not too much strawberry or coconut, but just enough to elevate this perfectly balanced cocktail.
Meanwhile, Mrs. Mai Tai had the Clarified Grasshopper with vodka, menthe pastille, creme de cacao, Coco Puff cereal milk, and ringed with a Chocolate Dipped Rim. This too had so many layers and the chocolate rim provided a long finish as well. I’m not always a fan of clarified cocktails but this would get me to switch teams, it was just that good. Mrs. Mai Tai was inspired and drew a photo since we couldn’t take photos.
The service inside was serious but with the requisite wink and nod to provide the indication to the customer that they are supposed to be here for a good time. Eleven Twenty Two is a must visit if you’re in the area and a perfect nightcap if you’re in town for the Cane Tiki Room like we were.
Most of the things posted to this feed aren’t reviews per se, but trip reports of my experience. There’s certainly some overlap in material but a review to me adds editorial content that is usually not present in my posts.
Mrs. Mai Tai and I stopped overnight in Paso Robles and had a later dinner at Cane Tiki Room which we visited once before. We enjoy the clean but well-done Polynesian decor, and the staff was just as friendly as last time and worked with us when we arrived early for our reservation. Music on a Friday night was upbeat and funky, 1970s-leaning and anything retro is fine with me. I didn’t love the spam musubi which was a bit overdone and covered with sauce, but the dumplings, teriyaki chicken bowl, and lettuce cups were wonderful.
On our last visit I liked most of the cocktails except the Mai Tai which used a funny tasting mac nut orgeat. They’ve since reformulated with traditional orgeat but are now using Planteray Original Dark as the base rum, with an optional float of Goslings. Original Dark is not a strongly flavored rum and contains a lot of sugar, so the Mai Tai was not a punchy as I think it ought to be – and Goslings wouldn’t have helped as it too is not a strong flavor. With a Mai Tai you want to taste the rum and it really ought to be more rum forward.
I also tried a Chartreuse Swizzle that was much better with some tangy pineapple juice working well with the herbal liqueur. Mrs. Mai Tai had the Lapu Lapu, a juicy but well-balanced cocktail that is served in a cute pig mug (none for sale at the time, though). These two good cocktails were well-executed.
We also visited Eleven Twenty Two, a speakeasy owned by the same restaurant group, and were completely blown away by the drinks. While this serves a more cocktail-oriented clientele, the price of the drinks were comparable. So, we know the group can make better cocktails and while we understand the people coming to a tiki restaurant are different than a speakeasy we do think Cane Tiki Room should be doing better with the cocktails and especially the Mai Tai. Use a punchier rum, please, even if you have to bump the price up from $14.
Having some great cocktail options in a town known for wine tourism isn’t too shabby, and with the friendly staff and full menu Cane Tiki Room is a great option for more than just a quick stop for tropical drinks.
Located in downtown Danville, Kaia’s Island Kitchen & Tiki Bar recently opened serving Hawaiian inspired food and tropical cocktails in a family-friendly space filled with tiki decor. We found the food and drinks to be pretty good, along with friendly and fast service that made our stay very pleasant.
Having recently converted from a previous concept, there are still some growing pains for Kaia’s, including a website that’s under construction and no reservation method. Nonetheless, we drove up to Danville on a Saturday evening and were seated after about a 25 minute wait. The restaurant features plenty of bamboo features around the booths and tables, along with a separate bar area and nicely appointed lounge that is more dimly lit.
Our food order was delivered very quickly and I absolutely loved the tropical Cobb salad, with teriyaki chicken that was so delicious. Mrs. Mai Tai ordered the poke plate which included an elaborately carved avocado. Our server was friendly and very attentive, even with the restaurant running at capacity for the entirety of our visit. There is nice music playing though when it is really crowded you will have a hard time hearing it.
I’m pleased to report the cocktail menu includes legit classic tiki cocktails, including a Zombie, Planter’s Punch, and Navy Grog. The ’44 Mai Tai is pretty good and uses Appleton rum that is balanced and approachable for Kaia’s suburban audience. Mrs. Mai Tai’s Jet Pilot was also very good, as was our son’s Jungle Bird. Our other son had a Saturn that seemed to be a bit off balance, relying too much on gin in the mix.
Kaia’s is a legit tiki-inspired restaurant that seems to be doing many things right, including branded glassware, mugs, and apparel. We look forward to a wider variety of cocktails, as hinted on the menu.
