Category: Tiki Bar

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New Format for Mai Tai Day 2026 at Trader Vic’s Emeryville

Mai Tai Day is the day each year where we celebrate the birth of the world’s greatest cocktail and the man who invented it, Trader Vic Bergeron. The date is based on Oakland’s 2009 Mai Tai Day proclamation, the city where the Mai Tai was invented.

Trader Vic’s Emeryville has been hosting ticketed Mai Tai Day celebrations since 2019, with varying degrees of scope depending on the year. A couple years ago it was the 80th anniversary so there was a three-day celebration including a “Black Tai” event that was all-inclusive in the restaurant along with a dressy theme. In most years, Mai Tai Day has featured a festival vibe with vendors and performances in the parking lot plus drink and food stations inside.

Trader Vic’s Emeryville recently announced this year’s theme and a different scope for event ticketing.

Mai Tai Day 2026: Mai Tais then Fly

Flight departs August 30th. Destination: paradise.

Mai Tai Day 2026 is an all-inclusive tropical takeover: themed rooms, Tahitian dancers & drummers, rum tastings, island food, and enough Mai Tais to forget you never left the Bay.
3PM – 8PM. 21+. Limited seats. This one will sell out.

This one-day event seems to be similar to the Black Tai event with an all-inclusive food/drink format and ticket price of $200 plus fees. This setup will provide for a more intimate experience but has also generated some consternation from some previous attendees who are balking at the high entry price. That’s certainly understandable, especially for those who won’t drink their “money’s worth” of Mai Tais and other cocktails. We will see if this actually sells out or not, and whether this format works better for Trader Vic’s, but in any case we’ll see you there.

The travel theme seems to be paying homage to the Oakland Airport and Kona Hawai’i locations that are opening in the near future. The airport location is supposed to open very soon, though several rumored April and May openings have passed. The Kona location is connected to a refreshed Hampton Inn by Hilton Kailua-Kona Bay property that is taking reservations for October, and the venue just launched their website and Instagram profile @tradervicskona.

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Livermore’s Latest Popup: Lost on Pigeon Island

Livermore’s Fat Pigeon has launched their latest themed popup experience, the pirate, tropical, and tiki inspired Lost on Pigeon Island. As with their previous popups, you can expect thematic decor and cocktails inspired by the theme.

When initially announced, this seemed to lean heavily on pirates, but in practice it is much more of a beach themed experience with tropical and tiki elements. The music includes surf, reggae, and Jimmy Buffett, and there are inflatable sea creatures and tikis within the venue and outdoor patio. This isn’t quite as immersive as the previous Wizard of Oz theme, in part because this is a more general concept.

The good news is that the cocktail options continue to be pretty strong. There are a variety of cocktails using different spirits, so there’s something for fans of bourbon, tequila, and gin, along with rum of course. I very much enjoyed Azure Bliss which is better balanced and more interesting than most of the Blue Hawaiian’s I’ve ever had, and comes with a gummy shark as a garnish. Our party also liked the clarified Toasted Trader which has good bourbon notes and actually uses Cinnamon Toast Crunch as a flavoring ingredient.

It should go without saying that for hardcore tiki fans that Fat Pigeon isn’t really the tiki bar you are looking for in Livermore, given numerous “party city tiki” type decorations, instead we’ll direct you to the nearby Tikeasy at Rosetta. But Fat Pigeon is open every day including early on the weekends, so is a very nice option for day cocktails and the service here is nice and friendly. A Pirate High Tea service is also coming soon.

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Tikeasy at Rosetta is the Bay Area’s Newest Tiki Bar

Livermore’s Rosetta Roasting coffee roastery is going full tiki for their evening cocktail persona this summer and adopting Tikeasy as the venue branding. We’ve been big fans of the Nightcaps at Rosetta cocktail program, but have certainly noticed a gradual shift to more tiki decor taking over the space including a magnificent A-frame to serve as a portal to the tiki area. The staff said that additional traditional tiki elements are coming soon. The dimly lit booths work great with exotic music and superbly executed tropical cocktails, and nobody would peg this as a tiki bar from the outside. It’s a speakeasy, tiki style.

The official launch of Tikeasy was on Sunday including a Mai Tai flight featuring two of my Mai Tai recipes. It was a lot of fun to welcome tiki friends visiting the Livermore location for the first time, plus locals who’d experienced evening cocktails there in the past but who appreciated some casual Mai Tai education. The Rosetta Mai Tai features Hamilton Jamaican Pot Still Black rum and notably switches from orange curacao for orange bitters. The team did a great job with my Ultimate Mai Tai and Blue Mai Tai variants.

The team behind Rosetta Roasting are true believers in tiki, and they’re taking a chance by trying something a little different in downtown Livermore. There’s a menu of over twenty cocktails to choose from, all expertly prepared. We saw many customers order the Zombie-like Man Overboard and also The Privateer that features tequila. Rosetta’s coffee roots are a big influence on the Espresso Martiki, featuring creamy Gardenia Mix to help make a great foam head. We also heard good things about Pele’s Passion, Pearl Diver, and Rum Fashioned. If you’ve visited, leave a comment with your favorite.

The Tikeasy is open Wednesday-Saturday at Rosetta Roasting in downtown Livermore, with savory bites and deserts available as well. Reservations are available and recommended as the space is cozy, with outdoor patio seating also available.

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Jungle Bird’s Amazing Tropical Itch

I had business near Sacramento again, so it was a perfect opportunity to check out Time Travel Tuesday at The Jungle Bird, the city’s leading tiki bar. The crew put together a cocktail special each week on Tuesdays and this week’s was one of Hawaiian bartender Harry Yee’s greatest creations, the Tropical Itch.

This version included Jamaican rum, bourbon, a Demerara 151 rum, passionfruit, orange curacao, and bitters – all for only $10 and not lacking in the booze department I assure you. It was honestly the best Tropical Itch I’ve ever had, staying potent all the way to the end and fighting against the melting ice all the way. It’s such as credit to Mariella and the team to come up with an affordable cocktail each week that’s still really great, an opportunity to try something new that’s not on the cocktail menu you’ve tried a million times before.

Speaking of a millionth cocktail, I did try a Mai Tai at Jungle Bird and found it to be nicely balanced and with enough rummyness to enjoy and that I think it would work great for some of the more casual cocktail fans who pack the bar on weekends. You know, when they’re not drinking Painkillers and boozy Dole Whips and are looking for something a little more sophisticated. The pot stickers and fried rice were really great as well, so I think that Jungle Bird is once again at a place that warrants a full-throated endorsement.

It was a blast hanging out with some of the Sacramento Ohana in attendance including Larissa, Matt, Nav, and Alissa. Plus Natalie who also got the same “in town for business, go to JB after work” memo that I did.

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San Jose Goes Hawaiian at Dr. Funk’s Luau

San Pedro Square was awash in the aloha spirit on Sunday for the inaugural luau at Dr. Funk Rum House. The San Jose tiki bar’s ticketed event included Hawaiian food including barbecued pig, Polynesian music and dancing, and even a mechanical shark ride. VIP ticket holders were let in early to claim their spots on the large outdoor patio or indoors, offered a flower lei, a welcome cocktail, and two cocktail tickets. Standard ticket holders were let in an hour later and also received a guava-forward welcome cocktail.

The musical offerings started with DJ SamoaBoy on the patio, flanked by a few rum brands with samples and small cocktails. I especially enjoyed the daiquiri station from 9North rum where you could choose a style and a specific rum to pair with. Island Daze followed with an energetic Jawaiian set and then the entertainment concluded with some excellent Polynesian dancers from Ha’aHula TeReva including a fire dancer.

Throughout the day, Dr. Funk staff were offering small passed bites including spam musubi, sliders, delightful pork buns, and ahi tuna tacos which were our favorite. There also was a buffet featuring fried rice, macaroni salad, fruit, and freshly barbecued pork. This plate lunch style offering was pretty good, and there was more than enough food for everyone. I’d have liked a little soy sauce or some other sauces but overall we felt the food was well-executed.

Aside from the welcome cocktail, Dr. Funk was offering their standard menu and had two bartenders going at all times. None of us thought the welcome cocktail was particularly punchy and honestly was I disappointed there weren’t some special event cocktails being offered. Ever resourceful, I took matters into my own hands by ordering off-menu Blue Hawaii and Hawaiian Mai Tais. Thankfully, Justin and Joy rolled with the request and delivered some excellent drinks that helped us get into the mood – so much that we did end up briefly riding that shark!

Mid-May seems like a great time to do this, and a five or six hour experience was executed with aplomb. The Dr. Funk staff was fully engaged and working like a well-oiled machine for this event, yet still found a moment of levity to pose for a group photo with the shark. We hope this will be an annual event.

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Beautiful Day on the Santa Cruz Wharf at Makai Tiki Bar

My company gave me Friday off for a “wellness day” so Mrs. Mai Tai and I went over to the Santa Cruz area for shopping and lunch. After a quick visit to Capitola and Soquel, we drove onto the Santa Cruz Wharf for lunch at Makai Island Kitchen and Groggery.

Makai has been a favorite of ours for some time, including the rotating bar area. This is such a unique feature and you have full views of the ocean, Makai’s Captain’s Table room, and the rest of the restaurant. We also saw a vast rum list that was over 30 pages and according to staff features over 620 rums, very quietly one of the largest collections of any venue in the United States. We both enjoyed our lunch, I had the Poke Bowl that includes lychee and crushed macadamia nuts as different kind of options, with Mrs. Mai Tai having the Halibut Green Curry Bowl.

There are bunch of different cocktail options including many developed by the crew. I started with a 1944 Mai Tai that I should have loved, featuring Appleton Signature, Smith & Cross, and Planteray Xaymaca rums (three of my favorites), but this Mai Tai was too lime forward and I could barely taste the rum. We had much better luck with the other cocktails, including the sweet banana flavors of Squid Ink, the light gin and lavender flavors of Purple Haze, and the not-too-sweet ube and coconut Triumph & Disaster. Our favorite was Pau Hana, a gin and elderflower cocktail that incorporated lemon and raspberry. This cocktail was developed by Hana Kingsbury (see what she did there) who was our server and posed with a photo with her creation.

The cocktail and rum options at Makai remain strong, plus their island far remains high quality and moderately priced. We enjoy things inside in the rotating bar, but the patio outside is pretty nice including a couple of very large tikis to help set the mood. Along the way, we saw birds and sea lions from our vantage point, and then strolled to the end of the pier to check out more sea lions, sea birds, and seagulls.

1944 Mai Tai, Squid Ink, Pau Hana, Purple Haze

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DJ Ship Rex at Zombie Village

We’re sending healing thoughts to our buddy DJ Ship Rex who is recovering from hip surgery. Rex’s latest gig was at Zombie Village last week, so a few of us went up to San Francisco on a weeknight to listen to some amazing music and wish our friend a speedy recovery. We arrived a bit before Rex’s set started and were seated in one of Zombie Village’s huts but we knew when we heard energetic retro music that Rex’s set had started. So many great tunes, including “Found a Child” by Ballin’ Jack which features the guitar riff sampled in Young MC’s “Bust a Move,” and Rex’s sets always mix up various genres and styles but still feels cohesive.

Our cocktails at Zombie Village were pretty good, meeting our high expectations. Brian and crew really did a great job, including a really great individually-sized Scorpion that was orange-forward with some flavorful spirits. Mrs Mai Tai’s Disco Banana was outstanding, and I really enjoyed the Jungle Bird Milk Punch (J.B.M.P.) once again. Our son Quinn has dug a few Grog cocktails, so Zombie’s still-excellent Doc’s Grog was very well received. Quinn and I both felt the Mai Tai was lacking a certain rummyness, but Mrs. Mai Tai really loved the curry spices in the Curry’d Favor. Overall a very good hit rate during our visit.

Sorbet shooters have been a thing at Zombie Village for a while and the Lava Flow Sorbet Shooter continues the tradition with aplomb. The strawberry flavors of the shooter were an excellent pair for the delicious sorbet. These are great and a unique option for this venue, so look for it on your next visit. We also have to provide a hearty mahalo to Brian and the team who handled a drink mishap really well.

Zombie Village was hopping on Thursday, thanks to some great cocktails, an energetic crowd, and DJ Ship Rex’s toe-tapping tunes. We hope that Rex is on the road to recovery and that he will be back behind the deck in the near future.

Disco Banana
Curry’d Favor
Scorpion