Category: Tiki Bar

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Fireworks at Trader Vic’s Emeryville

The Golden Gate Bridge fireworks were of interest to Mrs Mai Tai, but the high threat of fog made elaborate plans seem risky, so we took a sort of safe route by heading to Emeryville to have some drinks at Trader Vic’s before heading to the end of the peninsula to see if we could see any fireworks. Powell Street was closed at Access Rd before you get to the Watergate complex but we knew we could park at the Hilton Garden Inn, then walk down the street to Vic’s and the marina later.

Trader Vic’s had the Mai Tai Lounge open in “Speakeasy” mode with a somewhat limited drink and small bites menu. Additionally, there was a private event in the back of the venue that we saw people heading back to, but the dining room was not open. The bar was not that full, mostly locals, but we enjoyed sharing the table Debbie and Greg Smith who arrived just before us. The Crispy Prawns were really great on this visit, just about the best I’ve ever had.

Since the bar wasn’t too busy we did go off-menu slightly with a couple of called rum Mai Tais, which Carlos was kind enough to roll with. The Appleton 12 Mai Tai was really good but even better was the one made with Hamilton Navy Strength whose bold flavors shine in this cocktail. We also had a San Francisco Mai Tai, Guava Tai, Chi-Chi, Trader Vic’s Grog, and standard Mai Tai and found them all to be made perfectly for a group of five that know how these are supposed to taste like.

Mai Tai with Hamilton Navy Strength Rum

The fireworks were scheduled to start at 9:30 so we walked from Trader Vic’s down the end of the Emeryville marina. Crowds had gathered but we could tell we were unlikely to see much since the fog over the bridge was quite heavy. We saw a few fireworks coming from Treasure Island, and lots more in Oakland, but not the signature show on the Golden Gate. It was sort of expected, so at least we got to have drinks at Trader Vic’s.

As we walked back to the car we saw that someone had pulled into the Trader Vic’s parking lot with a van full of illegal fireworks. It was quite the show, but seemingly dangerous where a little spark would threaten the 50+ year old tiki temple. We heard the police were called and hopefully the perpetrators prosecuted.

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Shortcut to Cocktails at Pagan Idol

We spent time in the city last Saturday looking at the various Pride light displays and also getting our steps in ahead of our vacation to the British Isles starting next week. We did walk quite a ways, ending at the Ferry Building, but we did stop for a breather on the way back to the car by rolling into Pagan Idol at around 10:30.

We’d been to Pagan Idol a couple times on the weekends over the past two years and it was not crowded, but it was anything but calm on this visit with people two or three deep at the front bar and plenty of people standing around. Seeing only one bartender on shift at the front bar, I guessed correctly there might be two stations in the back room. As I got into the line to order, two young ladies were ahead of me but they couldn’t figure out what to order, so the bartender leaned over and asked me what I wanted and of course I was ready. Otherwise, you shouldn’t be approaching the bartender when it is busy, right everyone?

Our drinks were pretty good, two that we hadn’t tried here before. I ordered the La Linda, featuring charanda, gin, Aperol, and hibiscus – lighter but still with plenty of flavor that I really liked, though I couldn’t taste much gin or charanda. Mrs. Mai Tai tried the Mr. Hanalei, with rums, allspice, orgeat, and lemon. This definitely leaned into that allspice and I dug it a lot, Julie less so.

We were hanging out by the fish tank, sadly only containing two small fish. Wave after wave of people came into the bar, including about a dozen who must have come from a wedding. It was pretty chaotic which is good for Pagan Idol at least, and we were able to take a load off before the final mile back to our car.

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Pele Utu: Reno’s Amazing Traditional Tiki Bar

Pele Utu is a newish traditional tiki bar located near downtown Reno just north of I-80, sandwiched between the Gateway Inn and Taste of India restaurant. The venue previously served as the bar for the restaurant and had two entrances when the hotel had a medieval theme, but today has a single entrance that includes a little bridge from the foyer into the main room. The large winding bar fills the left side of the room with additional tables, booths, and a small stage for live performances. The bar is dark and moody with intricate brickwork on the ceiling, giving it a cellar vibe.

The bar is the brainchild of longtime tikiphiles Dr. Shocker and Rosie Raddish, a husband and wife team who you can find behind the bar most nights. The duo used previous stints at Ventiki and their longtime passion for the genre to good use, since Pele Utu is well-appointed and features an extensive menu of quality cocktails. Food can be ordered and then delivered from Taste of India next door. Live performances, DJs, or themed nights decorate the weekly calendar while the TV features retro shows like Magnum P.I.

Skipper Mai Tai

Our visit coincided with Yacht Rock Sundays, a retro musical genre I was totally down for. We sat at the bar and Dr. Shocker held court while helping Rosie make our drinks. The Skipper Mai Tai was decent, but I was super impressed by their Hurricane which features Jonathan English Red Fassionola and tastes amazing (it’s also super boozy). I also really dug the Spice Trader and Mrs. Mai Tai’s Kona Kooler. Pele’s Lava Flow features strawberry habanero puree, making this a really interesting variant if you can deal with the spices.

Hanging with Dr. Shocker

We thought that Pele Utu was really great, a true tiki oasis doing things mostly along the traditional lines but mixing it up a bit on the music side to draw in locals unfamiliar with the genre. Featuring great hospitality and killer cocktails, Pele Utu is totally worth seeking out.

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Later Night Excursion to Jungle Bird

Mrs. Mai Tai hadn’t been to Jungle Bird in a while so we made sure to visit during our night in Sacramento, arriving for a reservation at 9 pm. The tiki bar was busy at a time when we’re usually not in attendance but everyone was understanding the mellow mood vibes, so this was a nice relaxing way to finish our crawl.

I was still a little hungry and we enjoyed some pot stickers and crab rangoon (more cheesy than crabby), grooving to the tropical and exotic tunes being played. It is helpful that Jungle Bird has a potency rating for their cocktails since I was looking for something a little lighter, so I truly enjoyed the Glass Fin that features Aperol, orange juice, passionfruit syrup, and ginger ale. Meanwhile, Mrs. Mai Tai really liked the Moonwake Harbor with Jamaican rum, vanilla, and passionfruit foam.

We appreciated our time at Jungle Bird but only stayed for one drink after having been out to several places before. Even on a weekend we found the venue to provide an immersive and traditional tiki bar space that continues to provide very high quality cocktails and food. It’s the best tiki bar in Sacramento.

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Legit Great Drinks at Shipwrecked Paradise Island

Shipwrecked Paradise Island Tiki Bar is the Sacramento location and sister property of the original Shipwrecked in nearby Davis. Located in Midtown near Capitol Park, the bar is basically an adult version of Rainforest Cafe thanks to elaborate set pieces, animatronic snakes, and a jungle theme. They call themselves a tiki bar and while there aren’t tiki idols there are plenty of skulls and stone idols that fall enough into a “big tent” categorization of such things.

We arrived before 5:00 for dinner and drinks, enjoying the edamame and pot stickers. We were prepared for the drinks to be kind of terrible but they were anything but. The Mai Tai comes in a garish “tiki” glass and 99 times out of 100 with that glassware you’d expect it to be too sweet and heavy on juices, but Shipwrecked’s Mai Tai features Appleton 12, Smith & Cross, OFTD, and Clement VSOP rums and is truly excellent. It’s ¾ of the Ultimate Mai Tai blend and features house made orgeat that has flavors that accent the rums perfectly.

Our other drinks were similarly good, including the Ube Espresso Martini that Mrs. Mai Tai loved plus the sweet but not too sweet Banana Boat Bliss that I thought balanced the banana and coconut very well. Capt. Bob’s Bourbon Swizzle is basically a Queen’s Park Swizzle with bourbon replacing the rum, also well-done.

The main interior space features a bar along two sides with booths and a center strip of tall tables, though unfortunately the benches in the booths look like logs and are very hard to sit on. It’s nice and dark with some mostly retro leaning music and plenty of little things to look at amongst the larger set pieces. There’s a covered patio space with some additional booths and a temple theme which is a great option as well.

Patio

Shipwrecked Paradise Island is open Wed-Sun including mid-afternoon on the weekends, 21+ only. While not a traditional tiki bar, we really enjoyed our visit.

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World Cup Mai Tai in San Pedro Square

I had the day off and decided to check out the World Cup madness in San Pedro Square, arriving late in the USA vs. Australia match. The street has been pedestrian only for several years but during the World Cup drinks can be brought out onto the street as well so that you could watch on the big screen erected in the street or on the TVs on the patios of several venues. Street vendors were selling flags, hot dogs, and even street Margaritas and beer amidst the chaos. We even saw a giant tour bus decked out for fans of Turkey who are playing at Levi’s Stadium tonight.

I found my way past the crowd and landed in an empty portion at the bar of Dr. Funk, whose patio was crazy crowded and who had a TV showing the match as well. By and large this indoor crowd was more sedate than some of the wild fans outside, though we did see quite a few people wearing jerseys for their favorite country and some really going all-out with their outfits.

Somehow the sea of crowd parted and there was a lull in the orders, just as Justin asked for an order. Dr. Funk had a small menu offered but I didn’t even need to look at it, ordering a Mai Tai which was just as great as usual except being served in a plastic cup that I could travel with if I chose to. The USA match ended shortly thereafter, scattering some of the crowd.

Tiki purists don’t love sports on TVs in a tiki bar, but it would be financial malpractice if the good folks at Dr. Funk didn’t take advantage of this once in a generation opportunity to stay open later and serve the throngs of fans. And I have a lot of respect for the crew who I can tell are working very hard and even longer hours to accommodate this special event. Look for some of the crowds to die down in a couple weeks especially once teams are knocked out of the tournament.

There’s some good news for the tiki fans, though, as there are still plans to update the menu and make some interior improvements to coincide. So there’s plenty of traditional tiki bar stuff to be had soon at San Jose’s best tiki bar.

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Yuzu Fuzz and Improved Mai Tai at the Tikeasy in Livermore

Mrs. Mai Tai wanted to go to Livermore for a night out and we eventually found ourselves at Tikeasy at Rosetta Roasting. Julie expressed interest in trying the Yuzu Fuzz, Rosetta’s award winning original cocktail that features Japanese Gin, yuzu reduction, and lemon – garnished with a buzz button blossom. It’s really great and very well-balanced, especially if you like floral notes in a cocktail. The buzz button numbs the tongue if you take a little bite and I guess makes the drink taste sort of different, but it’s so good I don’t think numbing is an improvement. It’s a fun party trick if you’re out with friends, though.

We also tried an improved Mai Tai, now that Tikeasy is making house-made orgeat. It is definitely better than the previous version that used a commercial orgeat and it is still one of the best Mai Tais in the Bay Area. There are even a few new pieces of decor including a tapa cloth wall and the artwork that inspired the design of the Mai Tai glass.

We also tried some food at Tikeasy, including a wondering Polynesian flatbread plus spam musubi. Rosetta is famous for their cakes and the pistachio cake is really amazing. Livermore was hosting their annual Rodeo, so the Rosetta team dressed the part, even if we all know they’re rather be wearing aloha-wear.

The Tikeasy at Rosetta is open Wednesday to Saturday for cocktails and food in the evening, now doing a tiki menu every day they’re open. Be sure to check them out if you’re in the Tri-Valley.