Category: Tiki Bar

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The Hula Hula Room: Torrance’s Stellar Neighborhood Tiki Bar

We took the opportunity to check out a tiki bar was new to all of us and ventured over to The Hula Hula Room last Sunday night. The bar is located in a Torrance strip mall but the bright logo assures you that there is quality inside, including an all-new interior featuring tikis, neon lights, tropical wallpaper, and some Hawaiian touches. Music leaned retro and Hawaiian, very much to our delight.

The staff was super friendly, though with the question about my Tiki Ti shirt still learning about the genre and other tiki bars. Nonetheless, our drinks were well-prepared and the team showed interest in our visit (“How’d you hear about us?” “Uh, we’re tiki people…”). The bar wasn’t busy, with a few groups coming in and out during our visit.

The cocktail menu features a number of classics, including a pretty reasonable Mai Tai and an inspired Three Dots & a Dash that uses Kuleana Hawaiian Agricole rather than Martinique Agricole. I enjoyed the Aloha-Rita, which is a Margarita with Prickly Pear Syrup and Black Lava Salt. Mrs. Mai Tai loved the Tropical Espresso Martini and a Ube-forward frozen cocktail. The Pali Highway Sunset is a Lychee liqueur cocktail with Aperol and Orgeat that our entire table loved.

Gilligan’s Island on the TV

This isn’t quite a must-see in the Southland, with so many stellar representatives spanning the San Fernando Valley all the way through Orange County. But we’d be so pleased to consider The Hula Hula Room our neighborhood bar and the quality is a step up from dive-leaning tiki bars.

Group photo with tiki
Tropical Espresso Martini
Frozen Ube Cocktail
Pali Highway Sunset
Mai Tai
Aloha-Rita
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Second Summer at Forbidden Island Parking Lot Sale

What a great weekend to visit cool Alameda for the annual Forbidden Island Parking Lot Sale. Lots of good stuff, though we didn’t end up buying anything. Nice to browse, though, and visit with tiki friends also in attendance.

There were a couple cocktails available for walk-in shoppers who attend without a seated reservation. I made a great choice with the Second Summer featuring rums, St. Germain, and Fassionola. Super fruity with hints of spice. Deeelish.

The Parking Lot sale is also open Sunday.

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Penultimate Mai Tai at The Kon-Tiki

We thank bartender Kriss for indulging us with a little experiment, making a great Penultimate Mai Tai on our visit on Wednesday.

Based on the rums available we riffed a little bit but this is still a dark flavorful rum along with a Hawaiian rum. In this case 1½ oz of Diamond Reserve Dark and ½ oz Kō Hana Kea in a standard 1944 Mai Tai. A little less complex than our four-rum Ultimate Mai Tai blend but still really full of flavor.

The Kon-Tiki Burger and a Mai Tai is still my favorite thing in the town. Pretty busy on Wednesday, everyone keep it going and support our friends at The Kon-Tiki.

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The Lucky Tiki Lives Up to the Hype

The Lucky Tiki is a new tiki bar that has been generating buzz for months so we decided to see if the hype was worth it. It is folks, it is.

Located upstairs from Tail o’ the Pup in West Hollywood and run by 1933 Group (Formosa Cafe, et. al.), this small tiki bar requires reservations that include the instructions on how to enter, speakeasy style. There are a few seats at the bar, several two or four-top tables, and one booth that we were seated in for our party of five.

Mai Tai

Hot Dogs can be ordered from Tail o’ the Pup downstairs, plus a few traditional tiki items, though note that if you want mustard or ketchup that you have to indicate that on the order. I had the Lucky Tiki Pop with a glaze sauce and pineapple that was delicious.

Most cocktails have a unique garnish or presentation, such as the Old Fashioned that’s presented from a smoke-filled box or the Ghost of Jim Morrison where thyme is set on fire. We thought the cocktails were very good, definitely not for hardcore craft cocktail nerds but more than adequate for folks looking for a fun time. Mrs. Mai Tai loved her Elvis in Hawaii that uses Peanut Butter Whiskey and a jelly-like Cabernet float. The Captain’s Inner Circle is their Navy Grog riff.

Elvis in Hawaii

The Mai Tai uses Flor de Cana 15 aged in sea-soaked barrels. We tasted the rum neat and there’s a bold saline flavor that’s just hinted at in the cocktail. It’s perfectly fine for this venue, but I challenged Skipper Christian Diaz (ex-Trader Sam’s) who was working to come up with an “impress me” Mai Tai and he absolutely killed it with an amazing one that used Planteray Fiji and Xaymaca, plus Smith & Cross rum. Mahalo!

Our service throughout was top-notch, very friendly and responsive to our repeated drink orders. Thanks to David and team. The decor and lighting is gorgeous and music is just want you want in a good tiki bar, relaxing and retro. Lucky Tiki has merch available and really lived up to the hype. Check it out.

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Kamala-palooza at Forbidden Island

Forbidden Island brought together tikiphiles with members of the City of Alameda Democratic Club for a fundraiser and social. Raffle tickets were available for prizes donated by local businesses and tiki mugs donated by some of the local Ohana. Plus a silent auction for some tiki related items and a bit of Kamala swag including lawn signs and hats.

As with Forbidden Island’s Ukraine fundraiser from 2022, the team had two featured cocktails for the event.

The Kamalatai featured rums from Jamaica, India, and Oakland (“in case anyone needs reminding of her roots”) and was really well done, featuring Hamilton Pot Still, Amrut, and Wright & Brown rums. I’d love to see this punchier rum blend stick on the menu, it was that much better than the standard FI Mai Tai. Added to the list of top Mai Tais of the year.

Out of a Coconut Tree featured Jamaica rum, coconut water, pineapple, and honey. This leaned a little light but I thought it was really great. They don’t all have to be complex spice bombs.

The patio area was quite full during the evening, and the FI crew did a good job keeping up with demand. Thanks to Michael, Justin, Sara, and Jarrod for fab service.

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Tiki Tom’s is Still Killing It

Things were hopping on Saturday night for dinner at Tiki Tom’s, where we took our sons for a family night out at Walnut Creek’s amazing tiki bar and restaurant. There aren’t reservations on Fri/Sat and we arrived a little before 5:00, being seated after about a 15 minute wait. The exotic and Hawaiian music is still going strong here.

Three of us had Quesabirria Tacos featuring beef and a crispy cheese outer shell. Very filling and an interesting approach to the taco. We also tried the Loco Moco Dumplings, a beef and spice-filled delight. Mrs. Mai Tai enjoyed the Green Coconut Curry once again, and we find the food here to be pretty good and reasonably priced for the portions.

Tiki Tom’s still has the Ultimate Mai Tai on the menu, a $5 premium over the standard Mai Tai but totally worth it. They continue to do a great job with this, and boy the bold flavors of that Jamaican-led four rum blend really hit me in the right way. I have this all the time at home, of course, but Tiki Tom’s did it so good.

The cocktails were all wonderful, even with the crush of the patrons in the bar. We really liked the Crimson Tide, served flaming and a sweet blend of tequila, strawberry, and hibiscus. Mrs. Mai Tai’s favorite is the Ohana Punch with green apple and walnuts, a chewy and delightful blend. The Blue Hawaiian was a good option for our sons who don’t drink much, sweet and approachable. There are some new menu options from mixologist Jenn Crider, so we need to return soon to sample them.

Crimson Tide
Loco Moco Dumplings
Quesabirria Tacos