The Search for the Ultimate Mai Tai
Traveling the Bay Area and beyond to find the best Mai Tai in the world! Tiki, cocktails, and adventures by Kevin Crossman
I decided to celebrate early with this fab 1991 rum from Trinidad, made at an undisclosed distillery, during a visit to Smuggler’s Cove this week. Quite a full bodied flavor.
It is truly a blessing to be able to try these super old rums at Smuggler’s Cove. Time machines in a bottle.
Tiki Oasis weekend in San Diego kicked off in traditional style with a quick visit to the Bali Hai Restaurant on Shelter Island with DJ Ship Rex who’d never visited before. I’d only ever been for lunch or dinner and the mid-afternoon vibe was a lot more casual, with seating at the bar and in the rear portion of the lounge (no window seats, sadly), accompanied by live music.
Rex and I both wisely decided to keep things in moderation by avoiding the Bali Hai’s infamous “no juice” Mai Tai made with at least five ounces of rum! We watched the bartender prepare these and after tiny splashes of orgeat, sweet and sour mix, and curaçao a bit of ice is put into the glass. Then bottles of light and dark rum are positioned to pour into the glass. As Rex described it, “pour until full” meaning that there is tons of rum in the Bali Hai Mai Tai. Limit two per customer, as they say.
We stuck with the pleasant and juicy Goof Punch that’s sort of an island style Mai Tai with lots of pineapple juice and a ton of flavor. As we exited the venue we attempted to take a selfie with Mr. Bali Hai but the sun was basically blinding but still a fun focal point. We stopped at Trader Mort’s liquor store on the way out and found many bottles of rum for sale including some overpriced items but also some deals, plus tiki mugs and other Trader Mort branded merch.
Shelter Island is still high on our list of destinations in San Diego and the beautiful views remain breathtaking.
Heading to Tiki Oasis in San Diego by way of the San Jose Mineta Airport, so I made sure to arrive early for some drinks and food at Trader Vic’s SJC to get into the mood. It was still before 10:00 am so while I could get a Mai Tai I couldn’t order off the lunch menu yet. No trouble, the Tahitian Toast with Salmon was quite filling, but I asked for the jalapeño spread to be omitted as spicy is not my thing. The waiter asked if I would like some avocado with it and after saying yes it arrived with avocado. “Some” avocado indeed. It was delicious and totally filling too.
My Mai Tai was just great and the Guava Tai I ordered was just as good. I enjoy the little bit of tropical juices that Trader Vic’s adds for these Tropical Tais. As seasoned mixologists know, a little bit of mango or pineapple or guava go a long way and Trader Vic’s doesn’t drown it with these juices like some places do. It’s the perfect amount.
The prices at Trader Vic’s SJC are not too bad these days, either. All drinks are $18.39 including tax, which isn’t cheap but no longer expensive when you account for the tax being included. We’ve seen Mai Tais and other cocktails well over $20 that aren’t nearly as good, which is amazing for a bar at the airport. Trader Vic’s SJC is a treasure.
We had a nice Saturday last week where we traveled down to Carmel for some lunch and sightseeing, then up to Monterey, Capitola, and then dinner in Santa Cruz with a friend.
After some exhaustive antique shopping at the nearby Cannery Row Antique Mall, we took a break at Hula’s Island Grill for a drink and some decadent Ohana Pie. We enjoy the Hawaiian leaning vibe that includes some tiki elements, including a nice shaded patio out back.
Drinks here aren’t totally craft oriented but I do enjoy their longtime menu item the Pink Bikini Martini that has pineapple and watermelon infused vodka. I helped Mrs. Mai Tai find something up her alley from the premium cocktail menu where “Pick Yo Self Off La Flor” is a pretty good Espresso Martini riff featuring Flor de Cana rum and coffee liqueur, cold brew, and spices.
The Trader Vic’s Outpost location at San Jose Mineta International Airport has been a big hit since it opened in 2021, so much so that they even expanded the seating last year. Now the same concessionaire is working with Trader Vic’s Hospitality Group to bring the concept to the Oakland San Francisco Bay Airport in 2026.
A recent article on SF Gate details some of the plans, noting that the Oakland Airport has done major transformations of its food options over the past couple years. Nearly all those projects have launched or are completing soon, with the Trader Vic’s being the last milestone. A spokesman mentioned that Trader Vic’s provides onboarding and training programs to ensure consistency, something we’ve been really pleased with at San Jose.
Trader Vic’s Outpost is one of a series of location concepts that the brand is running or rolling out, designed for airports and hotel lobbies. Notably, the operating hours at San Jose start as early as 6:00 am, so there’s plenty of opportunity to experience the venue before a flight. The use of large tikis, fish floats, and jade tiles at the San Jose location is an indication of the level of decor that is clean and modern, but still a significant investment that goes well beyond a plain design.
From the Trader Vic’s website:
“Trader Vic’s Outpost is the airport, and small lobby, version of the original brand that still offers table service but with a smaller menu offerings and may have a QR ordering system in place as well.
The food menu is adjusted to the location and may offer grab and go options as well. Easier, crowd-pleasing offerings are incorporated to the menu which gives it a sense of casualness.
The cocktail menu has about 25 drinks on it and is a mix of classic and new tiki drinks highlighting our signature glassware and mugs. Draft beer is also available.
The ambiance incorporates as many décor elements of the original TV as possible and may be replicated in some instances to stay within the brand. Televisions are allowed in these spaces if the location has a need for them. A gift shop, or retail element, should also be considered based on the location.”
We had a great lunch at Napa’s Wilfred’s Lounge a couple Sundays ago, including some fine food and ‘Ono pie. Mrs. Mai Tai had her favorite cocktail, the Maximum Aloha, that’s still great with a blend of rums, sweet flavors, and banana cream topping. Lots of reggae playing on our visit was relaxing but we wish they’d throw more Hawaiian onto the playlist.
New to me on this visit was a whole page of Mai Tais on the cocktail menu. I’d previously tried the standard 1944 Mai Tai of course, as well as Tai One On which is a spirit-forward riff that uses Amaretto rather than orgeat. It’s an understandable substitution for the format of this stirred cocktail, though I didn’t find the Amaretto a pleasant upgrade.
There’s been a lot of complaining online about pineapple juice in Mai Tais, and I admit I’ve probably done my fair share. But lately I’ve kind of come around to the idea that these can be great if balanced properly and this was certainly the case with the Haole Tai made with white rum, pineapple, orange, grenadine, and Wilfred’s boozy Jamaican rum blend. This is juicy to be sure, but it actually tasted really great and put a focus on that great Jamaican rum. Wilfred’s quality grenadine used in a small portion also made this better balanced than the ingredients might lead you to believe.
Even more fantastic was the Tai Game, a blend of interesting flavors including fig-infused rum, amaro, amaretto, orgeat, and tawny port. This recently won Wilfred’s annual Mai Tai competition and I can see why – it is a rich and chewy cocktail that uses the Mai Tai template and layers on additional flavors. This was a big hit at our table.
Wilfred’s Lounge remains a compelling cocktail destination in wine country. Their Mai Tai menu is really interesting and totally worth exploring more, so we’ll be sure to return soon.
Thanks to Brenda for the featured image for the post, and to Sam and Mandy for providing tasting notes.
We sucked at Risky Quizness’ Friends and Office trivia, but finished in the top 5 for Disney Parks and Anchorman trivia – but a win eluded us until this week for Indiana Jones Trivia.
We enjoy the Monday trivia events at Dr. Funk and it was a pretty full house for this week’s event too. Our son Quinn picked the team name “The Boulder” and son Riley did most of the heavy lifting for the 40 questions covering all five Indiana Jones movies. It was a come from behind victory, thanks in part to better knowledge of the Crystal Skull and Dial of Destiny films (my favorite: Last Crusade). Time to put the winning artifacts in a museum!
Monday is also $8 Mai Tai Monday at Dr. Funk and this week’s entry was pretty much perfect, vaulting it up several spots on our running Top Mai Tais of 2025 list. Still the greatest value Mai Tai you can buy on a regular basis.
