Travel – Page 7 – The Search for the Ultimate Mai Tai

June 29, 2024June 29, 2024

Rumpus Tiki Bar Budapest

We had a great time at Rumpus Tiki Bar in Budapest’s inner city area, and this place is doing a lot of things right by any standard. We were seated in the entry bar area at a table and had a great time interacting with the friendly staff and seeing the flow overall. The venue is very large, including more interior seating plus a second floor with two additional rooms and one additional bar.

The overall design leans into caricature tiki designs that aren’t my favorite, but would probably be more recognizable to the average Hungarian. Some of the decorative elements including skulls and Hawaiian designs seemed more organic and authentic, and there are nods to Don the Beachcomber and Trader Vic behind each bar. The mugs tended to follow this caricature tiki design mostly. So, if you’re a purist this won’t check all the boxes.

That said, we had a pretty nice time with our cocktails starting with reasonable Mai Tai made with Appleton and served in a cute banana mug by Niki’s Tikis. Niki is the daughter of the owner, Tiki Mamma, and there are number of her designs on sale in the bar and online if you dig the design. The Three Dots & The Dash was also pretty good compared to others I’ve had. Mrs. Mai Tai enjoyed her drinks as well. There’s a pretty reasonable rum collection here, so I scanned the shelves and asked for a Mai Tai made with Appleton 15. This Mai Tai was served along with a giant skull bowl of dry ice, which clouded our entire table! Even better was the fantastic Mai Tai with that Appleton 15 yr rum. That was truly a great Mai Tai.

The bar was pretty active during our early Thursday evening visit, and the staff was so impressed with my gift of an Ultimate Mai Tai sticker that they put it out on the front door. There’s another Rumpus Tiki location by a lake about 20 miles out of town and plans to try and franchise the concept. I wish they’d use more authentic tiki designs, but overall we were impressed by Rumpus Tiki and definitely recommend it to any tiki traveler.

June 25, 2024June 25, 2024

Ruin Bar in Budapest

Szimpla Kert is one of the original Ruin Bars that are somewhat prevalent in Budapest. The concept is that these bars take over a building that is falling into ruin and they decorate it with found items, artwork, spray paint, and more to make for a space for people to gather. There’s a courtyard in the back, plus a second floor with additional seating. Our tour director warned us these were fly by night operations and potentially unsafe, but Szimpla has been in business for many years and seems to be very well trafficked and very “permanent,” and even has a Wikipedia entry. The building doesn’t look totally solid, though, one reason why we didn’t venture upstairs.

Szimpla is a vast space with at least four different bars inside, offering a variety of drinks. We kept things simple, ordering an Aperol Spritz and a shot of Unicum, the Hungarian herbal liqueur that is described as “thick, black, goopy.” Mrs Mai Tai couldn’t stand this but I thought it was nice enough to consume since I was drinking like a local. After a long walk through the streets of Budapest, this was a relaxing afternoon stop.

Just as we were leaving we saw a grandmother, daughter, and granddaughter wander through Szimpla’s patio. We also so several taxis drop people off and even during the day this place was quite active. We’re glad we got to check out one of Budapest’s unique cultural treasures, the Ruin Bar.

June 23, 2024June 23, 2024

Czech Mai Tai with Becherovka

We had originally planned to visit Rum House in Prague, but they were closed for a few days due to the holidays. But our hotel had a bar including a “Mai Tai CZ” which I guess is a Czech twist on our favorite.

The Grandium Hotel’s Mai Tai lists the ingredients as Becherovka, Ferrum reserva, Amaretto, and lime juice. Ferrum is a rum made in Czechia and Becherovka is an herbal liqueur also native to the country. Needless to say this wasn’t a traditional Mai Tai but it tasted pretty good and was plenty boozy. I ended up bring back of bottle of Becherovka and am looking forward to playing with it a little.

June 22, 2024June 22, 2024

Ink Blot Cocktails at Anonymous Shrink’s Office in Prague

There are several Anonymous bars in Prague, themed around the Guy Fawkes / V for Vandetta related Anonymous movement. The Shrink’s Office offers craft cocktails but the selection is unique and compelling.

Rather than being presented with a traditional cocktail menu, the staff hands you a series of cards with ink blots on them. This Rorschach Test is all you have to go on to choose your cocktail, though there’s a two or three word description on the back. That’s it. That’s all you have to go on to order the cocktails.

The Anonymous vibe is in full effect when the drink is brought to your table, though otherwise the staff aren’t masked. They did a good job walking us through the menu and asking if we had any allergies. After we were served they did describe the ingredients of the cocktails, for example the milky coffee cocktail was more than a mere Espresso Martini. This complex drink had sherry and cherry liqueur along with coffee to make quite a nice and different cocktail. Our other two drinks were also really great.

A second menu is available where they provide a portable CD player with some songs to listen to, and there’s a retail component with some very good spirits available. Small bites are also available for order in this basement bar.

Anonymous Shrink’s Office is located in Prague 1, and has a speakeasy entrance inside the Bulletproof Bar. We loved Prague and this was one of the highlights.

June 10, 2024June 15, 2024

Mr. Fogg’s Themed Bars

Mr. Fogg’s is a chain of Victorian-era themed bars and tavern pubs mostly in central London. Each location has a variant on the theme with unique cocktails. We visited the Society of Exploration and also the Apothecary.

Both were a good time, with attentive service and some quality cocktails with a great presentation. The Mechanical Mixologist at the Society location makes a Negroni and is kind of neat if that cocktail is your thing. We stuck to rum drinks and felt they were really good.

There are some small bites available in the bar locations, and we had the cheddar cheese plate that also comes with breadsticks, and found the cheese to be really rich with flavor. A full menu is available at the tavern locations.

The Apothecary location had some interesting cocktail names (Soaked in Ether / Emerald Euphoria) and isn’t quite as well themed but they do offer cocktails made with vintage spirits. I took an interest in the 1970s Bacardi that’s used in the Hemingway Daiquiri and asked if the rum was available on its own. The manger came over and offered a little pour on the house just because I think they rarely have anyone express an interest in the spirits themselves. This Bacardi was delightful, very crisp but also with deeper fruity flavors than you see in today’s expression.

Mr. Fogg’s was a lot of fun in both locations. Some good people watching and great relaxing mood music.

April 7, 2024January 23, 2025

Quality Cocktails are Still a Thing at San Francisco’s Tonga Room

After the San Francisco Giants home opener, we headed to The Tonga Room for a Friday night dinner and drinks. I’m pleased to report that the refreshed cocktail menu from October is still being used and that the quality hasn’t degraded at all. We will note that prices have increased $2-4 per cocktail, putting these firmly as the most expensive in town though. The Mai Tai and Hand Shaken Colada cocktails were big hits with our friends and Mrs. Mai Tai liked the tropical Mimosa-style Tiny Bubbles cocktail.

The Tonga Room’s Zombie features five different rums with falernum, grenadine, Don’s Mix, along with a bit of pineapple juice. It most certainly packs a punch, and I found it to be pretty good. I also liked the Wiki Wiki cocktail, a juicy blend of rums, spices, and just the right amount of Allspice Dram. Meanwhile, the Tiki Hunter remains the most interesting and flavor-forward tropical cocktail – don’t let the listed Jäegermeister component scare you off, it’s delicious.

The band plays on the floating stage starting at 7:00 pm, with the players this time featuring two female vocalists. This worked great on a stellar version of Fleetwood Mac’s mellow hit “Dreams.” But we continue to feel that 80s pop songs like “Crazy for You” don’t play as well as those from earlier decades. If pop must be played, the Sixties and Seventies feel more organic and connected to this retro leaning Polynesian palace.

Our dinner and service were as stellar as always. The Asian-inspired dishes are really good here, though I wish there was a little bit more variety on the menu as this is very seafood forward. The prices are fairly high, though not outside what you’d expect from a fine dining restaurant in The City. And you can’t beat the gorgeous interior with the pool and the thunderstorm that comes every 20 minutes. But remember that it’s a $1000 fine for jumping in the pool. Staff told me they’ve already had one person do this so far this year, which seems like way more than one too many.

February 14, 2024February 15, 2024

The Best Mai Tais and Tiki Bars in Las Vegas

We’ve added a new feature page to UltimateMaiTai.com covering the top Mai Tais and Tiki Bars in Las Vegas.

What’s the best Mai Tai in Las Vegas? Is it Jammyland, the craft cocktail bar with a reggae twist? Or is it Stray Pirate, the new bar with a theme of pirate dogs? Or is it Starboard Tack, the off-strip restaurant with a retro vibe? Perhaps there’s a wild-card entry from a bar with a potentially short lifespan.

On the Tiki Bar side, the best option might not technically be a tiki bar to begin with, and the true tiki bars all have pros and cons. So the “best” might depend on what you value most, such as decor, cocktails, or service. We have our Ultimate Mai Tai Tiki Bar rating system in place plus narratives for each location to help you decide.

Top Mai Tais and Tiki Bars in Las Vegas