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.
Daytripper is a new Richmond Grove Sacramento craft cocktail bar that focuses on agave and cane spirits in a Latin America themed setting. We’d heard great things and despite being open only a few weeks it seems like they’re already in prime form. The menu includes an array of classics from the Caipirinha, Pisco Sour, Paloma, and Ti’ Punch plus a variety of Margaritas, some originals, and NA options.
We arrived a little before 6 pm on Saturday and had to wait for about 10 minutes in line to enter, expected as the venue does not currently take reservations. Upon entering, we immediately saw various Latin American decorative elements, plus a large spirits collection focusing on local spirts from that region. We found a couple seats in the bar area, but the turnover was fairly quick and could have waited only a short bit longer for a table. Service is from a server unless you’re seated at the bar.
I was very intrigued by the Mai Tai, only $12 but still getting rave reviews. Indeed this is a delicious Mai Tai and was told it was made with Charanda from Mexico, Probitas, Denizen (presumably Denizen Light), plus a float of OFTD in the lime shell. It’s really great and is super approachable without heavy grassy or funky notes that I might appreciate but I know can be off-putting to many. It’s a Top 20 Mai Tai of the year so far, and a great value for the price.
Mrs. Mai Tai tried a coffee drink called Carajillo made with tequila, Liquor 43, and espresso – served over ice it was pretty good with a just a hint of tequila. We were quite intrigued by the Miami Vice on the menu and ordered one with two straws. This was by far the best Miami Vice we’ve ever had with the Strawberry Daiquiri component being very well balanced and providing some tart elements to balance the heavier sugar found in the Piña Colada. Even if you don’t love slushy drinks you owe it to yourself to give the Miami Vice a try, it’s that great.
The tropical vibe in Daytripper was so much fun, and they even have a vending machine with some eclectic items inside. They also sell some very nice looking glassware and tassel keychains for sale, with a “clipper club” coming soon. We already love these kind of cocktails but the travel theme expressed on the menu and in the venue is a good way to position it for those who don’t like in the rum or mezcal rabbit holes.
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.
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.
Business took me up north, offering a prime opportunity to visit The Jungle Bird, Sacramento’s leading tiki bar. The mid-town venue also has a $10 cocktail special on Time Travel Tuesdays, which this week was the Last Rites by Mariano Licudine from the Mai Kai. Even better for me was the opportunity to check out the newly revamped cocktail menu.
Last Rites
The menu embraces a variety of contemporary cocktail trends, including No ABV and Low ABV offerings. Some tiki classics like the Mai Tai and Saturn are available and there’s even a flight of boozy Dole Whips to indulge in. The Jungle Bird has always done frozen cocktails and I do love a good Rum Runner so I started out with that cocktail. This delicious drink is made with a special house-made blackberry syrup and it’s really well balanced and not too sweet.
The Jungle Bird is embracing new ingredients and interesting preparation techniques, including a sesame-washed coconut rum and the inclusion of pandan and bourbon in the Spice Trader that’s really great good and is served in a cool mug.
Spice Trader
We did some bar bites during our visit, enjoying the potstickers. In the past we’ve had uneven quality at Jungle Bird, but those days seem like they’re far behind now as this is our second great experience in a row. It’s a credit to the team at Jungle Bird who’ve really ramped up their attention to detail and they provide a variety of cocktail options for tiki purists as well as the party crowd.
Thanks to Correy, Nav, and Alissa for coming out to provide a locals welcome, and to Mariella for great service and a steady hand at helping to make the Jungle Bird a destination location once again.
It’s been more than a couple years since we’ve been to Sacramento’s leading tiki bar The Jungle Bird for some reason, but stopped in for a drink and some light food on a recent excursion. The place was fairly busy for a Sunday evening and they were playing a varied mix of exotica and other retro tunes. We left before things turn metal for Sabbath Sundays at 9 pm.
We’ve had mixed experiences with food and drinks in the past but things were on par this visit. I enjoyed some potstickers and my 1944 Mai Tai was pretty good. Julie went in a sweeter direction with the deliciously creamy Lei’d Back that includes Dole Whip alongside vodka and citrus. Jungle Bird’s cocktails are priced mostly at $14-$15, so a little less expensive than what we see in SF/LA, and our service was great. The large and varied menu also includes a potency rating which was helpful for Julie since she was driving.
The Jungle Bird is doing a lot of things right and remains a compelling and welcoming destination.
This cocktail leans a little sweet which is just fine since Jungle Bird will be serving this in a frozen format. They’re also using Mount Gay Eclipse as the aged rum base, another good call for this cocktail.
There are a couple of other special Mai Tais and a flight option, so folks up in California’s capital should make time to visit Jungle Bird this week.
