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 was pleased to try this Singapore Sling riff at Dr. Funk, which I found to be a wonderful blend of complex flavors. It is made with “wild roses, velvety honey, bright citrus, Cocchi Rosa aromatized sweet vermouth, Becherovka herbal bitters & gin.”
Ken Wongdejanan really crushed it on this one. The cocktail program at Dr. Funk continues to impress and seems to be extraordinarily strong across all cocktail styles.
Mai Tai Monday is from Dr. Funk, again. Honestly, I wasn’t planning to have the amazing Dr. Funk Mai Tai, but when a certain someone buys a round for the table in honor of birthday boy @vonschiltach, I’ll consider it a blessing. Mahalo!
Dr. Funk was quite busy on Saturday, as you’d expect on a weekend. But there was also a Sharks game and some temperate conditions, so the entire inside of the bar and the outside patio were all filled. There was even a private party all the way around the side the building. But, the staff at Dr. Funk were really working well and our service all evening was great and the cocktails were made perfectly. It was quite helpful that we had reservations (pro-tip!) and we also found the garage on 3rd street to be much easier to get into than the one we usually use on Market/San Pedro Square.
It’s always nice when the drink menu provides guidance on the booziness of the cocktails. I was looking for something lower on the scale that I hadn’t tried yet at Dr. Funk and the Patron & Saints was recommended… or maybe prescribed. You know.
Patron & Saints is “a funky milk punch made with Jamaica’s Overproof Rum-Bar, Denizen, Southeast Asian pandan, rich Madagascar vanilla & citrus. Enjoy as a single serving or double serving.” Most definitely sweet and satisfying, heavy on vanilla and served over a big rock of ice.
Pleased to say that the Dr. Funk Mai Tai is still excellent. We can’t get enough of this flavorful Mai Tai that features two of our favorite Jamaican rums: Appleton 12 and Smith & Cross. The house-made Orgeat is quite excellent as well.
You know that a bartender knows their stuff when don’t flinch when you order an off-menu cocktail. In this case, it was the ask for a Saturn at Dr. Funk in San Jose, and Paul McCoun made a great one.
The Saturn is a late-classic era tiki cocktail with Gin, Orgeat, Falernum, Passionfruit Syrup, and Lemon Juice. Every tiki bar should have these ingredients and this is a well-known cocktail so it shouldn’t be an issue to order one, but sometimes you never know. I like Dr. Funk’s Mai Tai, so wanted to try a cocktail that also used Orgeat, and the Saturn is one of my favorites. The original specs called for the Saturn to be blended, but I find it is better when served up – and that’s exactly how Paul prepared it. Paul even made a cool planet-with-rings garnish.
Every cocktail I’ve had a Dr. Funk has been great, and I hear an updated cocktail menu is coming soon. Looking forward to see what else the medical staff come up with.
Now that San Jose finally has a legit tiki bar, …actually, scratch that. Now that San Jose finally has an amazing tiki bar, some of the locals are deciding to get together on a regular basis.
Working out of the “South SF Bay Area Tiki Ohana” Facebook group, local tikiphile and all-around mensch Michel von Schiltach decided to get the ball rolling. Michel lives within walking distance and helped with some of the build-out, so is the perfect ambassador for these meetups.
As of now the schedule is, starting at opening at 4 pm and lasting as long as it lasts:
1st Sunday of the month
3rd Wednesday of the month
Last night was the third Wednesday, and I arrived a little late around 7 pm. So nice to see a few friendly faces interspersed with San Jose locals doing the tiki thing midweek. With Dr. Funk’s central location and convenient parking garage across the street, I’ll definitely be returning more frequently.
Dr. Funk is now serving food, and from what I’ve been told the portions are quite large for the price, and everyone seems to enjoy the meal. There was some discussion about Dr. Funk possibly being an all-ages place once food was starting to be served, but the decision is that it was stay as 21 and over. Dr. Funk is also now offering reservations, so be sure to make one if you’re coming with a larger group.
Check out “South SF Bay Area Tiki Ohana” group in Facebook for more details.
Working my way through the cocktail menu at Dr. Funk. The Planter’s Punch was recommended by bartender Paul McCoun who knows I love the Appleton 12 rum that’s used in Funk’s Planter’s Punch.
And the Planter’s Punch keeps up the winning streak of amazing cocktails at Dr. Funk. So flavorful!
I also see they’ve added a logo sign above the entrance to Dr. Funk. This place has really come a long way and for anyone close to San Jose the dream is here to stay.
