I know I just wrote about a visit to the Central Coast, but I thought I'd do a special "I'm Freaky For Tiki" thing for the tiki-esque things at the Central Coast to prepare for my upcoming article. There's really not much there, so I'm grouping it all together. I'm leaving out Hula's from Santa Cruz and Monterey (those will get their own posting later) and that "mystery area" south of Santa Maria that I have not explored yet. Basically, my definition of the Central Coast is everything south of Big Sur and north of Santa Maria. As far as tiki goes, that leaves just three attractions to talk about:
CREEKY TIKI:
The cleverly named Creeky Tiki sits along San Luis Obispo Creek in the Old Town section, directly across from Mission San Luis Obispo. It has an inside seating area and a patio with its own bar outside. But is it tiki? Hmm.
I first discovered this place in 2016. I have been back only once more, this past fall. Creeky Tiki refers to itself as an "island grill", so it's not a Polynesean restaurant (I don't think anyone would mistake it for one) and, apparently, it's not a tiki bar. It just thinks it wants to be one.
When I visited in October of this year, well... the skirting was gone. What remained was just a bar on a patio.
From the entranceway, you can see that it is a long, narrow room leading to the rear door and patio beyond, with a bar on one side.
There are even cool tiki mugs decorating the bar area (NOT from Creeky Tiki, but from other places).
And there is a half-hearted attempt at tiki decor...
So what went wrong? I counted at least seven large screen TVs in the place when I walked through. Each one was turned to a sports station. A tiki bar is NOT a sports bar. And while it's nice that beer and other spirits be offered at a tiki bar, they should not dominate the drink menu. Clearly this seems like the case of a tiki bar/restaurant that didn't catch on and became a sports bar to attract an audience OR a sports bar that adopted a tiki theme to give itself an identity and differentiate it from the others in the area.
Creeky Tiki
782 Higuera St.
San Luis Obispo, CA 93401
(805) 544-2200
Visit their website HERE.
Their Facebook page is HERE.
HARBOR HUT:
Tiki freaks like me would get one look at the exterior of the Harbor Hut and get very excited. This place looks like it has sooooo much tiki potential. Brace yourself. It's a big disappointment.
And when you first enter, there is a bit of a nautical theme mixing in with some tiki. But it's very subtle.
A few tiki masks strewn about does not a tiki restaurant/bar make.
Again, it looks more nautical than tiki.
The cocktail list has some interesting sounding things on it like Shark Bite, Xanex, the Tsunami and Goose Juice. But the only "classic" tiki cocktails I saw were the Harbor Hut Hurricane and the Key Lime Colada. The Big Kahuna is also called the "Ultimate Mai-Tai" according to the menu. Yet something about the place dissuaded me from trying them.
I did try the Freaky Tiki, though---because of the name alone. Ehhh. It was better than the Xanex (Way better), but still not worth repeating.
This carving also is pretty tiki-riffic.
Here are the same two tikis in 2017...and the foliage around them has vanished.
It has now been changed to day-glo green lettering.
And here we are again this past October.
Morro Bay, CA 93442
(805) 772-2255
Visit their website HERE.
Check them out on Critiki HERE.
LOST ISLE ADVENTURES:
The tiki jewel of the Central Coast is Lost Isle Adventures. Hidden away on the harbor side (instead of street side) of a row of shops, it is easy to miss. It has everything you need to make your own home tiki bar...except the alcohol.
But there was a lot of other neat stuff for sale. Need a puffer fish lamp (and who doesn't?)---they have them. Need some wall masks or tikis for the yard? They have those, too. They even carried a full-fledged bar or two if you need one of those.
Cocktails were optional, but hello? That was half of the reason for taking the cruise in the first place. They had a pretty good selection of drinks on the menu.
I opted for the house, er... ship specialty, the Leaky Tiki. Mmm. Now that was a GOOD CALL. (Erich was travelling with me and when he tried my drink, he was instantly jealous.) Really--I recommend it highly.
There was a bar area built into the right corner of the ship.
Psst! Wanna try a Leaky Tiki at home (or one of the other cool cocktails on board)? I snapped a shot of their drink recipes while the captain was mixing away.
They even used fresh-squeezed lime! Yowza!
We were soon on our way for the tour portion of the cruise. It was actually a fascinating little tour of the bay, with histories about the old power plant, the long sand dune breaker and the rock itself shared.
The captain took us up near where the sea otters lived and where the sea lions were squatting on various floats in the bay.
It was a really neat little trip---made all the better by my Leaky Tiki that I sat back and casually sipped throughout the cruise.
There were cup holders on the boat. They were coconut shells tied to the back of the seat in front of you with ropes. Ingenious...and so fittingly tiki cool. You can see one in the lower left corner below.
The tour was only 45 minutes long. And yes, the bar does except credit cards.
Lost Isle Adventures
845 Embarcadero Suite D
Morro Bay, CA 93442
(805) 771-9337
This is their website (for the store portion) HERE.
Their Facebook page is HERE.
Visit their Critiki page HERE.
Thanks for looking.
CHEERS!
CREEKY TIKI:
The cleverly named Creeky Tiki sits along San Luis Obispo Creek in the Old Town section, directly across from Mission San Luis Obispo. It has an inside seating area and a patio with its own bar outside. But is it tiki? Hmm.
I first discovered this place in 2016. I have been back only once more, this past fall. Creeky Tiki refers to itself as an "island grill", so it's not a Polynesean restaurant (I don't think anyone would mistake it for one) and, apparently, it's not a tiki bar. It just thinks it wants to be one.
The patio area originally had made some minor attempt at tiki with the grass skirting around the upper edges of the bar in 2016.
When I visited in October of this year, well... the skirting was gone. What remained was just a bar on a patio.
One of the things I was looking forward to using on my return trip was this tiki souvenir coin machine. O' I wished I had used it in 2016, because it was no where to be seen in 2017. Drat!
But, as non-tiki as this place is...it still wants to try and be tiki. It seems to think it's tiki and there are some tikis around.
From the entranceway, you can see that it is a long, narrow room leading to the rear door and patio beyond, with a bar on one side.
The seating area is trying to be tiki, utilizing a combination of wood that could be from the hull of an old ship and bamboo siding.
There are signs that say "tiki" and "tiki bar" throughout the interior.
There are even cool tiki mugs decorating the bar area (NOT from Creeky Tiki, but from other places).
And there is a half-hearted attempt at tiki decor...
So what went wrong? I counted at least seven large screen TVs in the place when I walked through. Each one was turned to a sports station. A tiki bar is NOT a sports bar. And while it's nice that beer and other spirits be offered at a tiki bar, they should not dominate the drink menu. Clearly this seems like the case of a tiki bar/restaurant that didn't catch on and became a sports bar to attract an audience OR a sports bar that adopted a tiki theme to give itself an identity and differentiate it from the others in the area.
There is nothing about the patio area--no tiki torches, no palm frond thatched roof, no tiki carvings of any kind--to signal to anyone that this is a tiki place.
While the name is clever and the illustrated mascot tiki is cute, there really isn't much to recommend to the tikiphile. There is a small list of tiki cocktails on the menu. They were fine, but it was like eating a croissant while walking through downtown Fresno and imaging you are in Paris. It doesn't really work.
782 Higuera St.
San Luis Obispo, CA 93401
(805) 544-2200
Visit their website HERE.
Their Facebook page is HERE.
HARBOR HUT:
Tiki freaks like me would get one look at the exterior of the Harbor Hut and get very excited. This place looks like it has sooooo much tiki potential. Brace yourself. It's a big disappointment.
Sure, the A-frame building screams Polynesian paradise...
And when you first enter, there is a bit of a nautical theme mixing in with some tiki. But it's very subtle.
A few tiki masks strewn about does not a tiki restaurant/bar make.
Again, it looks more nautical than tiki.
I've been here a few times. It's a "steak and seafood" grill.
The cocktail list has some interesting sounding things on it like Shark Bite, Xanex, the Tsunami and Goose Juice. But the only "classic" tiki cocktails I saw were the Harbor Hut Hurricane and the Key Lime Colada. The Big Kahuna is also called the "Ultimate Mai-Tai" according to the menu. Yet something about the place dissuaded me from trying them.
I did try the Freaky Tiki, though---because of the name alone. Ehhh. It was better than the Xanex (Way better), but still not worth repeating.
I don't know why the Harbor Hut gives the impression it wants to be tiki and then fails on the actual delivery. I mean--the exterior is filled with fun tiki stiff, like this bench.
This carving also is pretty tiki-riffic.
Next to the Harbor Hut is it's offshoot, Lil' Hut, which serves fish and chips and other quick grub.
There are two cut down palm trees that have been tiki-fied. This shot was taken in 2016.
Here are the same two tikis in 2017...and the foliage around them has vanished.
Another change from last year to this is the sign. Last year it had a bold sign with dark red on black lettering.
It has now been changed to day-glo green lettering.
The one long-time favorite tiki attraction to Harbor Hut is Tiki Joe.
Here is a shot of Tiki Joe and myself from 10 years ago or so.
And here we are again this past October.
While Harbor Hut is as serviceable a place as any along the Morro Bay embarcadero, it is a shame it is missing such great opportunities and tiki possibilities to just settle for being ordinary.
Harbor Hut
1205 EmbarcaderoMorro Bay, CA 93442
(805) 772-2255
Visit their website HERE.
Check them out on Critiki HERE.
LOST ISLE ADVENTURES:
The tiki jewel of the Central Coast is Lost Isle Adventures. Hidden away on the harbor side (instead of street side) of a row of shops, it is easy to miss. It has everything you need to make your own home tiki bar...except the alcohol.
This case caught my eye first. It is filled with mugs from various tiki bars, such as Smuggler's Cove in San Francisco, Trader Sam's at Disneyland, Bali Hai in San Diego, and Frankie's Tiki Bar in Las Vegas. There were also some SHAG designed stickers in the case. These people obviously knew something about the world of tiki. I'm also happy to report that the tall brown tiki mug with the blue eyes in the lower right-hand corner now lives at my house.
But there was a lot of other neat stuff for sale. Need a puffer fish lamp (and who doesn't?)---they have them. Need some wall masks or tikis for the yard? They have those, too. They even carried a full-fledged bar or two if you need one of those.
As cool as the store is, the main attraction is outside.
It's a floating tiki bar with a bay cruise thrown in for good measure. Yowza!
I have long wanted to try this floating tropical paradise that puts the "bar" in barge. A visit last August made my wish come true.
I wasn't expecting much--especially since our shipmates were a family with two small children and a dog--but it was a great experience.
Cocktails were optional, but hello? That was half of the reason for taking the cruise in the first place. They had a pretty good selection of drinks on the menu.
I opted for the house, er... ship specialty, the Leaky Tiki. Mmm. Now that was a GOOD CALL. (Erich was travelling with me and when he tried my drink, he was instantly jealous.) Really--I recommend it highly.
There was a bar area built into the right corner of the ship.
Psst! Wanna try a Leaky Tiki at home (or one of the other cool cocktails on board)? I snapped a shot of their drink recipes while the captain was mixing away.
They even used fresh-squeezed lime! Yowza!
We were soon on our way for the tour portion of the cruise. It was actually a fascinating little tour of the bay, with histories about the old power plant, the long sand dune breaker and the rock itself shared.
The captain took us up near where the sea otters lived and where the sea lions were squatting on various floats in the bay.
It was a really neat little trip---made all the better by my Leaky Tiki that I sat back and casually sipped throughout the cruise.
There were cup holders on the boat. They were coconut shells tied to the back of the seat in front of you with ropes. Ingenious...and so fittingly tiki cool. You can see one in the lower left corner below.
The tour was only 45 minutes long. And yes, the bar does except credit cards.
845 Embarcadero Suite D
Morro Bay, CA 93442
(805) 771-9337
This is their website (for the store portion) HERE.
Their Facebook page is HERE.
Visit their Critiki page HERE.
Thanks for looking.
CHEERS!
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