It was my third (and final) day in Seattle before I was to head to Whidbey Island and see my family....and I still had LOTS of tiki left to try. So after a little sight-seeing in the morning and a trip to the Museum of Pop Culture (which you can read about HERE), it was back to my tiki trek.
OHANA:
I picked the hotel for my third and final night in the Seattle area in the district known as Belltown because it was within walking distance to two of the last three tiki bars I needed to check out. It was also in walking distance to Pike Place Market (home of the Giant Shoe Museum, which I really needed to see. You can read about the Giant Shoe Museum HERE.). On the way back, I stopped at Ohana for lunch and a drink.
As I entered Ohana, I saw a sign proclaiming it the oldest tiki bar/restaurant in the neighborhood, having been open since 1999. Less than 20 years isn't saying much---but whatever. When I walked in, I instantly dug it. Wow! VERY nicely done and way more deserving of a score higher than the meager "6" it has earned on Critiki. True, it is more restaurant than bar. But the bar was very tiki friendly in its cocktail options.
I sat at the bar and ordered something called a KJ's Pearl. I also ordered a bit of sushi (after all, the place is a sushi restaurant as well).
The food and the drink (brain freeze and all) were quite tasty.
It was a nice place. It's a place I'd certainly go back to.
LAVA LOUNGE:
About a block up from Ohana is Lava Lounge. It's your basic bar. There is a a long bar on one side of the narrow but deep space and a bunch of small booths lining the opposite wall. It was dark but had a fair amount of tikiness mixed in with a quasi-nautical theme. It looks like beer is mainly served, but they do have a tiki menu, too.
It was your pretty typical bar...with one exception I hadn't seen coming based on what I had read on Critiki. When I walked up to the door, I noticed two older guys sitting together at a little table to the right of the door. Two younger guys were emerging and sitting at a table to the left of the door. There was absolutely nothing wrong with that, but the thought "gay couples?" did run through my mind briefly. I didn't think it likely since there was a very obvious gay bar (complete with a ginormous rainbow flag flying in the breeze) right across the street. Whatever.
A friend of mine was texting me as I went in. He had wanted to know how the Giant Shoe Museum was. I had told him about it and about Ohana afterwards.
"What's on your agenda for the rest of the day?" he asked.
By then I was talking to the bartender, who was a regular "Chatty Cathy". I couldn't really text my friend back, so I just sent a few of the photos of Lava Lounge I had already taken. I was the only customer in the place at the moment. The bartender seemed nice enough, but he also seemed rather flustered and nervous and...was he flirting with me?
While he made my drink (a Monkey Punch), I texted my friend back: "At Lava Lounge? Lava Lava? Something like that. I think it might be a...gay bar?"
He responded: "Doesn't look very busy. What makes you think it's a gay bar?"
That's when I saw it... I took this photo and sent it on with the following text:
The Monkey Punch was good (but not nearly as good as the Monkey-something-or-other at the Purple Orchid in El Segundo.... Mmmm.) and the place was okay. Would I go back? Maybe--why not? If I was in the area and wanted food too, I'd hit Ohana. But for just a tiki drink? This place would do in a tiki minute.
Later that night, I was walking around and passed by Lava Lounge again and got this shot:
I didn't go in. I was tiki-ed out by then (but that was two more tiki bars later... So let's continue our crawl!)
HULA HULA:
Probably the best time I had at a tiki bar on this trip was my visit to Hula Hula. After a quick Lyft ride (well, I did walk a short distance to check out an old Cinerama Theater first) following my brief visit to Lava Lounge, I was dropped off on the other side of Interstate 5 at a brick building with bright blue accent work. I had arrived at Hula Hula.
The inside was nicely done, with bamboo thatched booths, interesting wall decor and cool mood lighting.
However, the highlight for me was the bar.
Actually, it wasn't really the bar that made the trip so memorable, but the bartender. Her name is Keila (pronounced "key-luh") and she is AWESOME! It was fairly slow that Monday night, so I got a chance to chat with this bubbly, friendly and spirited girl. She is from Visalia, California...not to far from where I am in Clovis. Ha!
She was absolutely charming, helpful and attentive. She is new to the tiki scene (Hula Hula is her first job in Seattle. She's been there about a year and has only been bartending a short while), but she digs the whole tiki scene and culture. She was very proud of the fact that Hula Hula had been named Best Tiki Bar in Western Washington for several years in a row, and pointed to a certificate on the wall to prove it.
I enjoyed Keila so much, I stayed for three drinks and dinner. I enjoyed a Shark's Tooth, a Pina Colada (in a cool coconut mug) and a Caipirinha. The Hula Burger and fries were okay, even though the cook came out and apologized for the fries being a little over done. He offered to remake them, but I told him they were fine.
Throughout my visit, Keila was a marvelous hostess. She whipped up a batch of her own creation that she wanted to enter as a possible choice for a future cocktail. She shared samples with me and the other patrons there. It was quite tasty.
Later, she decided to treat me to something really special. Here is a short (2 minutes) video of the incredible Keila creating a Backdraft for me. Whoo hoo!
It was quite a delightful time. I got one last shot of her with a customer named Miles (who was a bit of a tikiphile and had also been great to chat with).
Keila was enchanting and provided excellent customer service (You hear that, Devil's Reef...ye of the WORST service I've ever experienced ANYWHERE?). Keila's bosses really need to give her a big raise. They surely must know what a jewel they have in her. Thank you so much, Keila! Good luck to you.
NAVY STRENGTH:
Following my time at Hula Hula, I walked into downtown Seattle to hopefully see "Black Panther". I'm not at all a big superhero movie fan. (Blah!) The only reason I wanted to see "Black Panther" was because it was being shown in 4-DX (whatever that is). Zowie! I'm a sucker for a gimmick--and this was a gimmick taken to the 4-DX degree. However, when I got to the theater, I was dismayed to learn the showing I had hoped to see was sold out. Groan. I'd have to go to a later showing. I Lyfted back to the hotel and had several hours to kill. Hmm. What to do?
I had heard about another tiki bar near by called Navy Strength. Someone had mentioned it on Critiki but it didn't have an official Critiki page. That had me wondering. Was it really a tiki bar? I had the time. Why not check it out? It was just down the block from Lava Lounge which was very near the hotel. As I approached, I could see that from the outside it didn't seem very much like a tiki bar.
The server was a young man with a beard and a zillion tattoos. He was wonderful to talk to, knowledgeable and interesting. I liked him a lot. His name was Chris and he turned out to be, with his wife, the owner of the bar. Looking at the menu, which was almost completely foreign to me, I asked him what his favorite drink was and ordered that. It was a Butuan City Soundrack...and it came flaming!
OHANA:
As I entered Ohana, I saw a sign proclaiming it the oldest tiki bar/restaurant in the neighborhood, having been open since 1999. Less than 20 years isn't saying much---but whatever. When I walked in, I instantly dug it. Wow! VERY nicely done and way more deserving of a score higher than the meager "6" it has earned on Critiki. True, it is more restaurant than bar. But the bar was very tiki friendly in its cocktail options.
I sat at the bar and ordered something called a KJ's Pearl. I also ordered a bit of sushi (after all, the place is a sushi restaurant as well).
The food and the drink (brain freeze and all) were quite tasty.
I was glad I had gone on a Monday afternoon. There were not many customers about, so I felt free to take photos.
It was a nice place. It's a place I'd certainly go back to.
LAVA LOUNGE:
It was your pretty typical bar...with one exception I hadn't seen coming based on what I had read on Critiki. When I walked up to the door, I noticed two older guys sitting together at a little table to the right of the door. Two younger guys were emerging and sitting at a table to the left of the door. There was absolutely nothing wrong with that, but the thought "gay couples?" did run through my mind briefly. I didn't think it likely since there was a very obvious gay bar (complete with a ginormous rainbow flag flying in the breeze) right across the street. Whatever.
A friend of mine was texting me as I went in. He had wanted to know how the Giant Shoe Museum was. I had told him about it and about Ohana afterwards.
"What's on your agenda for the rest of the day?" he asked.
By then I was talking to the bartender, who was a regular "Chatty Cathy". I couldn't really text my friend back, so I just sent a few of the photos of Lava Lounge I had already taken. I was the only customer in the place at the moment. The bartender seemed nice enough, but he also seemed rather flustered and nervous and...was he flirting with me?
While he made my drink (a Monkey Punch), I texted my friend back: "At Lava Lounge? Lava Lava? Something like that. I think it might be a...gay bar?"
He responded: "Doesn't look very busy. What makes you think it's a gay bar?"
That's when I saw it... I took this photo and sent it on with the following text:
"Oh,,, Duh," I said.
It wasn't a big deal. It would have just been nice to know I was walking into a gay bar beforehand. Ha!
The Monkey Punch was good (but not nearly as good as the Monkey-something-or-other at the Purple Orchid in El Segundo.... Mmmm.) and the place was okay. Would I go back? Maybe--why not? If I was in the area and wanted food too, I'd hit Ohana. But for just a tiki drink? This place would do in a tiki minute.
Later that night, I was walking around and passed by Lava Lounge again and got this shot:
HULA HULA:
Probably the best time I had at a tiki bar on this trip was my visit to Hula Hula. After a quick Lyft ride (well, I did walk a short distance to check out an old Cinerama Theater first) following my brief visit to Lava Lounge, I was dropped off on the other side of Interstate 5 at a brick building with bright blue accent work. I had arrived at Hula Hula.
The inside was nicely done, with bamboo thatched booths, interesting wall decor and cool mood lighting.
However, the highlight for me was the bar.
Actually, it wasn't really the bar that made the trip so memorable, but the bartender. Her name is Keila (pronounced "key-luh") and she is AWESOME! It was fairly slow that Monday night, so I got a chance to chat with this bubbly, friendly and spirited girl. She is from Visalia, California...not to far from where I am in Clovis. Ha!
She was absolutely charming, helpful and attentive. She is new to the tiki scene (Hula Hula is her first job in Seattle. She's been there about a year and has only been bartending a short while), but she digs the whole tiki scene and culture. She was very proud of the fact that Hula Hula had been named Best Tiki Bar in Western Washington for several years in a row, and pointed to a certificate on the wall to prove it.
I enjoyed Keila so much, I stayed for three drinks and dinner. I enjoyed a Shark's Tooth, a Pina Colada (in a cool coconut mug) and a Caipirinha. The Hula Burger and fries were okay, even though the cook came out and apologized for the fries being a little over done. He offered to remake them, but I told him they were fine.
Throughout my visit, Keila was a marvelous hostess. She whipped up a batch of her own creation that she wanted to enter as a possible choice for a future cocktail. She shared samples with me and the other patrons there. It was quite tasty.
Later, she decided to treat me to something really special. Here is a short (2 minutes) video of the incredible Keila creating a Backdraft for me. Whoo hoo!
It was quite a delightful time. I got one last shot of her with a customer named Miles (who was a bit of a tikiphile and had also been great to chat with).
Keila was enchanting and provided excellent customer service (You hear that, Devil's Reef...ye of the WORST service I've ever experienced ANYWHERE?). Keila's bosses really need to give her a big raise. They surely must know what a jewel they have in her. Thank you so much, Keila! Good luck to you.
NAVY STRENGTH:
Following my time at Hula Hula, I walked into downtown Seattle to hopefully see "Black Panther". I'm not at all a big superhero movie fan. (Blah!) The only reason I wanted to see "Black Panther" was because it was being shown in 4-DX (whatever that is). Zowie! I'm a sucker for a gimmick--and this was a gimmick taken to the 4-DX degree. However, when I got to the theater, I was dismayed to learn the showing I had hoped to see was sold out. Groan. I'd have to go to a later showing. I Lyfted back to the hotel and had several hours to kill. Hmm. What to do?
I had heard about another tiki bar near by called Navy Strength. Someone had mentioned it on Critiki but it didn't have an official Critiki page. That had me wondering. Was it really a tiki bar? I had the time. Why not check it out? It was just down the block from Lava Lounge which was very near the hotel. As I approached, I could see that from the outside it didn't seem very much like a tiki bar.
Once inside, it still didn't look much like a tiki bar. Wooden slats, plastic stools, tile. Sure, there were a few tiki mugs scattered here and there, but if this was a tiki bar, it was rather weaki on the tiki. Hmm.
As it had been elsewhere, Monday nights left the bars mostly deserted. It would have been awkward to just turn around and leave. So I moseyed over to the bar and took a gander at the menu.
We got on the subject of tiki bars and he knew many great ones and had apparently even worked in a few. In the course of our conversation, he referred to Navy Strength as a tiki bar a few times. I didn't have the heart to question him about how he qualified the place as tiki. While he has some updated variations of classic "tropical" (as they are referred to on the menu) drinks, Chris made it seem like the emphasis was on creating drinks from different regions of the world for a menu they update seasonally.
I think Chris liked our conversation, since I obviously had some clue about cocktails and tiki culture. He very graciously gave me a swig of some cool liqueur made of aloe called Chareau. He was a great guy and host.
For my second (and final drink), I chose to go with the Navy Strength Cocktail. As I nursed the drink, I continued my chat with Chris between his tending to the other customers that came in. While we talked, my admiration for him grew. Great guy. But I could not fathom just how, if he had worked at and knew all of these classic tiki places, the Navy Strength bar came out so ordinary and so NOT tiki.
The place is relatively new. Perhaps down the road, with a little more time and money, it will morph into a great tiki bar. In the meantime, well, I wish Chris and his wife nothing but the best of luck.
And off I went. I had a 4-DX movie to catch after all (which you can read about HERE).
My tiki tour of the Seattle area had come to a close. I'd visited them all---even a few extras. (I'd later learn that there was some new place called Hotel Albatross that I completely missed. Oh well, I'll have to hit it next time I'm there.)
Thanks for joining me on the tour. Shall I call you a cab?
CHEERS!
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