Sunday, April 23, 2006
Tiki on the Island
I checked out a new tiki bar last night, Forbidden Island. It's on Lincoln in Alameda, just a couple of blocks from one of my usual haunts, McGrath's Pub.
The decor and ambiance were done well. Lots of tiki figures, bamboo, and interesting little accessories. Tacky music, only some of it in theme, was playing over the house PA. The TV over the bar was showing something like South Pacific, one of those 50's movies with beautiful people falling in and out of love in exotic places. The back patio looks like a good place to hang out on a summer evening, contemplating the stars.
The drink menu looks really impressive. The story on the back is a *very* tongue-in-cheek satire of the "how this restaurant came to be" story.
The free appetizers were mostly edible. The meatballs were excellent.
I wish I could tell you how the drinks were, but I never managed to put in an order. The obviously overworked and outnumbered bar staff didn't have their routine down, and several times took orders from people who leaned in over me at the bar without noticing me. For a place that's mostly about the drink menu, this is borderline criminal, but I'll accept that service might be better on a night when the place isn't as full.
Oh, and they don't have anyplace or any current plans to put on live music. What a shame. One of the bartenders at McGrath's was there; she agreed with me that it would be an excellent place for me to gig, if gigging were possible.
Give it an "A" for "Ambiance," but the drink rating is.......still waiting.
The decor and ambiance were done well. Lots of tiki figures, bamboo, and interesting little accessories. Tacky music, only some of it in theme, was playing over the house PA. The TV over the bar was showing something like South Pacific, one of those 50's movies with beautiful people falling in and out of love in exotic places. The back patio looks like a good place to hang out on a summer evening, contemplating the stars.
The drink menu looks really impressive. The story on the back is a *very* tongue-in-cheek satire of the "how this restaurant came to be" story.
The free appetizers were mostly edible. The meatballs were excellent.
I wish I could tell you how the drinks were, but I never managed to put in an order. The obviously overworked and outnumbered bar staff didn't have their routine down, and several times took orders from people who leaned in over me at the bar without noticing me. For a place that's mostly about the drink menu, this is borderline criminal, but I'll accept that service might be better on a night when the place isn't as full.
Oh, and they don't have anyplace or any current plans to put on live music. What a shame. One of the bartenders at McGrath's was there; she agreed with me that it would be an excellent place for me to gig, if gigging were possible.
Give it an "A" for "Ambiance," but the drink rating is.......still waiting.
# posted by Loren Davidson @ 9:13 AM 
