Post #139286 by Sabina on Thu, Feb 3, 2005 8:39 PM

Mike and I spent a dreamy evening at Hale Tiki back in December. All I can say is go and make up your own mind. As for us, we'll be back anytime we're within a reasonable (which for us can be quite a distance) drive.

First and foremost I have to say, despite being modern, it doesn't feel like it recently opened, it feels a bit like stepping into a nifty little tucked away Tiki treasure as if it had been open from 'back in the day'. It is the best of the modern interpretations I've seen and as I've said, a standard against which other recent Tiki spaces can be judged. Quite simply, they got it right.

From the moment you first see the magnificent Yellow Neon outside, to your entry through the anteroom, and on into the bar itself, you are in for an evening in paradise.

Absolute kudos to everyone who made this modern Temple what it is! From the TCers who did the build out (in record time!) to the TCers who contributed artifacts, you have helped make this gem what it is today. Clearly Hale Tiki is built on the efforts of many people and TCers and so the credit goes to all involved.

Once we arrived, Brad and John- who bartended for us that evening- were the consummate hosts in every way. Far from any noises of Hale Tiki's demise, they are in the process of an expansion into the restaurant side of their building (which is amazing in and of itself!) and hope to be serving food before much longer. The archeology of the building is its own tale, best told by Brad :)

Brad gave us the grand tour of the space, bar side, (artifact by artifact, mind you!) restaurant side- in which we got a real feel for the 'before' aspect of their space, and even into other parts of the building- like a small back courtyard that Hale Tiki may someday expand into. They've got a GREAT space- and plenty of room for growth through the years.

They're less than a year old, and doing well- which is quite a feat for a new business, doubly so considering they play real exotic music with a little rat pack thrown in, and serve drinks but no food and are strictly non-smoking.

And oh, the drinks! Properly made, everything fresh. Fresh juices, quality rums, Tiki mugs- a good selection of them in day to day use, Hale Tiki napkins and swizzles, all add up to the real thing. There's a good selection on the menu- and they were planning to expand the drink menu soon. Try the concubine, the house drink :)

The crowd was great, regulars coming in late in the evening, a relatively young crowd. As the evening went on, Drums, bongos even the 'last call' slot drum ened up in the back room with the tribe yelping and druming their hearts out- a spontaneous disorganized somewhat drunken concert of sorts. Not exactly Denny, Lyman, or Baxter, but live music in a Tiki venue none-the-less.

Without going into detail (as Brad has a few surprises up his sleeve) I'll simply say he's unbelieveably generous! We spent the evening being treated like Tiki royalty.

I have a full album of pix up on my site- http://www.sevenpleasures.org/gallery/Hale-Tiki

[ Edited by: Sabina on 2005-02-03 20:40 ]

[ Edited by: Sabina on 2005-02-03 20:44 ]