The Conga Lounge, Oakland, CA (bar) - Locating Tiki

G gwenners Member SF Bay Area Joined: Feb 08, 2005 Posts: 97	G gwenners Posted posted on Sun, Feb 20, 2005 2:16 PM A handful of friends and I visited the Conga Lounge last night, and you can colour me a convert to this one! It's pretty "cozy." It seems the right size now, though I wonder if this will be a future problem. The place did fill pretty well. Still, no-one seemed stuck without a seat, and our little group never felt crowded. The ambience is great. It has certainly added since some of the various photos I've seen on the web, with plenty of knickknacks and such everywhere. Not all of it is strictly tiki-themed, but as mentioned before, it doesn't detract. The music, too, was not expressly tikiesque (there was no "TJ" there at the time), but most did fit the theme well amongst a staple of Tom Jones, Nancy Sinatra, James Bond themes, and so forth. Still, some martin Denny would have been good. Playing on the TV (without sound) was Casino Royale which, (again) while non-tiki also seemed to fit all fine and well. The drinks were excellent. We had the pleasure of sampling their Mai Tai (really good, but not the best I've had), the Blue Hawaiian (okay, but it's a Blue Hawaiian), the Mojito Cubana (very good, different), and the Zombie (the only one of these served in a mug. VERY potent, and well done). We also had food from the restaurant downstairs. The pizza was given high marks, and the jerk chicken while tasty (and quite sizable, portion-wise) could have stood for being a bit spicier. Service was excellent. Our server was very attentive, and one of the owners did come over to make sure we have all the ambience we could (turning on the large plastic moai and a small lamp near us). We definitely felt taken care of. One concern we all had before going was that the location would be, shall we say, "trendy" or "yuppified." It didn't feel such, however, in contrast to its neighborhood. I would certainly go to the Conga Lounge again, given the opportunity. Oh -- here's a couple photos as well. One of the decor along one wall, the other of a freshly served Zombie. Cheers, Gwen Smith

A handful of friends and I visited the Conga Lounge last night, and you can colour me a convert to this one!

It's pretty "cozy." It seems the right size now, though I wonder if this will be a future problem. The place did fill pretty well. Still, no-one seemed stuck without a seat, and our little group never felt crowded.

The ambience is great. It has certainly added since some of the various photos I've seen on the web, with plenty of knickknacks and such everywhere. Not all of it is strictly tiki-themed, but as mentioned before, it doesn't detract. The music, too, was not expressly tikiesque (there was no "TJ" there at the time), but most did fit the theme well amongst a staple of Tom Jones, Nancy Sinatra, James Bond themes, and so forth. Still, some martin Denny would have been good.

Playing on the TV (without sound) was Casino Royale which, (again) while non-tiki also seemed to fit all fine and well.

The drinks were excellent. We had the pleasure of sampling their Mai Tai (really good, but not the best I've had), the Blue Hawaiian (okay, but it's a Blue Hawaiian), the Mojito Cubana (very good, different), and the Zombie (the only one of these served in a mug. VERY potent, and well done).

We also had food from the restaurant downstairs. The pizza was given high marks, and the jerk chicken while tasty (and quite sizable, portion-wise) could have stood for being a bit spicier.

Service was excellent. Our server was very attentive, and one of the owners did come over to make sure we have all the ambience we could (turning on the large plastic moai and a small lamp near us). We definitely felt taken care of.

One concern we all had before going was that the location would be, shall we say, "trendy" or "yuppified." It didn't feel such, however, in contrast to its neighborhood. I would certainly go to the Conga Lounge again, given the opportunity.

Oh -- here's a couple photos as well. One of the decor along one wall, the other of a freshly served Zombie.

Cheers,
Gwen Smith

Post #142220 by gwenners on Sun, Feb 20, 2005 2:16 PM