Post #297117 by tikibars on Thu, Apr 5, 2007 1:40 PM

At Random is not Tiki, but it is AMAZING.
They do have a drink called Tiki Love Bowl, that is a must-try (for two - or more - people). The place is tough to find, but worth the search.

Foundation is a great place to visit too.
I've been going there since the early 1990s when it was a punk rock dive bar - over the years it has become more and more Tiki, and less and less punk. I'd say it is 85% of the way to being a full-time bona-fide Tiki bar, and a good one at that.

Rendez'vous is sort of a Tiki-pirate-voodoo bar.
Mike is indeed super-cool, and he always hires rather attractive bar tenders. BUT - their mixology skills vary WIDELY. I've had some nice drinks there, and some completely vile ones.

I was just at Safe House last month.
The food is pretty bad, and expensive; the drinks more so.
The secret agent vibe is cool immediately upon entering, but after spending more than a few minutes there it becomes abundantly clear that over the years it has become more and more watered down.
The place, more than anything else, needs new management.
Tons of potential, but a LOT about it just doesn't measure up.
Why play Huey Lewis when there is so much great spy music out there?
Why make trendy fruity martinis when there are so many cocktails associated with spy novels and movies (the Vesper, the medium dry vodka martini, etc etc etc).
Why obscure cool 1960s spy decor with movie posters for Memoirs of a Geisha, and the like?
They're treading water...
Someone with a clue just needs to wade in there and clean (safe) house.
And hire a new cook!