Post #3029 by rch427 on Sat, Jun 29, 2002 1:29 AM

Mrs. Carnaby --
If you should happen to find yourself in The Hague in western Netherlands (preferably not for a war crimes tribunal), there is a tiki-esque bar/restaurant that recently opened. Called "The Rainbow", it is on a rise, overlooking the yacht harbor and is surrounded by cafe tables and umbrellas. The interior, though,is a riot of jungle foliage, fake pre-Columbian ruins, waterfalls and the like. They even have a live parrot in a cage who is remarkably friendly, if a little loud. The clientele is largely made up of suits, but we went there in the early evening for cocktails and had most of it to ourselves. They played Sinatra, Dean Martin and other "crooners", and the waitress was quiet personable. I highly recommend the "monkey mama" drink, which seemed to be mostly banana liquor, fresh pineapple, rum and coconut milk. A bit steep at 8 Euro each, but a pleasant splurge.

The place referred to above in Belgium is called "Tiki's", in Gierle, near Bruges. It can be found on-line at http://www.geocities.com/tikibelgium/main.html I haven't been there in person, but from the photos on their website, it looks a bit--shall we say "improvised". Still, that might be more the fault of flash photos than of the actual ambience. Even middling tiki is better than no tiki, and here in Rotterdam, no tiki is what we have plenty of.