Post #417835 by TikiG on Fri, Nov 7, 2008 3:06 PM

Had a small vacation last August in San Diego(post Tiki Oasis) with a girlfriend. We made the rounds to all the SD tiki spots.

We found ourselves at Mister Tiki on a Wednesday late afternoon, right at happy hour. I always order a Mai Tai as my first introduction to a tropical drink bar and this was no different. I believe the happy hour version was called a Mister Mai Tai or something like that, so we order two and wait. And wait. Our freaking drinks were made by the bartender, and then they sat at the bar on a serving plate for what must have been ten minutes..I got pretty pissy real fast and stood up, walked over to the bar and retrieved our drinks. The place was not busy so I don't really know why the breakdown in service. Not good. To make matters worse, the Mai Tai looked like red syrup and served in a hurricane glass. Three strikes. Have to admit I caught a buzz though and had a fun time walking back to the hotel.

The Bali Hai on the other hand is a tiki temple of the highest order.
No need to explain here as it has already been said. Needless to say, when you order a Mai Tai, the waitress apologizes in advance for how strong the drinks are made! We order two Mai Tais with lunch. They arrived in the proper glass with the proper garnish and proper color. And STRONG! Mel took one drink off of her drink and refused to drink the rest! I finished both drinks, caught a great buzz and felt real good the rest of the afternoon.
Bali Hai is like coming home.
Bali Hai is San Diego paradise. I think you get the picture.