Building The Crashland Tiki Bar/ Concepts - Home Tiki Bars

MT Mai Tai Tiki Socialite Exotic Isle of Alameda Joined: Mar 21, 2004 Posts: 1438	MT Mai Tai Posted posted on Sat, Jul 11, 2009 5:06 AM Ever hear of the Caribbean Zone? It was a really cool place in the SOMA district of San Francisco. It was hidden under a now defunct freeway overpass in an alley behind a bus terminal, next door to what was then Club DV8. Their kitchen was actually located inside of Club DV8, and when it went under during the dot com bubble, so did the Caribbean Zone. They paved paradise, and put up a parking lot. Literally. The theme of the restaurant was an airplane that crash landed in a tropical jungle. It was a full restaurant that served Caribbean fare, such as Jamaican Jerk Chicken, and fried plantains. Drinks were also Caribbean style, with choices like a Bahama Mama, Goomba Boomba, or a Mai Tai with pineapple juice served in a brandy snifter. I know you ultra purists are rolling your eyes and groaning, but it really had a fantastic escapism factor - those that have actually been there can vouch for that. You approach a small looking quansit hut in the middle of what was then a semi industrial wasteland. You enter through a plain non-descript door, and then you are immediately whisked away to a tropical paradise. The back bar was actually the fuselage of a DC-3, at one time the actual tour plane for the Doobie Bros. Someone bought it, removed the wings, and installed it as the back bar. The cool thing was, you could actually go up into the plane, and have cocktails! The waitresses would come up and take your order, then return with your drinks. And they placed small tv screens on the outside of the plane windows, so when you looked outside, it gave the illusion that you were flying. There was a lot of great tropical foliage throughout the restaurant, and there was a huge waterfall feature in the back, that was big and loud enough that you could not carry a conversation if you were seated next to it. There also was a banquet room that sat about a dozen people, and it was done up like a cave with stone walls. I always thought that if I started a tiki bar, it would be similar to the Caribbean Zone. Here's a link to their Yelp review, and also a few pics that I scrounged off of the net: http://www.yelp.com/biz/caribbean-zone-san-francisco

Ever hear of the Caribbean Zone? It was a really cool place in the SOMA district of San Francisco. It was hidden under a now defunct freeway overpass in an alley behind a bus terminal, next door to what was then Club DV8. Their kitchen was actually located inside of Club DV8, and when it went under during the dot com bubble, so did the Caribbean Zone. They paved paradise, and put up a parking lot. Literally.

The theme of the restaurant was an airplane that crash landed in a tropical jungle. It was a full restaurant that served Caribbean fare, such as Jamaican Jerk Chicken, and fried plantains. Drinks were also Caribbean style, with choices like a Bahama Mama, Goomba Boomba, or a Mai Tai with pineapple juice served in a brandy snifter. I know you ultra purists are rolling your eyes and groaning, but it really had a fantastic escapism factor - those that have actually been there can vouch for that. You approach a small looking quansit hut in the middle of what was then a semi industrial wasteland. You enter through a plain non-descript door, and then you are immediately whisked away to a tropical paradise.

The back bar was actually the fuselage of a DC-3, at one time the actual tour plane for the Doobie Bros. Someone bought it, removed the wings, and installed it as the back bar. The cool thing was, you could actually go up into the plane, and have cocktails! The waitresses would come up and take your order, then return with your drinks. And they placed small tv screens on the outside of the plane windows, so when you looked outside, it gave the illusion that you were flying. There was a lot of great tropical foliage throughout the restaurant, and there was a huge waterfall feature in the back, that was big and loud enough that you could not carry a conversation if you were seated next to it. There also was a banquet room that sat about a dozen people, and it was done up like a cave with stone walls.

I always thought that if I started a tiki bar, it would be similar to the Caribbean Zone. Here's a link to their Yelp review, and also a few pics that I scrounged off of the net:
http://www.yelp.com/biz/caribbean-zone-san-francisco

Post #468258 by Mai Tai on Sat, Jul 11, 2009 5:06 AM