Post #539841 by tikitonga on Tue, Jun 29, 2010 11:26 PM

OK, so the wife and I frequent Tiki Bars pretty often. We are fortunate enough to live near enough to Trader Vics and Forbidden Island to swing by whenever the mood strikes. We've made a side trip to experience Frankie's in Vegas. We travel to the Islands at least once every 5 years and always sample copious amounts of Tropical Adult Beverages. We've spent the last 6 months visiting a different Bay Area Tiki Bar each month. I'm not saying we're experts by any means, but we've had enough experience to make some decent comparisons.....and as my previous post stated, we finally got the opportunity to visit Smuggler's Cove...................................OMFG.

I knew it would be good....but we were blown away. Not "TIKI" enough? In my opinion it's plenty Tiki enough. The top level hid at least two tikis and various other Polynesian decor. The vibe was definitely right. But, honestly, it came down to the drinks.....and I'll say it again...OMFG! The menu alone dedicated almost two pages exclusively to Tikil drinks so we definitely felt at home. But once we took our first sips of the Mai Tai and Puka Punch it was clear we were in the right place. Watching the bartender was like watching a master chemist at work. It was poetry in motion.

Needless to say we were instant converts. We would rank the drink quality right up there with Trader Vics Emeryville and, in at least one or two cases, (dare I say it) even better. I don't mean to turn this into a review but I feel obligated to sing the praises when a place just gets it right because let's face it, it is so easy to get it wrong.

At any rate, I would just say that if anyone out there is at all hesitant to bump this up on your priority list for a first visit, you're cheating yourself. Give it a try, you just may have the best drink of your life.

PS-get there early if going on a Saturday.........the place was packed 45 minutes after opening!