Post #540289 by Sabu The Coconut Boy on Thu, Jul 1, 2010 4:45 PM

I think a fact we overlook is that a Tiki Restaurant or Tiki Bar was for the most part a Cocktail Culture creation. And what I've noticed over the past few years is that the Tiki Bars that are surviving and thriving have the drinks as the main focus. Thus, if you want the folks to keep coming back for the rum drinks, then the food you choose has to enhance and live harmoniously with the drinks you serve. It's no coincidence that appetizer menus in popular bars of any genre tend to overlap a lot. Its those salty, sweet & savory foods that both taste good with mixed drinks and soak up the alcohol in the stomach so that you can drink more. Thus in a Polynesian bar, you still have crab puffs, egg rolls, short ribs, and chicken wings, only they're given an exotic twist and called "Chicken Wings Mai Kai". Or you wrap tidbits in bacon and give them fake exotic names like "Rumaki" and "Shanghai Chicken" even though they're origins have nothing to do with the Orient. These foods are established and tried and proven, which is why they're still successful.

So even though I like Samoan foods like Fa'a and Palusami, I'm not sure they would meld well with rum cocktails (unless you add more cheese! :) ). I'm convinced that half the reason Chinese Restaurants and Tiki Culture melded so well from the start was that the food went with the drinks.

So what about serving more traditional Polynesian fare in the restaurant-portion of your establishment, ala Trader Vics? I think that's a great option, but you're still going to have a lot of folks who want their ribs and steaks with their mai tais, so if you want to be successful, I think you have to offer those items along with your poisson cru. The tiki bar was never an authentic Polynesian experience - it was a bastard mix of things that already worked, given a new touch of exotic atmosphere and escapism. I think that's why it succeeded and can succeed today. That's why I'm skeptical that a menu of solely traditional Polynesian fare will thrive on anything but a small scale UNLESS you can come up with enough Polynesian-inspired dishes that work well with the drinks. And make sure the drinks top-notch. I'd like to see that happen.