Post #581841 by Club Nouméa on Sat, Mar 26, 2011 4:34 AM

Part 5: From San Francisco to Emeryville

The Tonga Room both did and didn't live up to its reputation. The décor was wonderful - the Polynesian village at one end of the "lagoon" and the sailing ship smorgasbord area at the other; the periodic thunder and lightning accompanied by a tropical downpour; and the diners.

A couple of tables across from us were three generations of males from the same family (or at least they certainly looked related) - grand-dad, dad and junior (who would have been about 12 years old). All three were wearing conservatively-cut suits with slightly overstated shirts and ties, and the Tonga Room was obviously a family ritual. Classy - they fitted the place perfectly, unlike the sloppy tourists in their track pants etc. Ms. Nouméa and I were also dressed formally in black evening wear; she was in a very nice black dress, while I wore a black Italian suit, with a white Pierre Cardin shirt, a black patterned Burberry tie, and a trilby, which I had the good manners to remove when I passed through the hallowed portal, unlike various philistines roaming around in baseball caps.

Then there was the party of Polynesian ladies beside us, who also fitted in perfectly. They were dressed in style; island style, but not garishly. They commented that the Tongan royal family dined there when they visited SF (sorry "San Fran"). I tucked into my smorgasbord fare with the assurance that if the place was good enough for Tongan royalty, then there was no reason for us palangi commoners to worry about cultural correctness.

But, alas, there were down sides too. The Maitre D that night was a bit offhand to us. Having dined in Parisian restaurants where condescension is part of the evening's entertainment, I did not find this off-putting, but others certainly would. And, sadly, I found the food and drinks disappointing, which is why we ended up reversing our last-minute decision made at the door to have a full meal, and opted for the happy hour food and drinks option instead. The drinks were OK, and so was the food, but there was definitely a gap between the level of the décor and the level of what we were served that evening.

Overall, the tiki restaurant that impressed me the most in the Bay Area was the newly remodelled Trader Vic's, in Emeryville. I have already commented in the TV Emeryville thread about my first meal there, so here are some photos taken there instead:

Whoops! Wrong Trader...

That's better...

CN