The Temple Bar: Great Mystery of Berkeley Tiki - General Tiki

T thejab Grand Member (1 year) Tradewinds Apartments, Alameda, CA Joined: Mar 25, 2002 Posts: 2992	T thejab Posted posted on Thu, Aug 15, 2002 6:54 PM It's true that they are only open once a month for a luau. They used to be open more often but not lately. I went once for the Sunday luau without reservations. It was packed but they had a small table left so we got menus. The vibe was weird becuase most everyone there knew each other. We kind of felt like we were crashing a private party. We waited a while and when nobody returned to ask us what we wanted we bailed. I have been wanting to have an East Bay bar crawl for some time that might include the Temple Bar but would definately include: Trader Vic's Emeryville Club Mallard - an old hunting lodge themed bar. The best thing about it is they have 2 tiki patios, one downstairs and one upstairs. My girlfriend Robin did the decor for both including items from oceanic arts and a large mural she painted on the wall. The bar was mentioned in tiki news a few years back. Robin also is an excellent bartender there. She is "grog log trained" so makes great tropical drinks with fresh lemon and lime juices and such. There are other bartenders there who make excellent tropical drinks, especially Tage. So you can get good drinks and enjoy them on a tiki-themed patio! Another good bar is Thalassa in downtown Berkeley on Shattuck. More tikis there and Robin designed the back bar in an underwater theme. The huge pool room has a gallery with many fine polyneisan art works and a Witco or 2. Finally, we could visit the sites of the original Hinky Dink's, Trader Vic's Oakland (the 2 palm trees that fronted the place still stand), and Zombie Village (all gone). Sounds like a good plan? Perhaps we could do it on Labor Day Weekend or some other time in September (not on the 21st. or 28th. of September, however, as there are already things happening those days). The next Temple Bar luau is on 9/1 at 3:30PM. But the cockroach tale has got me less enthusiastic about going there. It costs about $10 for the luau dinner buffet last I checked and comes with entertainment. Here's their web site: http://www.templebar.org/ The history page of the web site is interesting.

It's true that they are only open once a month for a luau. They used to be open more often but not lately. I went once for the Sunday luau without reservations. It was packed but they had a small table left so we got menus. The vibe was weird becuase most everyone there knew each other. We kind of felt like we were crashing a private party. We waited a while and when nobody returned to ask us what we wanted we bailed.

I have been wanting to have an East Bay bar crawl for some time that might include the Temple Bar but would definately include:

Trader Vic's Emeryville

Club Mallard - an old hunting lodge themed bar. The best thing about it is they have 2 tiki patios, one downstairs and one upstairs. My girlfriend Robin did the decor for both including items from oceanic arts and a large mural she painted on the wall. The bar was mentioned in tiki news a few years back. Robin also is an excellent bartender there. She is "grog log trained" so makes great tropical drinks with fresh lemon and lime juices and such. There are other bartenders there who make excellent tropical drinks, especially Tage. So you can get good drinks and enjoy them on a tiki-themed patio!

Another good bar is Thalassa in downtown Berkeley on Shattuck. More tikis there and Robin designed the back bar in an underwater theme. The huge pool room has a gallery with many fine polyneisan art works and a Witco or 2.

Finally, we could visit the sites of the original Hinky Dink's, Trader Vic's Oakland (the 2 palm trees that fronted the place still stand), and Zombie Village (all gone).

Sounds like a good plan? Perhaps we could do it on Labor Day Weekend or some other time in September (not on the 21st. or 28th. of September, however, as there are already things happening those days). The next Temple Bar luau is on 9/1 at 3:30PM. But the cockroach tale has got me less enthusiastic about going there. It costs about $10 for the luau dinner buffet last I checked and comes with entertainment. Here's their web site:

http://www.templebar.org/

The history page of the web site is interesting.

Post #6040 by thejab on Thu, Aug 15, 2002 6:54 PM