Post #618344 by JOHN-O on Thu, Dec 22, 2011 6:55 PM

Let me close the Mai Tai loop on this. On to Emeryville !!…

So what took so long? Here are my excuses:

1. Based on pictures I've seen of the interior, I never felt compelled to visit. Photos always seemed to portray Emeryville TV as more yacht club style than Tiki. And those large windows allowing natural light to flood into the place, they were an affront to my vampiric Tiki nature.

2. Also I never really considered the place as original Tiki-era. Having opened in 1971, it was in this weird Tiki grey area, dating more towards the Nixon Watergate era than the JFK Camelot days.

3. And last but not least, Forbidden Island always got in my way. Ha, ha.

But what a mistake it was to procrastinate so long !! Emeryville TV is GREAT.

If every Tiki bar possesses a unique quality, to me this is the Tiki bar on the edge of the abyss. Driving down Powell St through Emeryville's Marina corridor, it's dark, really really dark. Drive too far and you'll wind up in the San Francisco Bay. Emeryville TV feels like Tiki's last stop before entering into purgatory.

Emeryville itself has a pretty interesting history. It used to have the reputation as "the rottenest city on the Pacific Coast", teeming with speakeasies, racetracks, and brothels during the Great Depression days.

Driving up to the entrance, you're greeted by an old-school porte-cochere…

The restaurant itself is made up of many different rooms, almost a labyrinth of Tikiness in the tradition of places like the Mai Kai and Hala Kahiki, albeit on a somewhat smaller scale.

And the hesitation I had about the large windows? Well at night they were more like portals into the dark void of the SF Bay rather than an indication that the 21st-century lay just outside. I don't think I would ever visit this place during the daylight hours (is it even open then?)

You know I used to think that Tiki restaurants (vs. just bars) were a post mid-century anachronism, the whole faux Polynesian food concept being lost on contemporary diners. To my surprise however this place was packed !! In the dining area you had people dressed for the occasion and in the bar area a younger crowd enjoying cocktails and appetizers like this was the latest "hip" spot.

And I know the Tropicals were popular as I was seated at the bar and witnessed first hand the high-speed mixology. The bartender was a Mai Tai making machine as I saw one "1944" after another being made with the speed of an assembly line. You'd think the quality would suffer as as result, but honestly this was the best balanced Mai Tai of the 4 TV's I visited.

There's also a feeling of historic Tiki lore and mythology throughout the place. Homages like this to the original Hinky Dinks…

And talking with bartender, there's fascinating historical stories behind many of the items of decor. Just ask about the large sea turtle inscribed with names or the chair hanging off the ceiling. Interesting these stories haven't been documented on TC before. (Next time, I must take notes).

If Trader Vic's spirit is still alive and well in the 21st Century (and in CA), I think it must live here. :)