Post #691751 by DavidAfshar on Wed, Aug 28, 2013 10:35 AM

Know this is an old thread, but was at the Asheville Yacht Club last weekend and thought I'd give any North Carolinians thinking about making it out there an update.

Though not a tiki palace by any means, the décor was solid. Not super-traditional, but fun. Mismash of tiki/nautical/pirate themed. Didn't seem Buffet-ized at all, so that's a major plus. Loved the portraits of The Howells from "Gilligan's Island" to indicate the men's and women's restrooms.

We had some house made chips and guacamole, which were very tasty.

Now for the bad news. The drinks were beyond atrocious. Perhaps the worst drinks I've ever had at any establishment anywhere, any time. The bartender, though nice, seemed to have little idea what he was doing. They don't have an extensive cocktail menu, yet he had to use the guide behind the bar to make us our drinks, so perhaps he's new. I had a "sailor's grog." The lime and grapefruit juice tasted well past their prime. The rum was bottom shelf light Ron Rico (which isn't the biggest deal except they charged $10 per drink). There was no allspice syrup or dram and no sugar syrup. So basically it was just a bunch of cheap rum and expired juices. My wife had a Singapore Sling, which tasted like some sort of industrial cleaner.

I know that there's an attitude on here of support for rather than criticism of tiki bars, and I totally get behind that. I don't wish this place ill at all. Like I said, the staff was friendly, the décor was cool, and the food (what little we had) was quite good. They had quite a few good beers on draft. And again, I'll state that perhaps this guy was new and another bartender might have been much better, though judging by the contents of the drinks and quality of ingredients I'm not sure how.

My advice: Support your local tiki bar, but drink beer at this one.