Post #7586 by Jon Tiki on Wed, Sep 4, 2002 9:58 AM

I know the Taboo Cove lamentations have been beaten into the ground, but I was there last Saturday night and wanted to add my two cents.

We stepped into the Cove, and there were a decent number of people there... but as others have experienced, the music was atrocious. We were so excited about the bar, so disappointed by the ambience the music ultimately created.

We made our complaints known to the manager, who's a very nice guy named Manny Navaro. He seems genuinely excited about the idea of creating an authentic tiki experience -- he said when they first opened they filled the place with exotica music... but nobody appreciated it. People would come in, look around like it was a museum, and leave without buying anything. With the switch to "modern" music they're appealing to an after-hours crowd and are able to stay in business.

So the situation and the debate hasn't changed: are we glad a new tiki bar even exists, even though it has to be supported by catering to non-tiki-philes? Or would we rather see it go away because it isn't "pure"?

Personally, I love that a new tiki bar exists... but as with the Bamboo Hut in San Francisco, I probably won't go there again unless the drinks get better and the music changes completely. Realizing we're members of an already under-represented subculture, I can't see that happening... it's just not economical. If the Taboo Cove can survive until such a time when Exotica and a good Pina Colada is back in vogue, I'll be the first one through the doors. Until then... well, maybe they can attract some of the crowd from the cheesy Luau at the Imperial Palace.