Post #766910 by JenTiki on Mon, Aug 1, 2016 1:00 PM

On 2016-08-01 11:37, mikehooker wrote:
Thanks everyone for all the great tips. It's awesome that all these tiki bars are so busy all the time and presumably doing very well, but I get crazy anxiety in big crowds and will assuredly not enjoy my time if I have to be in a standing room situation. I much prefer a quiet, relaxing evening where I could shoot the shit with my bartender and not feel rushed cuz someone's waiting for my seat. So I plan to do all my bar visits earlier in the day to try and avoid the congestion.

I don't know how early in the day you were thinking, but Pagan Idol opens at 4:00pm and Smuggler's Cove at 5:00pm. For Smuggler's Cove, you really do need to be there before they open if you want a seat. And if you really want to chat with the bartender, it should be early in the week, like a Monday or Tuesday. Also, there are a total of about 10 bar seats between the street-level and downstairs bars, so don't dilly dally once you get in the door or you'll end up sitting somewhere that you can't chat with the bartender, and there are no servers, so you'd have to go to the bar each time you want a refill.

On 2016-08-01 11:37, mikehooker wrote:
Curious though, since EVERYONE here has said how bad the entertainment is at Tonga Room and how there's a cover after 8 and it's super packed, who are the people going in the later hours to endure that? Tourists or regulars?

Tourists for sure.