Post #792615 by Prikli Pear on Tue, Jan 22, 2019 1:29 PM

I look for an immersive atmosphere. I want the experience. All of the factors TikiSkip mentions play a role. If one is lacking, the others can make up for it (to an extent). It's a sliding scale.

Cocktails: Great cocktails are nice, but there are a ton of speakeasies and other craft cocktail bars out there doing top-notch drinks. I could go to one of those if all I wanted was a well-crafted drink. I'd prefer tiki bars that serve top-notch drinks, but if they're merely average, I'll tolerate that. I've gotten pretty good at making palatable drinks in the Lagoon of Mystery, but there's something about going Someplace Else to unwind and have a cocktail that's appealing.

Is the atmosphere immersive? This is a big one, simply because eye candy is the first thing you're going to take in. Going cheap on the decor (because decking out a tiki bar properly is a costly undertaking) undercuts the entire experience. Latitude 29 borders on tiki lite for me, for instance. The Bum's got some nice pieces in there, and from Tiki Central I know the provenance and artist of many of them and appreciate the support he's shown for the artists in the tiki community. But it's still spare decor compared to many places, and that's a concession to the fact that the vast majority of his clientele are just going to wander in off the street, no knowing tiki from Toledo. He's got great cocktails and a friendly, patient staff, so that makes up for a lot.

A welcoming, attentive staff can overcome most other shortcomings (again, to an extent). But this is true for any bar, or any service industry operation. My experience with the late, un-lamented Pilikia is a case in point. The decor was pretty impressive, if off-the-shelf, and the cocktails merely average. But the staff was utterly indifferent to my presence and bordered on annoyed with my questions. I didn't need that, and cut my visit short. Contrast that with the fantastic receptions I've gotten at Hale Pele and Lei Low. They made me feel welcome and really engaged me with conversation even when they were busy. They made me feel important and the focus of their attention. You get a LOT of mileage out of that kind of customer service.

Music is a big one. I'm not a purist, but damn if rap, 80s pop or 70s guitar rock (I'm looking at you, Alibi!) can really spoil the illusion. Exotica's always nice, but didn't exist for the first 15 or so years tiki bars existed. I look favorably on bossa nova, calypso, surf, classic reggae, cool jazz, select lounge... Is it period-appropriate, even if modern? Is it going to break the spell of suspended disbelief? Music shouldn't be so loud that it intrudes on conversation, but not so soft that it doesn't contribute to the atmosphere. And while we're at it, can I just rant a moment about modern restaurants that are built as echo chambers with high ceilings and hard surfaces? I understand studies have shown that such noisy environs increase stress in patrons, resulting in their drinking and eating more quickly, but every time I've eaten in one of these places, it's been the last visit for me. Tiki bars should absolutely take acoustics in mind when designed, with odd angles and irregular surfaces to break up echoing sound. They don't have to be quiet places, but the noise should be organic, not amplified by the building.

The Wife likes to tease me about being a "tiki purist." I always laugh, because I'm hardly that. Some folks here would consider me a heretic. I'm a writer by profession, and often see new, would-be writers starting out who reject the idea of "rules of writing" because their creative genius won't be constrained by convention. Yeah, and more often than not their written work is pretentious crap. Writers successfully break the "rules" all the time, but these are experienced writers, who know and understand said rules, who disregard or break them for specific effect. I look at tiki the same way. Pirates and flamingos are fine, just as long as those elements don't constitute the totality of tiki in one's tiki bar. Like the Beachbum points out in Potions of the Caribbean, that region had an outsized influence on the evolution of tiki back in the day. Any time someone argues there's no place for flamingos in a tiki bar, because flamingos aren't native to the South Pacific, I ask if rum should be banned as well. A lot of the rules are wholly arbitrary, but they've gained consensus for a reason and should be understood and acknowledged before being tweaked or ignored. Any pop culture movement that gets bogged down to the point where innovation and creativity is no longer possible will stagnate and die. I don't think any of us want that.