The Shrunken Head, Colorado Springs, CO (bar) - Locating Tiki

C coldwarspacemonkey Tiki Socialite Shipwrecked on the First Coast Joined: Aug 08, 2017 Posts: 205	C coldwarspacemonkey Posted posted on Sun, Aug 27, 2023 1:36 PM Our plan to visit was for last summer but COVID had other ideas for me. This time we managed to get there on a Saturday afternoon just after they opened. First, the good stuff: TPSI coefficient is very high. They have a LOT of tikis. And some more tikis, along with other masks Velvet paintings A rather elaborate water feature And a lot of fish floats (although they weren’t lit and looked like they were from Hobby Lobby) I think I even saw some of Phineas’ in-laws there! Now for the not-so-good: Despite the eye candy, I just couldn’t get into this place. The music, for starters, was a mix of R&B, some bluesy reggae, and hip-hop. No judgement on any of these genres, but they just don’t belong in a tiki bar. I’m also not a real fan of the Christmas lights. There was no drink menu offered or posted, instead one must use the QR code at the table to go to their website for a menu. OK, so I’m an old fart, but I grew up in a time where it was actually legal to be more than 3 feet from your phone. And of course my phone didn’t want to capture the QR code. Had to navigate to their website just to order. Then there were the drinks. I ordered a mai tai. The website describes it as “boozy+bitter”. It arrived overdressed with garnish. Almond forward, which is not necessarily bad, but waaaaaay sweet. Very little of the rum flavor was apparent. In short a swing and a miss, although I’m sure it’s a hit with the hipster lemon drop martini crowd. I didn’t see much in the way of good rum there either. Don Q seems to be their go-to. I wandered over to check out the mugs that were for sale. The mugs they serve drinks in aren’t bad, but they offer a completely different line for sale. Most were nothing more than a cylinder into which was stamped a tiki head on either side. Many of these were flattened from that procedure. Not something I was prepared to pay $25 for. The one carved mug I was interested in was not for sale. Overall, it’s a nice bar with tikis, but I wouldn’t call it a tiki bar. [ Edited by coldwarspacemonkey on 2023-08-27 13:38:32 ] [ Edited by coldwarspacemonkey on 2023-08-27 13:39:28 ]

Our plan to visit was for last summer but COVID had other ideas for me. This time we managed to get there on a Saturday afternoon just after they opened.

First, the good stuff: 1 Bar post

TPSI coefficient is very high. They have a LOT of tikis. 2 Tikis post

And some more tikis, along with other masks 3 More tikis post

Velvet paintings 4 Velvet paintings post

A rather elaborate water feature 5 Water feature post

And a lot of fish floats (although they weren’t lit and looked like they were from Hobby Lobby) 6 Fish floats post

I think I even saw some of Phineas’ in-laws there! 7 Phineas' ILs post

Now for the not-so-good:

Despite the eye candy, I just couldn’t get into this place. The music, for starters, was a mix of R&B, some bluesy reggae, and hip-hop. No judgement on any of these genres, but they just don’t belong in a tiki bar. I’m also not a real fan of the Christmas lights.

There was no drink menu offered or posted, instead one must use the QR code at the table to go to their website for a menu. OK, so I’m an old fart, but I grew up in a time where it was actually legal to be more than 3 feet from your phone. And of course my phone didn’t want to capture the QR code. Had to navigate to their website just to order.

Then there were the drinks. I ordered a mai tai. The website describes it as “boozy+bitter”. It arrived overdressed with garnish. Almond forward, which is not necessarily bad, but waaaaaay sweet. Very little of the rum flavor was apparent. In short a swing and a miss, although I’m sure it’s a hit with the hipster lemon drop martini crowd. 8 Your-tai post

I didn’t see much in the way of good rum there either. Don Q seems to be their go-to.

I wandered over to check out the mugs that were for sale. The mugs they serve drinks in aren’t bad, but they offer a completely different line for sale. Most were nothing more than a cylinder into which was stamped a tiki head on either side. Many of these were flattened from that procedure. Not something I was prepared to pay $25 for. The one carved mug I was interested in was not for sale.

Overall, it’s a nice bar with tikis, but I wouldn’t call it a tiki bar.

[ Edited by coldwarspacemonkey on 2023-08-27 13:38:32 ]

[ Edited by coldwarspacemonkey on 2023-08-27 13:39:28 ]

Post #810524 by coldwarspacemonkey on Sun, Aug 27, 2023 1:36 PM