VOODOO ROOM, WEST HOLLYWOOD, CA (restaurant)

Name:VOODOO ROOM
Type:restaurant
Street:8948 SANTA MONICA BLVD.
City:WEST HOLLYWOOD
State:CA
Zip:90069
country:USA
Phone:310-657-4832
Status:operational

Description:
HI, FROM LOS ANGELES...THERE NEW TIKI IN TOWN! THE VOODOO ROOM, 8948 SANTA MONICA BLVD.CALL 310-657-4832, THE LOOK IS NEO TIKI. ITS JUST OPEN AN ITS SMOKING HOT!!! TELL'M AL SENT YOU...YOUR GOING TO LOVE IT...

Aloha, Al.

While your "neo tiki" description sounds promising, could you provide a few more details, beginning with whether there actually is tiki present, whether drinks are served in tiki mugs, as well as the cross-street?

... and is it a gay bar? (it IS West Hollywood, after all).

I called and it appears they keep Tiki-Ti type hours, open Th - Sun.

On 2006-02-10 20:01, PiPhiRho wrote:
... and is it a gay bar? (it IS West Hollywood, after all).

Aloha PiPhiRo,

It is located across the street from "Rage," a very gay bar, just West of San Vicente.
However, such may be a good thing, if it could have the staying power and popularity of Rage & the other boy's town favorites.

Speading the tiki faith across all boundaries.

Hmm, I wonder if it will have lots of TIKI "poles", carved out of "wood"? Maybe a shrunken "head" or two? Some glass fishing "balls" perhaps, or will there be lots of "fish nets"? There should be some coco "nuts" here and there also. Probably some pictures of "one-eyed" men "spearing""sperm" whales from the "poop deck" and such. I'll bet everyone is very polite too, they'll even offer to push in your "stool"! See ya there, "matey"!

OH MY GOD, WHAT AN INCREDIBLE TIKI BAR/RESTAURANT!

The Bar:

Pass by a giant, life size Ku replica, with flaming red eyes, bordered by two bird of paradise (after parking in their own (free) parking lot;

Belly up to the bar, under the palapa (illuminated by the fun & kitchsky tiki mini lights, in between the glass floats:

Select your own tiki mug (from Libby-free to use, and keeps the costs down when they walk away);

Imbibe the namesake cocktail, the Voodoo, a very well-balanced, tiki cocktail, served with a FLAMING 151 float ($10);

The Pupus:

Excellent grilled shrimp, with Mango sauce; barbecue ribs and numerous selections, each approx $9

The Restaurant:

Bosko tikis grace the walls;

The owner, Rob, added matting behind Oceanic Art masks for his own personal tiki touch;

Red walls, with large windows:

The Patio (my favorite):

A large moai, complete with red topknot (I don't know if it is scoria) stands a silent sentinel;

Palm trees sway in the breeze

A fireplace, to keep warm outside during those chilly nights

The Lounge:

In the patio, red suede sectionals await, black leather sectionals in the bar (very ready to get one's groove on)

The Clientele:

It is "straight," despite being located in boys town (which may be too bad - the boys bar across the way looked like it would be a far more lucrative enterprise)

Televisions:

None.

Music:

"Wild, Cool & Swinging" by Ultra Lounge.

Location/Parking:

One block west of San Vicente, on the SouthEast corner, across the street from Starbucks. Enter the parking lot traveling Eastbound on Santa Monica. Free parking.

Overall Impression:

Neo tiki, High TIPSY factor. The Gods would be amused.

The owners have created an environment to entice the hard-core tikiphile and the latest scenester, alike.

The closet comparison would be Mr. Tiki's Mai Tai Lounge in San Diego or
Drift in Phoenix.

MAHALO, TIKI AL FOR THIS INCREDIBLE TIKI FIND!

On 2006-02-13 22:26, christiki295 wrote:
I called and it appears they keep Tiki-Ti type hours, open Th - Sun.

Thurs is an earlier night, closing around 11:00 pm

Fri & Saturday late.

Sunday, brunch (only).

Only open for approximately 3 weeks.

Hello, does this new Tikibar have a web site! Thank you

Hey TT,
Dude, your killing me over here,But Hey be nice, TC has lots of different people
here. But I'm just suprised you "beat" Spermy to the Punch.

Jeff(bigtikidude)

On 2006-02-14 12:54, tikitortured wrote:
Hmm, I wonder if it will have lots of TIKI "poles", carved out of "wood"? Maybe a shrunken "head" or two? Some glass fishing "balls" perhaps, or will there be lots of "fish nets"? There should be some coco "nuts" here and there also. Probably some pictures of "one-eyed" men "spearing""sperm" whales from the "poop deck" and such. I'll bet everyone is very polite too, they'll even offer to push in your "stool"! See ya there, "matey"!

Went to the Voodoo Room last night with the Mr. and my friend Auntiki and her hubby. WOW! Every thing christiki295 said and more! We really had a great time, met the owner Rob and wife Dina, really great Hosts. The food is not your usual Polynesian fare, but it really kicks ass. Tapas, what a great idea! The drinks were great! I had two Voodoo Dolls, my hubby had a Key Lime Pie, said it tasted just like Key Lime Pie. Auntiki had a Tiki F*** Me Up, and couple of Dirty Rotten Scoundrels. The Libby mugs were fine to drink out of, Auntiki had one signed by the Hosts and great crew, and smuggled it out! Their real mugs are in the works, as are some other aspects of the place. I look forward to seeing what they do. If you have any extra Tikis or other cool stuff, bring it in and Rob will hang it up.
The music was Ultra Lounge, and also a work in progress. I can see going back time and again. Check it out!

Since it's on Santa Monica, it's on the path of Route 66; so, now Trader Vic's is no longer alone in the distinction of being a tiki bar on Rt66, even if Vic's is the only vintage one.

[i]On 2006-02-27 10:52, Tikiwmn wrote:[

The drinks were great! I had two Voodoo Dolls, my hubby had a Key Lime Pie, said it tasted just like Key Lime Pie. Auntiki had a Tiki F*** Me Up, and couple of Dirty Rotten Scoundrels. The Libby mugs were fine to drink out of, Auntiki had one signed by the Hosts and great crew, and smuggled it out!

Don't you love the flaming cocktails. Pele would be pleased.

Here is the homepage, which has a link to the menu:

http://www.myspace.com/thevoodooroomweho

I highly recommend the shrimp pu-pus and the saffron shrimp. Emphasis on SPICY.

PS- I hear MeanGene will be adding to the already very tiki decor.

Don't want to sound ignorant, but who's MeanGene?

As he hails from SD, I trust he will be around TikiOasis. His site:

http://www.fallingcocos.com/

Also, he seems downright friendly & happy to me.

Just checked the place out last night. It's great. Contrary to what someone said earlier, they ARE open Sunday nights (my guess is that the hours may be expanding as they establish themselves).
The decor and drinks are great, but the biggest surprise is the food. The prices are very reasonable (especially considering this is a trendy neighborhood in an expensive city), and the menu is inventive and everything we tried was great. It's more of a bar/restaurant than a standard tiki bar. But that means much more of a cross over crowd than a place like Tiki Ti. And I think that's a good thing. We had the Indian Curry French fries and the Carmelized pineapple with chocolate fondue sauce and both were excellent.
I can't remember the last time I went to a place that served a good tropical drink AND good food. Certainly not Trader Vic's.
The drinks are inventive as well. I tried a Voodoo doll which had some vanilla, pineapple and ginger in it. Ginger is a far underused ingredient in tiki drinks.
I asked what kind of coconut rum they use and the stated vehemently - CRUZAN. Big points in my book. As we all know, Cruzan coconut is miles ahead of the more common Malibu. (not to mention higher in proof!)

As a bonus, the owners were great hosts and I loved the music mix they played.
Combine all that with one of the only places in that area to provide free parking and we've got a winner. And I've got a new frequent hangout.

[i]On 2006-03-27 14:43, JaredB wrote:

I can't remember the last time I went to a place that served a good tropical drink AND good food. Certainly not Trader Vic's.

Even on the off-chance that you hit the lottery and could afford the entree prices at Trader Vics.

JaredB, thanks for the tip on free parking, I had no idea there was free parking. However I love the drinks and the food at Trader Vic's just fine. I probably have tried most of the appetizers at the bar and they are very good.

Went to the VooDoo Room late Saturday night with Jonpaul (Tiki Magazine Photo Editor & TC Lurker Extraordinaire)after the release party at aSTUart Gallery. What a cool place!! Rob and his wife (VooDoo Room owners) are really friendly, fun people. The drinks and food are great! The decor is neo-tiki and still a work in progress. Rob was saying that they're going to be continually adding to it. Do yourself a favor and get over there. Don't let the West Hollywood thing deter you, I thought the people gay and straight were really cool. It will definitely be on my list of places to go when I'm in LA.

Nick

On 2006-04-10 10:40, nicktiki wrote:

Don't let the West Hollywood thing deter you, I thought the people gay and straight were really cool. It will definitely be on my list of places to go when I'm in LA.

Nick

It is not even close to being a gay bar, which is odd (a) because of it's location and (b) because of its incredible decor.

Maybe it needs one of those erect Marquesean style tikis to stir the fires of the natives.

On 2006-04-10 10:40, nicktiki wrote:
Went to the VooDoo Room late Saturday night with Jonpaul (Tiki Rob was saying that they're going to be continually adding to it.

New tiki lights, new tiki mugs and volcano bowls have recently been added.

TikiAl, you need to hurry with the sign.

Also, I understand live fire tiki-torches are in the mix.

I don't know how they got the permit, but apparently it is going to happen.

[ Edited by: christiki295 2006-04-24 18:54 ]

What a nice place this was.Q-tiki and I visited last night. Great service, and great food. Drinks were a little too sweet for me but I enjoyed them just as well. The owner was the nicest guy, he told us that he will be having a special TC night once a week soon. He is going to Tiki Oasis to meet all you guys who are going. And Tiki Magazine is going to have an article on his place in the next issue. The music was just perfect. I hope you check this place out if you can. We will go back again for sure. I think he has an original Witco small tiki statue in the back terrace, check it out, he said he found it in the house he bought in the Hollywood Hills.

Excellent review of the Voodoo Room posted at http://www.westhollywood.com/dining/voodooroom/voodooroom.shtm

How about some pics of your visit? Those of us on the East Coast rely on personal logs of your experiences for our vicarious enjoyment.

WoooHooooo! Wow, what a Tiki-rrific night we had a The VooDoo Room last night. Mucho Mahlo to Aloha Sammy, Rob, & Deena for being such great hosts/hostess and to Franco, the best waiter in town. The VooDoo Room is a place you don't want to miss.
From the Music, to the Food, to the Incredible Drink Menu this place has what every Tiki Bar should have.
Rob is the King of Mixology!! I think Soccer Tiki and I became professional taste testers last night We started the night off with a VooDoo Doll (a vanilla, pineapple, ginger creation), next we had a Blackberry Mojito, and continued tasting drinks that were so tasty I couldn't even describe then to you.
The food they serve is a whole other topic. Everything is served tapas style. Believe me you don't want to miss out on anything on the menu
The restaurant itself is decked out with Bosko Tiki Masks and all kinds of goodies from Oceanic Arts. We have pictures that we will post later. Like I said earlier in this post: The VooDoo Room is a place you don't want to miss. I know Soccer Tiki and I will be there on a regular basis ~ WooHooWahine

MAHALO VOODOO ROOM!!!!!

Adam and I haven't stopped talking about what a fantastic time we had at the VooDoo Room last weekend! We have been telling all our friends, and plan to visit again VERY soon!

Thank you all so much for the warm tiki welcome!

I give this place an A+ for outstanding, enthusiastic owners and staff, refreshing exotic cocktails with a punch, and complex and delicious tapas!

This place MUST be experienced to be appreciated!

Heres a quick recap of our night:

A hot summer night , and naturally we are in search of a refreshing tropical elixir and a cozy outside patio on which to enjoy it. I had heard tell through the TC drums of this new tiki spot the Voodoo Room. The location is GREAT, but I will admit we had our reservations about heading into the heart of boy's town-mostly, would we be welcome? Again, TC talk of a blackberry mojito and the mysterious 'Lava Lamp' drove us on. . .

The place was easy enough to find, a large red building right on the corner of Santa Monica and San Vicente. Parking was a little difficult, so I would suggest carpooling, the more the merrier!
The bar is right at the entrance, small and inviting with thatched roof, good lighting and fish floats, not to mention two outstanding and lively bartenders. Rob and Sammy, you are true mixologists, and I tip my mug to you.

I started out with a Mango Monkey something something-(sorry guys, it was so good I forgot the name) it was OUTSTANDING!!! FRESH mango puree! I had TWO! : ) Adam had the Dirty Rotten Scoundrel, served in a large tribal head tiki mug. We had a great time taking sips and playing 'What the heck is in this?'-It was STRONG, smooth and delicious-I guessed most of the recipe, but the fresh squeezed OJ was a surprise, how often do you find that at a tiki bar people?!

Drinks in hand we were escorted through the restaurant area to the back patio by the lovely Constance. The restaurant area had comfortable seating, and a row of Boskos facing the large window. The back patio was so inviting, with large comfortable leopard print lounging couches, small tables, and a fireplace, all watched over by a giant Moai in the corner. There is also a Witco moonlighting as a plant holder. Sneaky little guy. . .

As luck and chance would have it, Ilene from Tiki Magazine was there interviewing Rob the owner! They very graciously invited us to join them (thank you both) and we spent a fantastic evening tasting the INCREDIBLE food and hearing equally amazing stories from ringmaster, host, and owner extraordinarie, Rob.

The music was PERFECT! A mix of Ultra Lounge and Exotica with a little Moroccan flare thrown in. I thank whoever is responsible for choosing the music, and I really hope they will continue to play this and not succumb to the techno-beat.

I agree with JaredB's comments, especially about the restaurant/bar part. The drinks are spectacular, and the food is given just as much attention, and is just as delicious and innovative. Bite-size Tapas style, perfect for sharing. You HAVE to try the exotic cheese dish, and definitely the ribs. This is a whole new kind of tiki (neo-tiki)-embracing the traditions of the past and incorporating the best of modern cuisine.

We ended the night with a Blackberry mojito (soooo goood!) and another one of those Mango Monkeys. Constance in all her sparkly glory came out to the back patio and we go go'd to some awesome 60's garage on our way out. We finally got a chance to chat with Aloha Sammy outside. He was busy behind the bar all night, for good reason! He is such an amazing host. His enthusiasm for the VooDoo Room, and for the tiki crowd is really exciting.

Let's all support these folks!

See you at the VooDoo Room!

Mahalo!
-Suzy (Atomikitty) and Adam

WOOOHOOOO! Make sure you check out the article about The VooDoo Room in the "NEW" Issue of Tiki Magazine :)

Just spent my birthday evening at the VooDoo Room, and what a blast! I'll have pictures posted when I get back home to Alameda, but for now, suffice to say that Rob, the owner, is a crazy man, but in the best possible way! The boys in West Hollywood were not the only things flaming this evening. A more detailed review and photos to come later after the VooDoo Dolls have worn off.

Can't wait to come back!
JenTiki

Have you read your Summer Issue of Tiki Magazine yet???

Aloha Sammy & Rob (The Master Mixologist in Hollywwod)

Don't forget to bring your favorite Tiki Mug

[ Edited by: WooHooWahine 2006-08-07 16:14 ]

I visited the VooDoo Room twice during the last week. Let me start by saying that I really, really liked the VooDoo Room, the people who work there, the food, the drinks, and the cool vibe, and I would go back there in a second ... but not if I was looking for a great "tiki" experience. Rob and Sammy both described several changes they're planning to make in the future that will make it a little more tiki and make the bar larger and more functional. The changes sound great and I hope they happen soon.

Rob, Deena, Sammy and the servers are all very friendly and accommodating. We felt welcome the moment we walked in the door, both times. Rob even had a VooDoo Doll waiting for me when we walked in for dinner on my birthday.
The rounds of birthday shots continued throughout the evening, concluding with the ones below that we literally had to reach through fire to get to. (More about Rob's pryo tendencies later.) :down:

The drinks were all quite yummy, except for one that I'm pretty sure was called the Dirty Rotten Scoundrel. No one in my party could quite get on board with that one. My absolute favorite was the VooDoo Doll. Vanilla and ginger are two of my favorite ingredients in anything and greatly underutilized in tiki drinks, in my humble opinion. This was a wonderfully complex combination of flavors that made me very happy.

The food was certainly not polynesian by any stretch of the imagination, but it was extremely delicious. Most of it is quite spicy, but the server (a lovely british woman whose name I can't remember for the life of me) warned us about that and said if we were handling the bread okay, then we'd have no problem with the food. The bread indeed had some serious kick to it, but we all loved it. The only food item we had issue with was the Curry French Fries. The flavor was fine, but the texture seemed wrong. The outside was light and crispy, a good start, but the inside was almost powdery. They may need to consider changing the kind of potatoes they use for them. The Chinese 5 Spice Baby Back Ribs, Tandoori Beef, and Chicken Korma Curry were all worth ordering again and again. I was also very pleased with the Carmelized Plantain with Hazelnut Ice Cream and Chocolate Sauce (complete with birthday candle in the ice cream). My mother is Panamanian, so plantain has been a frequent part of my diet since childhood and this was one of the best preparations I've ever tasted.

The clientele was fairly well mixed for a WeHo venue, and pretty cool and laid back for the most part. My only problem with the crowd was having to wait for the only ladies' room, only to see two men coming out of it together while the men's room stood empty ... and they didn't even flush! :o Eeewww. The only benefit to waiting for the ladies' room was the shot that some guy at the bar bought for me while I waited.

The decor is more hip lounge than tiki. There are some decidedly tiki elements, but they seem rather disconnected with the rest of the room. The bar is currently very small, but it is the tikiest part of the place with thatch and lots of tiki mugs behind the bar, but the rough, white, cement bartop and the modern sofas kinda killed it for me.

One critical part of the decor took quite a beating while we were there. There is a Witco barstool on the patio being used as a plant stand.
Before :down:

During the evening, Rob, the owner, was running around with bottle of Cruzan 151 and a lighter, lighting just about everything on fire. He decided it would be really cool to light the eyes on the Witco.
During :down:

The poor Witco got a little more scorched than I think Rob was planning.
After :down:

There are also two very large tikis at the entrance, a moai with the red topknot on the patio, and some Boskos on the wall in the dining room. I didn't look very closely at the entrance tikis, but I don't think they were made of wood since they're pretty much identical and would've required very thick logs, also there seems to be some chipping of the paint at the bottom of one of them in a picture I took.

The other critical missing tiki element was wardrobe. The only person I encountered on either visit with any sort of tiki wear was Rob. Sammy and the servers were all in black, some leather, some spandex, but most definitely not tiki.

The music was one of the more appropriate elements. It consisted of lounge and exotica played at a very comfortable volume that could be clearly heard, but didn't require us to raise our voices to have a conversation. At least that was what I remember from our time on the patio. The stereo at the bar had crashed on Thursday and was still non-functional on Saturday, so they were working from a boom box in the bar area. I wasn't really paying attention to the music while I was in the bar, so I don't remember what specifically was playing.

Overall, as I said at the beginning, I really like the VooDoo Room and will go again the next time I'm in LA for a great dinner and cocktails. But if I'm looking for a tiki experience, I'll look elsewhere, at least until they make some of the changes they're talking about. I guess I've been spoiled by FI.

Many mahalos to Rob, Deena, Sammy and our lovely server for a couple of fantastic visits!

lighting a Witco on fire.....Very Tiki!!!!

Cool joint...

Chris... your looking more and more like Gene Simmons.

Hey, just came back from the Voodoo Room and gotta say it's one of my new favorite places. The look is cool with a Moai on the outdoor patio and the bosko art on the walls and the food is Kick-ass as well. Bob and our waiter, El Volcanico" made us feel very welcome. I've gotten to hate the trip over the hill into Hollywood, but this is well worth it. GO!

[ Edited by: spy-tiki 2006-09-16 22:31 ]

Uh what happened to the Voodoo Room?
I went there for the 1st time this past Sat. at 7 pm and it was locked up
tighter than a drum. No tiki or moais anywhere, out front or on the patio.

I heard they were always busy, what gives?

Jeff(bigtikidude)