Purple Orchid, El Segundo, CA (bar)

Looking forward to the Purple Orchid visit!

Dave and Rebecca Owners of the Purple Orchid are the Best.

They have recnetly added alot of Music almost every Sat night.
plus they are open to having alot of Tiki, surf and rockabilly music,
which is really what I wanna see if I go out for music.

this past Wed. Surf band Outterwave was supposed to play the begginign of the weekly Wed nigth summer shows at the Baja Cantina in Marina Del Rey.
but it got canceled at the last minute, becauseof health Dept, safety reasons,
The Guitar player called Dave and told him the Situation.
Dave was actually planning on going to the baja Cantina show as it was some mutual friends B-days.
anyways Dave said yeah bring the band on over and the fans too.

anybody and everybody should pay a visit to the Purple Orchid in El Segundo.

Jeff(bigtikidude)

My friends and I enjoyed the Purple Orchid last night and the drinks were very good! "Curious George" is one of their originals (a banana-coconut-rum drink) and quite tasty. We also got a couple of their signature mugs :P The mai tai was too strong for my taste, so we kept reordering the Chief Lapu-Lapu and Blue Hawaii. I'll be back.

I've only been to the Orchid once, some months back, on a cold and rainy night. And my impressions at that time were mixed in that: I LOVED the decor throughout (NO complaints there), BUT the clientele that night was WAY more biker than tiki. (No fault of the bar, of course -- the owners and staff can't help who chooses to wander in.) And the one drink I had -- the signature Purple Orchid -- tasted way too strongly of honey for my liking. So my experience was not optimum. However, reading all the comments posted here, I understand that I was probably there on an off night -- and, considering the cold & rainy weather, what else should I have expected? SO my plan is to reserve any final judgment and go back there another time or two and try more of the drinks, such as the Funky Monkey and/or Curious George, and maybe even a Volcano Bowl if I go with someone I'm able to share it with! And I'll vary the nights I go, as well, since crowds can change dramatically depending on what's up with the live entertainment, etc. Also, I hope very much to meet Dave and Rebecca as everyone clearly loves those guys! And more power TO 'em, I say! L.A. can't have enough good Tiki Bars as far as I'M concerned!

[ Edited by: KreepyTiki 2007-09-17 23:25 ]

[ Edited by: KreepyTiki 2007-09-17 23:26 ]

Well, a couple weeks ago I DID get back to the Orchid and had a WAAAAYYY better experience than before. First of all, I got to meet Dave, who was behind the bar that night and made me a wonderful (AND complimentary -- thanks, Dave!) Funky Monkey which was delicious and justly popular! And, what can I say? I had a great time, Dave was a blast to talk with, and I'll definitely be goin' back for more. The only odd thing was that the lighting was a lot brighter than I remembered it the last time, and Tiki bars & dim lighting just go together, don't they? (But maybe that was 'cause they were getting close to closing time.) Anyway, I'm very pleased to NOW be able say that The Purple Orchid is Koolamundo!

......Went in & played pool w/my daughter,on one of the cool PURPLE! pool table's. The drinks we had were excellent! Got to meet Dave. Very nice guy. Slid him one of the Agents oF VooDoo, CDs. Hope he digs it. I would love to have the Agents play there.
In any case, way cool place!!!................Remy

The wife and I are there most every friday night getting the drink-on before dinner. Good drinks and good folks. Dave and Rebecca are super nice and really care about the place. A side note, go to main street and check out some of the local eateries, there is good food to be found.

[ Edited by: atomic49er 2009-01-13 23:48 ]

Hey! The Why's are rockin!

SYLTB ! Support Your Local Tiki Bar!

Not knowing the neighborhood, and looking for a place to eat near Purple Orchid recently, we stumbled across Burgers Etc. just a few blocks away. Despite low expectations, I was surprised by just how fresh, tasty and well-prepared our food was. Parking is challenging because the tiny parking lot is on a substantial slope, so street parking is a better bet. They also have a drive through. The cuisine can mostly be described as diner food.

Burgers Etc.
130 Main St
El Segundo, CA 90245
(310) 322-2025

Any locals have suggestions?

• SV

Havana Sandwich Co. On main street walking distance from THE PURPLE ORCHID. http://www.havanasandwich.com

I did some of the decor YEARS ago.

Inky and I had a surprise visit to the Purple Orchid and were glad to see both rebecca and dave working. Dave mad us two drinks- a ginger something and a something ginger. I don't recall the names. The were tqsting a since we had be doing enought drinkin during dinner at the Alpine Village inn, we used these drink as the perfect nightcap! The on Sunday, we hung out with Dave and Rebecca at the Swiss day fair in Swisspark. Dave, I hope you won the big fish and the jar of honey!

zazz!

Inky and I had a surprise visit to the Purple Orchid and were glad to see both rebecca and dave working. Dave mad us two drinks- a ginger something and a something ginger. I don't recall the names. The were tqsting a since we had be doing enought drinkin during dinner at the Alpine Village inn, we used these drink as the perfect nightcap! The on Sunday, we hung out with Dave and Rebecca at the Swiss day fair in Swisspark. Dave, I hope you won the big fish and the jar of honey!

zazz!

My wife and I were visiting a relative in Hermosa Beach Saturday night, and we three decided to try to find the Purple Orchid. Pretty easy, it's the only place in El Segundo open past 9 p.m., and on a Saturday night!

The place was packed, but we found a small table up against the wall while a great three man band called The Ghosts of Searchlight set up in a corner near the flat screen TV. Any band that starts off a set with "Having an Average Weekend" by Shadowy Men from a Shadowy Planet, also known as the Kids in the Hall theme song, is okay by me! Good mix of non-vocal surf rock/post rock music, great tight lead and bass and drums. We hope to see them somewhere else again soon.

Decor: Wonderful, beyond our expectations! Thatched walls and decor, blowfish and tiki like lamps hanging from the ceiling, nice long wooden bar. The place just felt like "home".

Drink report: My wife got a nice tall Mai Tai for only $8, I had a taste and it was nice and strong, no stinginess on the rum there, but not overpoweringly so. It was a good drink, too bad I was the designated driver!

Crowd: A good mix of young and older there, even a guy at the bar reading a book while the band played on, and pool players in back. Noisy, crowded, but friendly people ... all the elements of a great neighborhood bar.

We really like this place. We'll be back any time we're in the neighborhood, and wish we either lived closer or it was closer to home.

You know, I think if you really want to feel the vibe of what a typical Tiki bar was like in the 1960's come to this place. Believe me, Purple Orchid is filled with Tiki goodness but unlike some of the other destination Tiki joints in So CA , it doesn't feel the need to wear TIKI on its shirt sleeve. This is a comfortable neighborhood bar that just happens to be Tiki.

Also the Tropicals might not be by-the-book Grog Log recipes but man that Scorpion was STIFF !! This is also a good Tiki bar to enjoy a cold beer without feeling self-conscious that you're not having a Tropical cocktail.

Purple Orchid can be easy to overlook on your So CA Tiki Road trip but it's definitely representative of the Tiki diversity that we enjoy in Los Angeles.

[ Edited by: JOHN-O 2010-03-02 20:51 ]

I've spent many a great Sat. nights in the last 5 years or so,
watching bands.
Too Bad you missed all those John, where were you?

But sadly Dave has really scaled back the live entertainment there.

Jeff(btd)

Purple orchid mug