Smuggler's Cove, San Francisco, CA (bar)

Name: Smuggler's Cove
Type: Nautical Rum Bar
Street:650 Gough Street
City:San Francisco
State:CA
Zip: 94102
country:USA
Phone:(415) 869-1900
Status: Operational!

Description:
Smuggler's Cove is the ultimate destination to experience the entire world of rum. From classic Caribbean drinks to the legendary exotic cocktails of famous tiki bars, Smuggler's Cove showcases the past, present, and future of a remarkable spirit. Smuggler's Cove offers an unparalleled selection of rare and premium rums to enjoy on their own or in carefully crafted cocktails. Smuggler's Cove features an incredible interior full of vintage nautical decor and relics from some of San Francisco's most famous historic watering holes.
Smuggler's Cove Website

[ Edited by: Unga Bunga 2009-12-08 12:26 ]

I know people were asking about nearby hotel recommendations. It turns out a hotel TofuJoe & I really like alot is closer to it than we had thought (less than a mile, or about a $5 cab ride).

It's the Hotel Whitcomb http://www.hotelwhitcomb.com/ and we really like its historic qualities. At ~$89/night, it's a good deal.

Looks like the website is up.

http://smugglerscovesf.com/trapdoor/

Here's some recent online press. Congrats Martiki!

http://dinersjournal.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/12/04/a-new-tropical-paradise/

http://www.nbcbayarea.com/around-town/food-drink/Martin_Cate_Unveils_Smuggler_s_Cove_in_All_Its_Tiki_Glory_BAY-78541117.html

http://7x7.com/blogs/buzzed/rum-ancient-mariner-smugglers-cove-worthy-hype

http://www.sfbg.com/blogs/pixel_vision/2009/12/appetite_smugglers_cove_shangh.html

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/blogs/wine/detail?&entry_id=52920

Anybody have a photo of the exterior of this new destination?

It's everything that Martin's [and Notch's] fans expected, and maybe more. Decor is totally coolaceous, waterfall is a neat touch, and I love all the homage to tiki past. Only had time to try a few drinks Sat, but the Euridyce is an excellent sipping rum, the Mai Tai is distinctive and original [but more "classic" or traditional than my favorite Island Mai Tai from FI], and the heavily spiced Smuggler's Rum Barrel is my favorite so far.

Does anyone else feel like SC makes ya' feel like you're inside a sunken ship? (am I stating the obvious) or was it the peyote? All these descriptions but nobody has mentioned that. The waterfall evokes a leak in the ship. Anyone else get that vibe?

Now I recall the large rocks jutting thru the hull too so I know I'm correct about the concept. I'm not crazy afterall.

Who needs peyote when you have Smuggler's Cove.

[ Edited by: Jungle Trader 2010-02-03 19:39 ]

Wow...with that description Vic...I am going to have to set up a road trip pretty soon...it sounds fun...or is that your peyote howling.

Next time 1961surf/Bill comes up to NorCal, we are going to make it there. Hurry up Bill....the ship is sinking. :)

Tikiyaki Orchestra visits the Cove !

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tXRGTv-L780

Awesome !

I finally made it to Smuggler's Cove. Had a fun talk with Martin.

I had three drinks. A Mai Tai, the Smuggler's Rum Barrel and an El Presidente.

The El Presidente was excellent. The best I've had.

The Mai Tai was fabulous. Apparently they make their own sugar concoction for it and other custom made ingredients too.

The bad news for me was the Smuggler's Rum Barrel. Way overspiced. All I could taste was allspice. The other wonderful ingredients were completely masked by the overwhelming allspice.

I like the mug though. :)

I accused Martin of being addicted to allspice and cinnamon. He responded, "Yes I am, but I think that those are good things to be addicted to." :)

I'll return to try other drinks of course.

The Associated Press (AP) carried this story today. That means Martin's smiling face is on most major media in the US. Congrats Martin!

Rum Revival Sparks New Interest in Old Spirit

[ Edited by: thejab 2010-02-17 18:12 ]

And lookey what we have here, as one of the pics for the article:

Congrats Martin, and congrats Lake Surfer!

I met up with Vantiki and his wife last week at the Cove-it was my 1st time there and we got there pretty much right when it opened.

I had 3 drinks...including my standby the zombie and that had to be hands down the best zombie I have ever had. seriously. The menu is extensive and just when you make up your mind you spot some other concoction that has you drooling...then another...and another...making up our minds took at least 15 minutes.
I did try 2 Cove drinks that were fantastic but I am a zombie addict and no matter where I go I will always order one. The Cove's drinks were above par and that zombie was epic. EPIC i tell ya!

I spent the entire time downstairs and met up with some other folks that are regulars at Forbidden Island before Vantiki and Mrs. Vantiki arrived. I think the decor from the second story up is fantastic. Although I never got the "getaway" feeling I get every time I visit Forbidden Island it had a great mix of tiki/floats/lighting/water feature that went along with what you would expect from the place just by its name.

I was not as impressed with the downstairs.

We were curious as to why the staircase was metal. We were hoping for wood. I can understand that metal is a heck of a lot easier to clean and maintain but wood would of been perfection.

A few things such as seating were big issues for us that night. The bench seats are too high and too straight up and not condusive to turning sideways to talk to the person next to you. I wish the booth backs were lower or sloped so you could rest your arm along the back or that they even had some arm rests so that you could get comfortable. We did like that you could sit around the pool over in the corner and although the room was somewhat crowded it didnt feel like you were squashed in at all.

It would of been nice if the "rhum" boxes that were serving as mini tables were not as low to the ground or so small. All of us thought that barrels or even taller boxes would make more sense and prove to be more functional. As it was the boxes were knocking into our knee caps and kept being pushed back and forth to make room in order to pull our chairs closer to the bench seats so we could all hear what each other were saying.

The lighting that goes along each side is really too bright if you sit back against the bench. Maybe gels could be placed over every other bulb to give more ambiance and be less harsh on the eyeballs when you lean back. Darkish room then bright white light...it was a little too bright sitting back even when you werent directly under the bulb.

Music--there were people that you could tell had also never been to the Cove that were openly making comments about the music. I have no idea what the heck was playing but whatever it was it didnt fit. I wasn't expecting "Yo ho ho and a bottle of rum" but the bagpipe/drumming was completely out of place and everyone was finding it distracting--not just the folks on our side of the room.

Misc-Swizzles--we did have a moment where Vantiki (you know who lives in Hawaii) wanted to take back a few swizzles with him as souvenirs. When I went up to the bar and asked the bartender if I could take some of these he said "Um only 2". This completely threw me esp since I did more than I do at most tiki bars and asked.Kind of petty but also pretty lame. Swizzles are like advertising and as many of you something I enjoy collecting. I ended up giving my drink swizzle and the 2 I was rationed to Vantiki to take with him since you know he lives in Hawaii and I figured I will pick some up next time I stop in. Shame though since at the time I was going to buy 2 rum barrel mugs but after that swizzle rationing I changed my mind. shrug

All in all I give the drinks a 9.5 out of 10 (10 to be awarded later after I work through at least 1/2 the menu), decor from the mid level up an 8.5 (the bathroom threw off my grade because it reminded me of being in an office bathroom)and the downstairs decor a 6.

So for what its worth that is my honest review. Maybe not the same as many on here but I thought I would share our opinions as a patron and supporter of all tiki related things in the Bay Area. Do I think the Cove is worth a stopover for a cocktail or two if you find yourself in SF--you bet. Maybe next time I will hang out on a different level :wink:

I love it.
The drinks are the best anywhere and I love the atmosphere.
Upstairs is the place to be for this crew although all of it is very spectacular.

It's like going back to the Foggy Grotto except with a larger area and more decor.

I can't wait to go back.
But I have to.

Oh yeah, I already wrote the Smuggler's Cove song. I'll post a mp3 of it in a few weeks when I learn it all the way through without the thoughtful pauses.

Had a work assignment in San Francisco and made my first visit to Smuggler's Cove. Amazing place and even better cocktails. My Tiki-timing was perfect, as they had the new Crazy Al mugs for sale.

Presented by the gracious bartender

And enjoyed by me!

I also got one of the barrel mugs in the new glaze.

It was great to see Tiki Kate's Cannibals displayed on the main wall. The Tiki Bob mug was chained up it its perch as someone walked off with the last version.

A big thanks to Super Eight for giving me the locals tour of the bar and the drink menu.

DC

It was great to run into you Dusty! I'm so glad your first trip to the Cove was a great one. It was my pleasure to talk a little tiki with you. Now you have to make it up here for the South Bay Home Crawl next year.

...and all that in a matching shirt! :)

Sven,

That's to funny, exactly what the bartender said as he handed me the drink!

DC

If anyone is going to Smuggler's Cove and would be willing to pickup one of the Crazy Al Sunken Tiki mugs for me I would be very grateful. (I just don't see that I am going to be able to go there any time soon.)

Mahalo!

WooHoooo! SoccerTiki and I just returned from our Maiden Voyage to Smuggler's Cove and I have to say The Cove left me Speechless :)

Not a heck of a lot of photos of this place. I Airbnb'd around the corner from Smuggler's Cove last week and took a few picks. The Boskos look great framing the old paper!

I just received my copy of the SMUGGLER'S COVE book. While I haven't spent much time with it, I couldn't help but be completely smitten by the mug on the front cover! I also see the same mug featured prominently in this thread's photos. As much as I would adore a visit to Smuggler's Cove in person, living on the east coast, a trip out west isn't financially feasible at the moment. I would still like to buy one of the awesome mugs, though. Is there any way I can do that online? My growing mug collection and I thank you, fellow TCers!

Smuggler's Cove does not sell their mugs online and they don't ship them. If you're in an area where they're doing a book signing, you might be able to pick up the limited edition brown version made especially for the book tour. Otherwise, watch eBay... they come up there regularly.

On 2016-07-19 14:45, JenTiki wrote:
Smuggler's Cove does not sell their mugs online and they don't ship them. If you're in an area where they're doing a book signing, you might be able to pick up the limited edition brown version made especially for the book tour. Otherwise, watch eBay... they come up there regularly.

Thanks for the heads up!

On 2016-07-21 12:17, DejaVoodoo wrote:

On 2016-07-19 14:45, JenTiki wrote:
Smuggler's Cove does not sell their mugs online and they don't ship them. If you're in an area where they're doing a book signing, you might be able to pick up the limited edition brown version made especially for the book tour. Otherwise, watch eBay... they come up there regularly.

Thanks for the heads up!

You could also try the mug exchange thread to see if anyone in the area will pick one up for you and mail it. I actually attempted that for this very mug a while back but my wife ended up sending a friend of ours from the Bay area to the bar to get one and surprised me with it for my birthday.

Happy camper:

Here's the thread:
http://www.tikicentral.com/viewtopic.php?topic=46028&forum=5

It's such a great mug. Good luck!

On 2016-07-18 12:33, DejaVoodoo wrote:
I just received my copy of the SMUGGLER'S COVE book. While I haven't spent much time with it, I couldn't help but be completely smitten by the mug on the front cover! I also see the same mug featured prominently in this thread's photos. As much as I would adore a visit to Smuggler's Cove in person, living on the east coast, a trip out west isn't financially feasible at the moment. I would still like to buy one of the awesome mugs, though. Is there any way I can do that online? My growing mug collection and I thank you, fellow TCers!

I might be able to help if they aren't doing the book tour near you where you can get the book edition...are you local to any mugs you would want to trade for a smugglers cove?

On 2016-07-18 12:33, DejaVoodoo wrote:
I just received my copy of the SMUGGLER'S COVE book. While I haven't spent much time with it, I couldn't help but be completely smitten by the mug on the front cover! I also see the same mug featured prominently in this thread's photos. As much as I would adore a visit to Smuggler's Cove in person, living on the east coast, a trip out west isn't financially feasible at the moment. I would still like to buy one of the awesome mugs, though. Is there any way I can do that online? My growing mug collection and I thank you, fellow TCers!

I might be able to help if they aren't doing the book tour near you where you can get the book edition...are you local to any mugs you would want to trade for a smugglers cove?

On 2016-07-21 16:45, TongaT wrote:

On 2016-07-18 12:33, DejaVoodoo wrote:
I just received my copy of the SMUGGLER'S COVE book. While I haven't spent much time with it, I couldn't help but be completely smitten by the mug on the front cover! I also see the same mug featured prominently in this thread's photos. As much as I would adore a visit to Smuggler's Cove in person, living on the east coast, a trip out west isn't financially feasible at the moment. I would still like to buy one of the awesome mugs, though. Is there any way I can do that online? My growing mug collection and I thank you, fellow TCers!

I might be able to help if they aren't doing the book tour near you where you can get the book edition...are you local to any mugs you would want to trade for a smugglers cove?

That is a very generous offer! Thank you, TongaT. Sadly, I don't believe I'm local to any tiki temples. I even missed the book tour stop in NJ a month or two ago. Since I'm also just getting into collectors' tiki mugs, I only have a few generic Tiki Farm items in my possession.

I did search eBay for the Smuggler's Cove mug, as others have recommended, but the only listing there would have set me back well over $100. That's a but rich for my blood.

Does anyone know how much the actual mug costs when you buy it in person at Smuggler's Cove? Knowing the retail price might actually help me figure out if any listings on eBay are fair or not. Though, some might say that a $100 dollar tiki mug IS a fair price - a bargain even - compared to the cost of airfare and a hotel to actually visit Smuggler's Cove. LOL!

On 2016-07-22 12:16, DejaVoodoo wrote:

I did search eBay for the Smuggler's Cove mug, as others have recommended, but the only listing there would have set me back well over $100. That's a but rich for my blood.

Does anyone know how much the actual mug costs when you buy it in person at Smuggler's Cove? Knowing the retail price might actually help me figure out if any listings on eBay are fair or not. Though, some might say that a $100 dollar tiki mug IS a fair price - a bargain even - compared to the cost of airfare and a hotel to actually visit Smuggler's Cove. LOL!

The one that is currently on eBay is the limited edition one that was created for the book tour, so it IS more expensive than the open edition one that is on the cover of the book. I believe it's $40 when you buy it at a book signing event. I don't recall exactly how much the open edition is when you buy it at the bar, but there've been several on eBay for an average price of $61.86. http://www.ooga-mooga.com/cgi-bin/my/mug.cgi?mode=view&mug_id=5659&ind_mug_id=58276

On Saturday night, Smuggler's Cove was named "Best American Cocktail Bar" at the Spirited Awards at Tales of the Cocktail. This was the second year Smuggler's Cove was in the final four nominees in this category. The winners are chosen by a panel of over 100 industry experts, so it is a panel of peers showing respect for what the nominees and winners have done.

I was watching the live feed of the award ceremony and was thrilled to see my favorite bar win. Martin and Rebecca took the stage in aloha wear (of course) and Martin gave a moving speech thanking every member of the Smuggler's Cove team (past and present) by name, his mentors, guests, his rum club, and of course his lovely wife, Rebecca.

Congratulations, Smuggler's Cove! A well-deserved honor! I fully expect to see the book in next year's nominees for "Best New Cocktail & Bartending Book."

https://talesofthecocktail.com/news/tales-cocktail-announces-spirited-awards-winners

That's great news, Jen. Congrats to Martin, Rebecca, and the Smuggler's Cove team!

I still wanna get one of those Ku mugs in the not-too-distant future.

Just saw this recent segment from CBS Sunday Morning about vintage spirits, where Smuggler's Cove is "featured" for about 10 seconds around the 1:30 mark:

https://youtu.be/JmSZWmLQsrE