Tiki Iniki, Kauai, HI (bar) (now open)

On 2014-01-07 19:57, bamalamalu wrote:

I have been paid in full now.
I have no idea how I missed seeing this before (especially since I was clearly in this thread!)
But I'm am really excited to have this confirmed.

One month til we get to see it!

Have fun over there Bama!!! Tell them I said Hi and No Hard Feelings. Seeing pics it looks like they are having fun! Aloha!! BB

So, after a year and half of anticipation, we finally got to make our visit to Tiki Iniki last week.

First things first: it's is indeed another fine display of artistry by Bamboo Ben! The place looks great - every surface covered with something cool. We were there in the afternoon and it was a little unusual having so much daylight coming in from all the windows, but I'm guessing that's what they wanted. At any rate, it looks great.

As for the drinks... Sorry to say were were disappointed. Even though our friends had told us their Mai Tais weren't great on their visit, I figured it was the thing to try. Wish I'd gone for the Zombie instead. The Mai Tai recipe on the menu looks right, but the drink itself tasted like Sprite. I'm not sure what they did wrong, but it was a big let down. The other drink we tried, The Iniki, had more flavors but also wasn't super impressive (I'm not a champagne fan at all, which may unfairly bias my opinion on that one.)

We saw two bartenders while we were there and believe both were pretty new employees - both were clearly reading recipes. At one point someone at the bar ordered a Lemon Drop, and the bartender pulled out his phone to look up the recipe. So, a little less expertise than we were hoping for. I think the right idea is there in the recipes, but unfortunately the execution was lacking.

We planned to stay for a second drink, but we'd arrived a few minutes after 'lunch' ended so weren't allowed to order of the lunch menu. It was almost 2 hours until the dinner menu would be available, and the only thing offered at that time was a really skimpy Happy Hour menu. Having just come from Tahiti Nui, we needed real food and couldn't get it. We ended up bailing out and heading back to the Feral Pig in Lihue for food and a better Mai Tai. We fully intended to make another stop at Tiki Iniki later in the trip, but the next time we were up there they weren't open yet and the day was a complete wash-out with heavy rain, so we ended up heading back East/South again.

We'll give them another shot next time we're on Kauai, whenever that may be. But based on our brief visit, we'd have to say that at this point, it seems to be pretty much all style (great decor) and no substance (duds for drinks.)

Agh - my camera's acting up, but I'll post a few pictures in the next couple days.

On 2014-02-18 21:02, bamalamalu wrote:
So, after a year and half of anticipation, we finally got to make our visit to Tiki Iniki last week.

First things first: it's is indeed another fine display of artistry by Bamboo Ben! The place looks great - every surface covered with something cool. We were there in the afternoon and it was a little unusual having so much daylight coming in from all the windows, but I'm guessing that's what they wanted. At any rate, it looks great.

As for the drinks... Sorry to say were were disappointed. Even though our friends had told us their Mai Tais weren't great on their visit, I figured it was the thing to try. Wish I'd gone for the Zombie instead. The Mai Tai recipe on the menu looks right, but the drink itself tasted like Sprite. I'm not sure what they did wrong, but it was a big let down. The other drink we tried, The Iniki, had more flavors but also wasn't super impressive (I'm not a champagne fan at all, which may unfairly bias my opinion on that one.)

We saw two bartenders while we were there and believe both were pretty new employees - both were clearly reading recipes. At one point someone at the bar ordered a Lemon Drop, and the bartender pulled out his phone to look up the recipe. So, a little less expertise than we were hoping for. I think the right idea is there in the recipes, but unfortunately the execution was lacking.

We planned to stay for a second drink, but we'd arrived a few minutes after 'lunch' ended so weren't allowed to order of the lunch menu. It was almost 2 hours until the dinner menu would be available, and the only thing offered at that time was a really skimpy Happy Hour menu. Having just come from Tahiti Nui, we needed real food and couldn't get it. We ended up bailing out and heading back to the Feral Pig in Lihue for food and a better Mai Tai. We fully intended to make another stop at Tiki Iniki later in the trip, but the next time we were up there they weren't open yet and the day was a complete wash-out with heavy rain, so we ended up heading back East/South again.

We'll give them another shot next time we're on Kauai, whenever that may be. But based on our brief visit, we'd have to say that at this point, it seems to be pretty much all style (great decor) and no substance (duds for drinks.)

Agh - my camera's acting up, but I'll post a few pictures in the next couple days.

MAhalos for the compliments on the decor Bama!

Unfortunately I only build them and don't run them :wink:

It's a great room to be in; hopefully they'll get the hang of making the drinks!

Here are some daytime shots of Ben's handiwork:

Bar area as seen from the booth

Back Bar

No white ceilings!

Booth

Bar area from above

Upstairs area (for some reason it was cluttered with supplies that day)

Outdoor area

Wish were there now to give them another try!

On 2014-02-22 18:01, bamalamalu wrote:
Bar area as seen from the booth

Ah, you were in the Coco Palms booth! (Note the tribute arches)

A-ha!! I knew that looked familiar (Doy!)
I'll be posting my Coco Palms photos soon!

Nice pics Bama!

One thing that drives me crazy is I built the back bar shelves to have risers but it looks like they never used them. Oh well. You win some and lose some. ( everything in tiki needs layers and details!!!)

p.s. And the open kitchen was not my idea. No white or bright in tiki!!!

Tiki Iniki has a listing on Critiki now. Check it out!

It could sure use some photos though -- those of you who have been (hint hint).

[ Edited by: kenbo-jitsu 2014-05-24 08:06 ]

Thanks! I submitted some of my pictures, hopefully a few will be accepted.

Mahalo kenbo-jitsu & bamalamalu, Critiki now has pictures for Tiki Iniki! And great work as always, Ben! I'm so sorry you had to go through that rigamarole with getting paid, that sucked. I'm glad you're able to feel better about it now.

I heard a few of you TC'ers have been there lately. How was it? They still don't talk to me after the payment debacle. Oh well. Hope they're doing good.

Tiki Iniki was cool. Found it on my first day by complete accident...lol. Went back a day later and had lunch. Food was really good. Can't comment on the drinks, because I don't drink. Picked up a t-shirt and 3 mugs (which amazingly made it home safely despite TSA being pricks).

Michelle was super nice. Spent some time with her talking Tiki. It was also great to see some of the coco palms artifacts spread throughout the bar.

Good times...

Off chance, but...anyone been here recently? We just booked a last-minute trip for next month (Huzzah!!) We're hoping the drinks have improved and are willing to give them another chance, but are wondering if any particular drink is a safer choice than the others.

Rum and coke :wink:

:lol: I have a feeling that's going to be it, Ben!

Last year when I went to Tiki iniki they had these "men" and "women" paper signs in plastic on the front of the bathroom doors. It just didn't look right. So I carved some signs and sent them to michele.
My mom and sister are over there currently and sent me some pics.

Nice move, Erich!

I think I must have just posted updates from previous years in the general Kauai travel thread. But, just back from another visit, so will add a few updated pictures of Tiki Iniki here.

Made one visit this trip...as with previous years, drinks can be questionable. Typically, there seems to be a fair amount of turnover here, but luckily, we had the same bartender this time as last year, and she's pretty good. The trick is - politely ask them NOT to add soda water to your drink when ordering. Apparently so many people complain about the drinks being "too strong," that they automatically dumb them down this way. Navy Grog without the added seltzer is pretty good. Mai Tai was still too sweet for me (but at least it wasn't carbonated, as they've been in the past.) I will say, service & drink quality were vastly improved from years past, where we only dared to order rum, neat. Wish they were at the level they should be, but... Food is OK but expensive, even for Kauai.

Happened to be the first customers when they opened, so grabbed a couple new pictures. Posting for posterity, though they're not great due to glare.

Michele Rundgren is selling Tiki ‘Iniki

https://kauainownews.com/2024/03/20/rock-musics-michele-rundgren-is-selling-tiki-iniki-the-only-tiki-bar-on-kauai/?fbclid=IwAR2tkXVGDAADSBK53VoGsb1fhOG5bP5tbH4l6AvuIN39arXjb7bPrULV8DY