Tonga Room SF (Not) to be demolished?

Here's the link to the petition, again:

http://www.thepetitionsite.com/1/save-the-tonga-room---san-francisco

On 2009-03-05 16:49, icebaer69 wrote:

"Now it is time to let go of the Tonga Room."
"It is amazing something that kitschy has held up that long."

dumb - dumber - even more dumb - c.w. nevius

how retarded is this douchebag ?
nobody of sound mind could write such a bullshit !
who paid him for this nonsense ??

I am going to laugh when the Chronicle goes through it's next set of layoffs and overpaid, kicked off the sportspage pieces of crap like Nevius get canned.

Hey Chuck we can't save everything. I hope they are not saving your job or you paper pizza face.

I just saw in The Tonga's Yelp Page that:

Calling all Yelpers! Now until 4/30

Sundays, Wednesdays & Thursdays, mention you are a Yelper and receive complimentary cover charge and 10% off the food portion of your bill.

Aloha all,
I'm probably going to get some heat over this but...I agree somewhat with Nevius in part. Perhaps it is time for the Tonga Room to go. I've had many a good time there over the years...I had my 21st birthday there...had the whole right side of the place for the shindig. The last time I was there was in January for a friend's after birthday celebration. Now the Tonga Room I remember had impeccable service, very good food and great drinks...the Tonga Room now is but a parody of it's former self, but then again, so is the Fairmont as a whole. Spotty service, mediocre music, overpriced weak drinks and food I wouldn't bother with. Granted, I've never paid a cover charge, always had preferential seating and never had to wait more than five minutes for a drink but most aren't so fortunate. It's sad to see it go but it's time to put it out of it's misery unless they can revitalize it...but I just don't see it happening...not with the current management. This is just my humble opinion and perhaps I just don't get it but I grew up in the industry and I've literally seen it all.

Mahalo,
Kal

None of those are any reason for a Tiki Mecca to be destroyed. The Fairmont is one of the most ritzy hotel chains, so of course drinks are going to be expensive. Not getting seated fast enough; poor waitservice? That is silly.

Have you been to the St. Francis Hotel? Have you noticed that the esteemed Compass room is now replaced by a sleek restaurant? San Francisco is not LA, where anything can be torn down for the latest. A classic does not become dated with the passage of time.

On 2009-03-08 19:16, SuperEight wrote:

On 2009-03-05 16:49, icebaer69 wrote:

"Now it is time to let go of the Tonga Room."
"It is amazing something that kitschy has held up that long."

Yes, Mr. Nevius, I think it's time for the San Francisco Chronicle to go. It's been around so long. And who even reads it anymore? The very IDEA of news being distributed on printed paper is so KITSCHY and old fashioned! So what if you lose your job! What does that even matter? You're working somewhere that has outlived its usefulness! Newspapers are so 19th century! I mean, they were good in their own day, but I feel that IT IS TIME TO LET GO OF THE SAN FRANCISCO CHRONICLE.

Do you agree?

Here is an idea that may help.... tip well.

Happy service staff make better drinks, provide better service, and will make the place 'better.'

Spend a few minutes talking to your server, your barman, doorman, whomever, and let them know you appreciate the place and you appreciate what they are doing for the place. Try and get them to see the place as you see it.

I can tell you from personal experience that this takes time, but the results are amazing. After many years of visiting the Mai-Kai, most of the wait staff say Hi, all of the servers recognize us, even some of the kitchen staff say Hi when we see them. There is absolutely no reason you can't say the same about your experiences at the Tonga Room.

Please -- somebody go to this link:

http://sanfrancisco.menupages.com/restaurantdetails?restaurantid=10104

and write a review of the Tonga Room and rate it. I'd do it myself, but I haven't yet had the pleasure of going there, so it would be disingenuous of me to review a place I've never set foot in, much as I may love it from afar based on the many pics I've seen over the years.

Anyway, it doesn't look good for the Tonga page on this restaurant-review site to have NO reviews at ALL and, hence, a zero rating!

And, yes, I certainly signed the petition (a while ago when there weren't nearly as many signatures as there are now). Keep up the good work everybody!

Cheers & Mahalo :drink: :tiki:

On 2009-03-09 21:07, BornTiki wrote:
Now the Tonga Room I remember had impeccable service, very good food and great drinks...

When, in 1969? I have not had any of the above in all the times I've been there, starting in the early 90s. But I still strongly want it to remain. Maybe I'm a glutton for punishment.

Chip & Andy:
Your point is well taken. We tipped very well on Sunday despite mediocre service (over the 15% they automatically tacked on), and our waitress seemed surprised and pleased, saying "please come again!". I admit we didn't plan to tip that well, but it was one of those deals where after everyone payed up there was extra.

Along the lines of tipping and talking to the waitstaff I would also suggest to put yourself in their shoes. Imagine working somewhere that "may or may not" be demolished, that "may or may not" be open on this night or that and I can only think that as a waitress/bartender/general employee it would become a stressful situation to deal in esp. since people work to make money (generally).

There are plenty of places that have a mixture of bad and good but if you want to make it better it ultimately starts with being a good customer. I have a real problem with people treating wait staff like crap just because service is slow or food is not up to par. If there is a major issue its best to talk to a manager, not take it out on a server, and when in doubt kill em with kindness. I know the job of a wait person is to well wait on you, but that waiter is a person first and has issues of their own.

I for one would love to see such an influx of people to the Tonga Lounge become a regular thing because the waitstaff would get used to that and really start to excel and enjoy their jobs a bit more than I am sure they do now.

but that is just my humble opinion!

Wow, this is disturbing... Thanks for posting the petition, I signed it, mailed it off to all my friends, posted it on facebook... I hope this will help the cause...

What is really disturbing is reading some of these posts that agree with the "let it go" remarks.. Maybe some people need to take a long hard look at themselves and their "so called" love of all things tiki?

Yes things get old and run down, but once it's gone, it won't be back.

The question isn't weather it needs updating or a face-lift, most restaurants that are 50+ years old do. The real question is, do we really need another sports bar?

Bottom line: Remove the Tonga Room and what do you have left.. the Fairmont will be just another hotel in the city..

Is that what you really want?? My two cents, thanks...

On 2009-03-04 07:03, retrodiva wrote:
If anyone here is on facebook there is a Save The Tonga Room group.

http://www.facebook.com/home.php#/group.php?gid=52865973611

This is a great post from that group regarding with a link to the online petition to save the Tonga and contact info for people to voice your opinion to. I apologize if any of this has already been posted.

Please, please please sign the petition. Takes about two minutes and currently they only have a little over 300 signatures. The goal is 1,000.

In addition to signing the petition at http://www.thepetitionsite.com/1/save-the-tonga-room---san-francisco, have your voice heard by contacting the following people:

SAN FRANCISCO PLANNING DEPARTMENT/COMMISSION

Send an email urging the Planning Dept to not approve the project unless the historic Tonga Room is specifically included in the retention of the historic Hotel building.
[email protected]
[email protected]
Christina Olague, President San Francisco Planning Commission - [email protected]
Ron Miguel, Vice President San Francisco Planning Commission - [email protected]
Kathrin Moore, Commissioner San Francisco Planning Commission - [email protected]
Tel: 415-575-9051.
Mail: SF Planning Dept, 16560 Mission St Suite 400, SF, CA 94103-2479

FAIRMONT HOTEL

Send an email urging the Fairmont Hotel to leave the Tonga Room intact in its original location due to its historical and cultural value (and promise to spend your $$ there in the future in support of their business).
Thomas Klein, General Manager - [email protected];
Susan Sagy, Fairmont’s Planning Consultant - [email protected];
Mail: 220 MONTGOMERY STREET, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94104.

NEWS MEDIA

Contact anyone you know in the Bay Area newspaper or tv news biz about this issue.

SAN FRANCISCO CITY GOVERNMENT

Mayor Gavin Newsom: [email protected]
David.Chiu, Supervisor District 3 and President of Board of Supervisors - [email protected];

http://www.savetonga.com

On 2009-03-15 08:53, TikiMookie wrote:
What is really disturbing is reading some of these posts that agree with the "let it go" remarks.. Maybe some people need to take a long hard look at themselves and their "so called" love of all things tiki?

Yes things get old and run down, but once it's gone, it won't be back....

Yes.....

But no..... Your wrong.

My love of all things Tiki has nothing to do with what is open and what is closed, it has nothing to do with what I own or don't own. My love of Tiki is my own and is based solely on my knowledge of what was there. I never went to the Kahiki before it closed, but that doesn't mean I don't love it. I've never been to the Tiki Ti, but that doesn't mean I love it any less.

I don't WANT to see it go, that would be a terrible loss!

What I also don't want to see is a bunch of well meaning people set up a situation where the owners are forced into keeping the Tonga Room open against their wishes. That is a recipe for disaster, for them, for us, for everyone.

There are only two ways you can 'save' the Tonga Room.

First.... you have to go there. Often. You have to get other people to go there and go there often. You have to get asses in the seats on a regular basis so the place makes money.

Second.... you have to make what it is important to management. Management will then make it important to Upper Management, and so on.

If the people in control of the place see it for what it is, a money-making Tiki bar, instead of what it could be, like a Sports bar or something, then the Tonga Room will be saved.

We, as the lovers of Tiki, have to make the Tonga Room important to those who don't know what Tiki is. We have to stop talking in here where we're preaching to the choir, or however that cliche goes, and take it to the streets. To the unwashed masses. Make the Tonga Room like the Tiki Statue of Liberty.... give us your tired, thirsty, masses.

And none of that has anything to do with my own personal "so-called" love of Tiki.

On 2009-03-15 08:53, TikiMookie wrote:
What is really disturbing is reading some of these posts that agree with the "let it go" remarks.. Maybe some people need to take a long hard look at themselves and their "so called" love of all things tiki?

Who are you to judge my "so-called" love of tiki? What do you know about my love of tiki, other than I'm not jumping on the bandwagon to save something that, in my opinion, died years ago? Did someone appoint you the "Judge of Who Loves Tiki"? If so, I missed the memo.

Y'all can find my two cents worth on this in the Tonga Room Locating Tiki thread...

http://www.tikicentral.com/viewtopic.php?topic=23662&forum=2&59

[ Edited by: TikiGardener 2009-03-17 12:36 ]

..just close the damn thing already and let's get going with the auctioning off of all the stuff fer cryin out loud!!

I strongly disagree with the assertion that the Tonga Room is "dead" or deserves to die. I think it is a wonderful place and have a lot of happy memories from it - some as recent as last week (when it was totally packed mid-week, not "dead" at all)! The drinks are fun, the decor kicks ass, and I believe the food and band have greatly improved since the last time the negative nellies have been there.

The Tonga Room is of great historical value and was one of THE first tiki bars. Without it, would we have had the later-built Trader Vics, the Tiki Room, and the Mai Kai? Sure it may be old and maybe the service is not on point all the time, but do we complain when we snag a vintage Shaheen that has a button missing - or a priceless tiki mug from a rare establishment that has a tiny chip?

I am glad that despite the nay sayers, the TC Tonga Room fans have joined forces with several groups not started by TC (e.g. the Facebook group) to frequent the Tonga Room more and support it with their hard-earned consumer dollars, and to devote free time to having it declared the historical landmark that it is.

Tonga Room in CONTEXT

IMO if the Tonga Room was a freestanding structure on its own lot I could see the effort to save it. BUT in the context of the lower level of the Fairmont Hotel its a completely different animal. Inside this major SF landmark were talking mega $$$$ as the bottom line. The 1 million Tonga refurb is peanuts to the big $$$$ picture.

Showing love for the Tonga Room is great, but more like love in VAIN???

Thortiki

I can understand how odd, even unthinkable, it must be to watch people who live within easy driving distance of the Tonga Room not clamoring to do anything possible to save it. After all, it's a gem. A rare gem.

But, I challenge those same people to try to go to the Tonga Room on a regular basis, and see how they feel. It's a horrendous amount of money to spend to be treated like crap time after time, no matter how broadly one smiles, no matter how accommodating one tries to be.

Parking alone costs on the order of $25 (unless you're a hardcore SF local, in which case it costs 25 minutes of driving time looking for street parking). It's a very expensive evening out, even by San Francisco standards. A lot of money to spend, just to leave feeling awful. Especially in this town, where you can go to a bar like Alembic (or any other of the dozen or two top-drawer bars), spend half as much to have cocktails four times as good, and be treated like an old friend.

Good god, I'm utterly OBSESSED with Polynesian Pop, and if a place like the Tonga Room can't compete for MY attention....

That said, it is beautiful, it is historic, and I don't want to see it go. I don't. I want it to live forever. But it would be terribly disingenuous of me to fight hard for it to stay. My support where it really counts -- my pocketbook -- will be limited.

I still go there about four times a year, it's not like I've abandoned it. But every time I go, I leave feeling somewhere between disappointed and angry. That's just the honest truth.

thortiki is right.....this is precisely what happened to trader vics chicago when it was in the basement of the palmer house......again, real estate like that is a premium and the owners felt that it was time to revamp the place, so trader's got the boot.....luckily, the traders was a chain so they were able to come back bigger and better in a new location 2 years later......tonga room won't be so fortunate to relocate and sadly, the loss of the rain storm effect will be felt the worst because i think it's the last place in the nation that still has the rain and lighting effects.....

[i]On 2009-03-18 05:19, Tipsy McStagger wrote:
. . . tonga room won't be so fortunate to relocate and sadly, the loss of the rain storm effect will be felt the worst because i think it's the last place in the nation that still has the rain and lighting effects.....

It also strikes me as an end of an era as it is the last and best example of an original hotel tiki mecca fading away.

We have seen so many others fall by the wayside: Venus @ Venetian; Trader Vics @ the Plaza; and Trader Vic's at the Beverly Hilton, just to name a few.

I hate to see this glorious era end.

As much as the prices, staff...and everything peripheral to the Tonga Room may be annoying, the fact is that places like this continue to disappear. How long until NONE of the vintage places are left? It reminds me of when I go to Disneyland now. Back in my younger years fresh paint would be put on over night...everything all shiny and clean. Now when you go it's still pretty clean, but you see worn out seats, paint missing and faded...it's a little sad. Still, I go and give "The Mouse" loads of money for drinks and trinkets.....all the while remembering how it used to be...then I leave with a smile on my face. 50 years from now...( Damn I hope I'm not around...) it may be Forbidden Island or Frankie's in Vegas.....To be, every location is precious.

...every end is a new beginning..we may not be able to save old school tiki for much longer...but everything changes....tiki will always be with us in some form or another...we shouldn't be resistant to change...let's focus on the new direction tiki is taking....let it become current...like frankies tiki room and forbidden island...let these (and others) become the tiki bars of our childrens childhood, the ones they will remember driving by with the family and look fondly on when they are older....as oppossed to trying to cling to some dusty past we can never go back to or even duplicate as far as how it must have felt to be alive during tikis heyday....all we have is now....support and enjoy the classic temples while they stand...and remember them when they are gone....cause where we are right at this moment will be the tiki days remembered somewhere down the road....and even then, tiki will probably turn yet another corner and become something fresh and new once again....

[ Edited by: Tipsy McStagger 2009-03-18 09:59 ]

and just think, if it closes.
maybe some of you Nor. Cal. people can buy some of the decor,
like from the Trader Vic's warehouse.

Jeff(bigtikidude)

On 2009-03-18 09:58, Tipsy McStagger wrote:
..we may not be able to save old school tiki for much longer...but everything changes....tiki will always be with us in some form or another...we shouldn't be resistant to change...let's focus on the new direction tiki is taking

Living in LA, I am very aware that historical places are not replaced by anything other than mini-malls and parking lots.

For example, we lost Trader Vics and I think I am the only person who likes Trader Vics Lounge. In Las Vegas, we lost Taboo Cove, and the Stardust's Moai has been stranded on an island since the close of the Aku Aku.

Now, if the Mai Kai property owners decide to raze that tiki mecca to build a hotel, we will still be saying "it is a new beginning?"

Does San Francisco have a muni code prohibiting Tiki on Mondays?

The Tonga Room is closed Monday and Tuesday, which is very inconvenient, as those are the nights I will be in the City!

At least the Bamboo Hut will be open on Tuesday.

Well, alert the media!
I went there on Wednesday, and people were actually nice and the drinks were not bad.

On 2009-03-20 11:23, Unga Bunga wrote:
Well, alert the media!
I went there on Wednesday, and people were actually nice and the drinks were not bad.

how were the crowds? lots of people?

I'm going to have to head back over there soon. We've got to keep it up!

From today's Marin Independent Journal:

Barry Tompkins: Raise a glass to toast Fairmont Hotel's 'high tack' landmark

Barry Tompkins
Posted: 03/21/2009 07:09:06 PM PDT

And so it seems we are about to say goodbye to another old friend. It's another of those little flashbacks that you wish would just hang around despite having lost their vitality. Another of those things that make our little corner of the world something other than a generic community that could be in Boise or Dallas, or God forbid - Los Angeles.
The Tonga Room may soon finish second to a high-rise condominium planned for the Fairmont Tower. Ouch, man!

I can still form a mental picture of a scene that was as much a part of my childhood as Mel's Drive-In and Playland at the Beach. An orchid behind her ear, plucked from its place floating on top of some sort of sugary pink liquid in a coconut shell and sitting on a bed of dry ice creating a smoky ambiance through which the leer on the other side of the table was barely visible. A platter of puu-puus, a couple of spins on the dance floor and the promise of a night of romance - broken only by the cold reality of a handshake, or at best a peck on the cheek at the front door. That was livin'.

That was the Tonga Room.

I don't think there lives a person who grew up in the '50s in San Francisco who didn't spend at least a portion of his or her junior or senior prom at the Tonga Room. Sitting poolside there was that decade's version of getting through the velvet ropes and into the VIP room at the city's current hot spots. The Tonga Room was "camp" when there was no such meaning to the word. Long before high tech, the Tonga Room

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was "high tack."
It began its life way back in 1929 when it was the Fairmont Hotel's indoor swimming pool - dubbed the Terrace Plunge. In fact, no less a star than Helen Hayes was the first to dive into the pool and provide a non-bubbly christening. But by 1945, after falling into disuse as a recreational facility, the idea of using the pool as a centerpiece for a bar and restaurant and creating a South Seas atmosphere around it seemed - well, downright trendy.

All it took was some palm leaves, a boatload of pineapple juice, some coconut shells, and thousands of little paper umbrellas and - voila - you've got your very own tiki bar. The obvious marketing target was soldiers and sailors just back from the Pacific war.

Not that it was an original idea, mind you. There was a tony spot in L.A. at the time called Don the Beachcomber, and right here in the Bay Area, a guy named Vic Bergeron had turned a little gin mill in Emeryville named Hinky Dink's into a place called Trader Vic's which attracted the San Francisco "swells" sipping mai tais and popping Rangoon Crab Puffs as though they knew - or cared - where Rangoon really was.

But, the Tonga Room and Hurricane Bar saw Trader Vic's and raised it a floating band and a thunder and lightning storm. The Terrace Plunge was now home to a raft on which four guys in Hawaiian shirts strummed ukuleles and serenaded before leaving for their day gig as a mariachi band, and a dance floor that literally was taken from the deck of the last four-masted lumber schooner to ply its trade between San Francisco and the South Pacific. The Tonga Room was the self proclaimed "Grand Kahuna" of tiki bars.

Between the romantic ambiance of the Tonga Room, the parrot- and macaw-filled Papagayo Room just across the hall, and the Venetian Room upstairs (Ella Fitzgerald performed the night of my junior prom), one night at the Fairmont gave you the Tropics, Disneyland, and Carnegie Hall. Oh - and a kiss on the cheek. (Let it be noted that in the ensuing years of the sexual revolution I did considerably better with a beer and a burger at Perry's)

I haven't been to the Tonga Room in about as long as I can remember, but a friend from out of town was taken there recently and said, "It was so cool - so San Francisco."

Hokey? Yes.

Corny? Indeed.

But "So San Francisco?"

Absolutely.

C'mon, guys -- only EIGHT more signatures are needed on the petition to reach the one-thousand goal!

http://www.thepetitionsite.com/1/save-the-tonga-room---san-francisco

How much GOOD will it do, at this point? I have NO idea.

What I WOULD like to know, though, is IF the Fairmont decided to RE-LOCATE the Tonga, IS there a suitable SPACE anywhere inside where it could conceivably be redone and look anything like it does now???

And has anyone at the Fairmont given out any info on that possibility?

Cheers :drink: :tiki:

Relocating is just wool-over-the-eyes politics, to appease the public a la "we are listening to you". Once it's gone, that will never happen (remember the Kahiki!). And anyway, a vintage, original Tiki temple is not relocatable --especially not one with such a set up as the hotel pool at its core!

I signed it, even though these online petitions don't hold any weight. Someone should be banging on local doors and have REAL signatures to turn in to city hall. 200 sheets of signed paper holds more weight than 10,000 online votes when battling the City Council...

Also, BigBro is absolutely right, again. As disheartening as it may be, they have no intent on relocating. The only way this will happen is, if enough people make a stink about the closure, that they may be swayed to open a
"Tonga Room Lounge 2.0Lite" version....Remember Trader Vic's of Beverly Hills?

I cannot be P.C. (or politically correct) on these types of subjects anymore.
It is absolutely appalling to me, that most of this is happening because of first generation immigrant(s), who are coming to the U.S. with tons of money, to buy and redevelop existing properties for profit. They have no sense, nor understanding of American Culture or historic value, which obviously is of no concern to them. But I digress, I guess I can't be all that mad at the first genner' foreigner, as much as I am mad at the American selling out the property to begin with. If there is anyone who doesn't know what I'm talking about, Google the name Benny Alagem.

I may catch shit for the above statement, but I am just saying it like I see it...Its not made up.

[ Edited by: Tom Slick 2009-03-24 16:30 ]

I'm heading there tomorrow (Wed.) to enjoy happy hour.

Any updates on the report being submitted to the city?

On 2009-03-24 15:39, bigbrotiki wrote:
Relocating is just wool-over-the-eyes politics, to appease the public a la "we are listening to you". Once it's gone, that will never happen (remember the Kahiki!). And anyway, a vintage, original Tiki temple is not relocatable --especially not one with such a set up as the hotel pool at its core!

Point well taken, bigbro! I guess it's just wishful thinking on my part, like the great sounding spiel that Michael Tsao gave re. rebuilding the Kahiki grander than ever right on the water, etc. Yeah, that sounded pretty damn wonderful. But, of course, it never happened.

And I fear you're right about The Tonga Room as well.

My personal fear is that it will be gone before I get a chance to experience it myself. Do you (or does anybody) know when the deadline is likely to be before the actual closing? I think I saw somewhaere that it may still be a year or two. Does that sound right?

And, in all honesty, do you feel it's worth a trip to SF just to see it before it's gone? I've heard such mixed things about the actual full experience, aside from the awesome decor and fun thunderstorm. But that may almost be enough, just by itself, to lure me there. And then I can go to Forbidden Island for GOOD drinks and friendly service, right?

:drink: :tiki:

I think the Tonga Room is worth a trip, with other S.F. attractions added, even if the service there is "rustic Chinese", yes. The ridiculousness (as in a good thing) of the raft with a live band floating into the middle of the pool and the rain effect (are the lightning flashing and thunder roll still being done?) are a singular experience.

[ Edited by: bigbrotiki 2009-03-25 09:27 ]

Kreepy, I'm actually planning a trip to SF, now that this news came across the wire...I've grown up hearing alot about this unique lounge/bar/restaurant. They had said it would be a while before the closure of Trader Vic's Beverly Hills too, but they were sneaky and closed it the day after the official public release. The sooner you go the better, I say. It's(Tonga Room) really my only reason for wanting to go to Frisco...Well that and the clam chowder served in S.F. sourdough bowls. Catch this Historical Landmark in its own right, before it is gone forever...

Hello Tom,
while your in San Francisco you better go across the bay and go to Forbidden Island, The last 3 times I was there I made sure I went.
you will enjoy it more than the Tonga Room.

Jeff(bigtikidude)

On 2009-03-25 09:15, Tom Slick wrote:
Kreepy, I'm actually planning a trip to SF, now that this news came across the wire...I've grown up hearing alot about this unique lounge/bar/restaurant. They had said it would be a while before the closure of Trader Vic's Beverly Hills too, but they were sneaky and closed it the day after the official public release. The sooner you go the better, I say. It's(Tonga Room) really my only reason for wanting to go to Frisco...Well that and the clam chowder served in S.F. sourdough bowls. Catch this Historical Landmark in its own right, before it is gone forever...

Tonga Room ho hum just ok!

Forbidden Island TERRIFIC! (Will be making my 2nd visit next week)

Thortiki

Thanks 4 the advice.

Just wish I knew when Tonga was likely to actually close 4 good. Hmmm... (Need time 2 raise funds 4 the trip as SF ain't exactly the cheapest of cities!)

And I've ALWAYS intended to make a trip to Alameda and the much loved Forbidden Island a non-negotiable MUST-VISIT item on my "Bay Area To Do List". Though it'll seem sad that Martin is no longer there.

Good to hear some people here think the Tonga is worth flying to SF for (along, obviously, with the other notable Bay Area hotspots...)

I was considering doing the same thing, especially as I hear more about Forbidden Island, and other places in the area.

Think Tonga will last 'til this year's Bay Area tiki-bar crawl?

Any plans to do that again?

That's worth airfare from Chicago.

My wife and I are flying to SF after tax day - her first days off since the beginning of the year.

After I read about the possible closing she said "we MUST go!"

I've got my list and we'll be checking out the Tonga Room as well as others in the area.

Less than 2 weeks now.

My wife and I were lucky enough to visit the Tonga Room last week. It really is a beautiful place.

Nice photos! I spy a pro. :wink:

But please tell me this is a long exposure and the lights weren't really that bright...

On 2009-04-04 16:09, GatorRob wrote:
Nice photos! I spy a pro. :wink:

But please tell me this is a long exposure and the lights weren't really that bright...

No, it's super dark in there; so dark you could eat with your pants off! Veeeery long exposure.

This has seemed to work wonders. We need to start rumors all over the country of the soon demise of any and all tiki establishments and turn out the crowds and the press and get people fired up about their local tiki icons!

Got the Tongo Room on our places to visit this summer!

I'm with Swanky...as a group T.C has the power to create a buzz within the tiki community as well as the general public.

As for the Tonga Room - I visited last month for my first time and had a terrific experience. It was a Saturday night and there was a line to get into the bar area. It seemed to me the staff that evening was a well oiled machine - very nice and expected on an evening out in San Francisco. You may knock some of the details but overall this place deserves to exist another fifty years (hopefully more!) Tonga Room is saved!

I think it's important to go to places like the Tonga Room, and go in with a good attitude as well. You already know the drinks aren't going to be great, and maybe service will be kind of mediocre, so don't be disappointed. And I caution to not "set your expectations low"---rather, set your attitude loose! Go in with plenty of Aloha and you'll come away all the happier for it! Like I said, it's a beautiful, amazing space... go and soak it up while you can.