Mister Tiki Mai Tai Lounge, San Diego, CA (restaurant)

Name:Mister Tiki Mai Tai Lounge
Type:restaurant
Street:801 5th Avenue
City:San Diego
State:CA
Zip:92101
country:USA
Phone:(619) 233-1183
Status:operational

Description:
Description from the MISTER TIKI website:

Mister Tiki Mai Tai Lounge - Home of the "Mondo Martiki"

MISTER TIKI MAI TAI LOUNGE is a fun, hip spot for dining and sharing. Featuring Pacific Island Cuisine with a Poke & Sushi Bar, exotic cocktails and a fun lounge atmosphere, MISTER TIKI is your late night dining spot.

The creative, one-of-a-kind design at Mister Tiki Mai Tai Lounge is a collaboration between the Cohns and noted San Diego designer JLorene Gage. JLorene was the designer for Kemo Sabe, Indigo Grill and Blue Point (other Cohn restaurants in San Diego). All Cohn restaurant designs have incorporated the work of local artists and MISTER TIKI is no exception. San Diego is a hot bed of Tiki culture and Tiki artisans. MISTER TIKI features more than a dozen custom Tiki Gods and masks carved by San Diego County's own Bosko Hrnjak.

MISTER TIKI MAI TAI LOUNGE is a 21 & up restaurant and lounge.
Open Nightly at 5:30 PM
Located at 5th and F Street in the Gaslamp Quarter, downtown San Diego.

Here's a puff-review from the San Diego Union-Tribune's Dining & Entertainment Advertising Coordinator, Wolfgang D. Verkaaik:

Mister Tiki's casts fun, exotic spell over the Gaslamp

How wonderfully unique. Finally something very different has opened in the Gaslamp, and it is a perfect fit! The magical lure of the tropics is a bout 2,500 miles or so from our coast, but thanks to the restauranteurs David & Lesley Cohn is now much closer.

Mister Tiki's Mai Tai Lounge, which has opened in the former location of Fio's, brings the old "Tiki Culture" back to the forefront in a hip and trendy way.

This spot opens at 5:30 PM and is ideal for just about anything: Savory pu-pus, full on meals, tropical cocktails, a sushi bar and a fantastic menu of entrees (designed for sharing), inspired by those alluring islands of the Pacific. Mister Tiki's Mai Tai Lounge is casual (your Tommy Bahama outfit would look great in here) and it is not tooo pricey either (from $7 to $22). All in all it is a vibrantand refreshing addition to the downtown dining scene.

The interior is fantastic, with lots of Tikis, wicker & bamboo and a great looking bar with a huge Tiki god that looks down on the lounge crowd. Tropical lanterns & ceiling paddle fans also add a perfect touch. Among Exotic drinks is the Mondo Martiki, a gigantic concoction for four or more persons made with spiced rums, pineapple, mango, Ron Matusalem Gran Reserva, Parrot Bay Coconut, and all the juices in "da house." it's $35 and you take home the glass! In addition there is the classic Mai Tai for $7 and several other tasty versions of the popular drink. You'll also find dribks such as the Lei Lani Lei, Mo Bettah Mama, Sake Tsunami and the Bobsa Chai Chai.

Moving to the nourishing side of the offerings there's Dim Sum and Den Sum, which include Crispy Crab Won Tons, Curried Ka-Lua Pot Sticker, nad the awesome Poke Platter(Poke is a delishious marinated sashimi) and also has spicy crab, citrus salmon, ocean salad and taro chips. Chicken or vegetable letuce wraps are listed and so are steamed bunsand Baked Luau Oysters Rockerfeller. From the pu-pu menu come Thai Curry Calamari Fries, Coconut Crab Cakes, Dragon Fired Chinese BBQ Ribs, Satay and Grilled Kalbi Ribs. There are a couple of soups listed including lemongrass coconut soup and four meal size salads such as the Cobb style seafood salad.

Island Plate selections include Hawaiian Swordfish (with tomato salad, Asian greens, roasted pineapple and cilantro rice), Big Island Grilled Iron Steak (with roasted island sweet potapo, sauteed mushrooms and green peppercorn sauce), Chinese Hoisin Duck, Rotisserie Huli Huli Chicken and the signature Misoyoki Seared Salmon Nigiri Style.

Find this paradise at 801 Fifth Ave. Call (619) 233 1183.

I just came back from San Diego, I went to Mr.Tiki and it was great. It was decorated so nicely, a lot of people were there. Food was great. I tried the shrimp tempura, out of this world. Service was very good. I met the owner and his son. Told them about T.C. and that I heard about his place from you people. I only have one complain, the music was just not happening. No tiki music, not even 50's stuff. By the end of the evening we were listening to Rap.??????

During the San Diego Comic-con I had a chance to eat there twice, once with a group of 18 and a second time with a party of four.

The consensus was that both the food and drinks were quite good, the desserts were small for the price, and the reggae music that played both nights was better than pop or rap, but not as good as actual tiki music would have been.

The service was great, even with a party of 18, and when it was just 4 of us on a busy Saturday, the food came out to the table really fast.

The decorations were nice, especially Bosko's tikis (it was nice to see a Bosko drink on the menu), the glass fish lamps hanging from the ceiling, and the tables made up inlaid laminated bamboo slices.

Aparently there's sushi available on the bar side which isn't on the regular restaurant menu, which I'd recommend making available to both sides of the split layout, as people were asking for it at their tables.

Unfortunately in my enjoyment of the whole weekend, I didn't see if there was a signature mug for the Mr Tiki Mai Tai itself, and no one at the table ordered that particular drink. Something to explore on the next trip down to San Diego, I think.

Also of note, while it says on the website 21 and up, at the restaurant itself it says 21 and up after 9:30, so well-behaved youngsters can still enjoy the place (as long as they're not expecting a kid's menu).

I certainly recommend it, and maybe we can get some better music in there if we ask nicely. :)

The Bosko has it's own mug you can take home, the Martiki has it's own mug that you can take home, I forget which other's do but I think there's 1 or 2 others with their own mug to go & most of the Tiki drinks are serverd in a Tiki mug.

I was thinking more on the lines of if Mr. Tiki's had a custom mug of their own, with Mr. Tiki on it.

I did see stuff being served in appropriate mugs and glasses overall, and quite a few you could take home with you.

I don't know about custom, but the Bosko has the Mr. Tiki logo in it's mouth. I think the Bosko is a Libby mug, not custom.

I picked up a couple of these mugs last time I was there. They're VERY generic, but they have the name on them.

My little wahine and I went to San Diego last weekend for a few days. We drove up to Whittier and while spending some quality time at Oceanic Arts, LeRoy had mentioned Mr. Tiki to us so we decided to check it out. Afterall, we were going to be downtown anyway. I must admit we were a little disappointed. Had it not been for a few new Tiki appointments in the place, you would not know you were in a Tiki Bar. It's a very new, trendy place catering to the younger, twenty-something crowd and I have to give it credit for that. It's a nice place, but for me the highlight was bringing home the figural pineapple mug with the Mr. Tiki Logo. We had a much better time at The Islands Restaurant at the Hanalei Hotel and the Bali Hai Restaurant on Shelter Island (definitely recommended if in San Diego).

we ate here this past weekend. the place is decorated very well. bosko tikis and masks all over, glass floats, puffer fish lights, tapa lights, matting on the walls with bamboo trim. it was a great visual place. the food was good. the only mug the have now is the pineapple mug, which of course i had to get one. the other mugs were just for the grand opening. it was a good place, but we liked the bali hai better.

I was in San Diego yesterday and instead of going over to Shelter Island and the Bali Hai this time I made a special trip to the Gaslamp to check this place out. I was very impressed! This is a wnderful neo-tiki spot with great decor. Both the drinks and the food were excellent. I had the Suffering Bastard and the Mister Tiki Mai Tai. Not a bad mai tai and the suffering bastard was a nice modern take on the original recipe. I had the swordfish - three swordfish filets each with a different topping. Well worth the trip despite the rain!

The owners of this 'Tiki' bar own serveral of the resturants in the gaslamp. It looks Tiki enough but is a souless expensive place. It takes more than a couple of carvings and matching shirts to make a good Tiki Bar in my opinion.

OK, so Mrs. Digitiki and I made a trip to San Diego, and stopped in on Mister Tiki for the first time. Decor-wise it was kinda sparse, but very nice. A very upscale neo-tiki look that was different but plesent.

The service sucked! We arrived at 7:30pm and there were only 3 other people sitting at the small bar. We went for drinks first and thought we would glance over the menu before deciding to get a table. The bar tenders - ALL OF THEM were utterly disinterested in waiting on us-and they weren't busey either. They were more interested in chatting with themselves. We had to ask for everything. We asked for a sushi menu and dinner menu, nobody came back to ask us if we wanted to order anything. When my wife finished her drink. Nobody came. When I was finished--nothing. And we weren't suckin'em down fast either.

Needless to say, we paid our 2-drink tab (after having to almost force someone to pay attention) and left. We went to the Bali Hai on Shelter Island instead and had a wonderful dinner and several great Mai Tais. Now, I'm sure that our experience may not be typical, but it sure was a turn off. I mean, c'mon--4 bartenders, 5 customers sitting at the bar??? Bad odds.

Bottom line for me: Interesting "modern" tiki interior, the items on the menu looked good, but the absolutely terrible service put a serious damper on it.

Anybody know where they got those hanging glass pufferfish lights?

I spoke to thier interior designer before they open about them. She said that she had them made. She wasn't into hanging the dead kind. She wasn't a true tiki freak either, but those glass ones are pretty cool. She didn't say who made them.

I can't remember my password half the time, but this stuff I remember...WTF?

http://ironwoodglass.com/noname18.html

Here's the thread discussing it.... http://www.tikicentral.com/viewtopic.php?topic=9496&forum=1

[ Edited by: DawnTiki on 2005-01-14 01:03 ]

Thansk DawnTiki! They are so cool! Expensive though---wow.

When I was at Mr. Tiki's I was coveting those puffers. After some looking, and I'm sure most of you know about these, I found the fugu hangers at munktiki as a cheaper alternative ($36). No lamp, though. Not sure what they're made of, so I'm not sure if they could be made to accept a small light bulb, or if you'd even be able to see the light.
Does anyone know about that, or has anyone tried?

Just noticed Mr Tiki is having a special three course menu for only $20 thru Jan 14th. This allows me to spend more on drinks!

Mmmmmmmm...drinks!

http://www.cohnrestaurants.com/cohn/cohnrestaurants/2006specialmenu1.php

On 2006-01-11 11:31, hodadhank wrote:
Just noticed Mr Tiki is having a special three course menu for only $20 thru Jan 14th. This allows me to spend more on drinks!

In case you haven't noticed, local Costcos sell dinner cards for Cohen Restaurants, including Mr. Tiki. I think the cards are $86.00 for $100.00 worth of dining (or mai tais). Personally, I'll head over to the Bali Hai instead. I've found 6 Mr. Tiki's mai tais equals 1 Bali Hai mai tai.

On 2006-01-13 21:14, tikipedia wrote:
I've found 6 Mr. Tiki's mai tais equals 1 Bali Hai mai tai.

OK, everyone say it together: "But they cut you off after six Bali Hai Mai Tais!"

Turned out to be a scam anyway. Once seated the three course meal turned out to be ten bucks more expensive than advertised, so instead of raising a fuss we ordered pupus and cocktails. It was still a convenient treat to entertain our friend from Toronto surrounded by tapa print, blown glass puffers and towering Bosko tikis, then pour her in a taxi to Santa Fe station in time to catch a train to LA.

I guess next time I'll just have to smuggle in some extra travel size rums!

Do they make mini bottles Lemon Hart or St. James?

Of course I agree the Bali Hai has the best booze on the bay, but I can't help wishing they'd re-commit themselves to their tiki heritage by pumping up the dining area's decor.

Of course I agree the Bali Hai has the best booze on the bay, but I can't help wishing they'd re-commit themselves to their tiki heritage by pumping up the dining area's decor.

The Bali Hai has made some (minor) strides to revamp the place. The famous Goof was repainted to pristine colors. And the restaurant allowed Mr. Bali Hai to be restored. It also seemed (to my rum-addled memory) that they've made some very small upgrades in the bar area.

Yes, they do have a long way to go if they actually do want to restore the venerable Bali Hai to its glory days. But they said on their website that they are planning to restore things. Time will tell if they do so.

Went to SD this weekend for my birthday. I was a bit worried about going to Mr Tiki's by what i read on this board. but I have to say, the place was just great. Great Decor, with lots of Bosko Tikis, Oceanic Arts lamps and creative use of bamboo. The only thing that was not good about the atmosphere ws the music. If they were plaing Arthur Lyman and Martin Denny, the place would be a 10 in my book.
As far as food goes, we only had Pupus, no main course meals. The food we DID have tho' was excellent. Everything tiki food is supposed to be....exotic tasting with a Asian and Pacific Rim flair. Lots of yummy sauces, and very unique flavorings to the food....ie: Coffee glazed spare ribs....never would have thought of that, but it worked.
Kailua Pork gyoza...amazing...ginger chicken egg rolls....it all tastes as good as it sounds too.

As for drinks, I can't comment because I don't drink, but I got my diet coke served in a tiki mug as per my request.(tho' I wasn't able to buy the mug, and it had no Mr Tiki logo on it)
I also got a free dessert with a candle for my birthday, and ALL the servers were UBER nice.
As far as tiki-ness goes....There was more than enough tikis and polynesian decor to make me feel like I was in something exotic and cool. Being a fan of Mid Centiry Modern decor, clutter bums me out, so I the fact that there wasn't a pufferfish or fishnet hanging and plastic lobsters over every square inch of my head didn't bother me at all. All I know is, everywhere I turned there was something tiki, and that's good enough.
Prices...a bit on the expensive side, but nothing crazy...besides...the Tiki Restaurants of the past were all on the expensive side.

My rating for Mr Tiki...a 9. Change the music, add a few waterfalls and its a 10. In this day and age, I'm glad someone is doing a place like this.

I AM SURE THIS IS IN THE WRONG SPOT, BUT DOES ANYONE KNOW IF MISTER TIKI IN SAN DIEGO STILL SELLS SCORPION BOWLS.?? I AM HAVING A BACHLORETTE PARTY TOMORROW NIGHT AND FROM THE EAST COAST AND AM CRAVING A SCORPION BOWL. PLEASE LET ME KNOW..

Went there a couple of weeks ago and I don't remember seeing the scorpion bowl on the drink menu. They do have a couple of bowl drinks - most notably the Killa Kilauea - so perhaps they could muster one up. Perhaps another TC'er has gotten one there. I've had mixed results with their bartenders in the past - some were not so talented - but if your bachelorette party is downtown Mr. Tiki is probably your best chance.

You can get a Flaming Volcano Bowl, but I'd suggest a side trip to the Bali Hai for a Scorpion Bowl.

I went last night. The food was great! The decor was great. I am new to tiki and I can recognize a Basko when it is next to Hershey's.

The drinks were a little on the light side. Sucked up a flaming Kilauea thingy with the wife and had a Horny Monkey.
The music......... mmm,...well.....they are not even playing reggae anymore. :( Although I do like STP and tool.
Mugs.....well, they are selli...trying to sell plane Libbys for $20. ;(

The decor was really neat. If you can get to Martini Ranch a little before Mister Tiki then you are feeling good.

[ Edited by: Mr. NoNaMe 2009-05-14 14:25 ]

we took my sister-in-law and her husband to dinner at Mister Tiki ~ the decor is still fantastic, the "sharing" menu has changed considerably since the last time we visited. fewer items, and much smaller portions.

here's Mr. Bytes opinion of the drinks : "I like their version of the mai tai (the Mr. Tiki, not the "haole" one), which I ordered second. First I had a Suffering Bastard; once more, the ingredients listed on the menu looked right, but the execution was screwed up. The bartender had muddled several cocktail cherries in the bottom of the glass (wtf??) and combined with the ginger ale this turned the Suffering Bastard into a Shirley Temple plus booze. Hey, maybe that makes it a new drink ... the Suffering Shirley."

Ha Ha Suffering Shirle,

More like Suffering Customer.

I've noticed the same thing the last few times I went there. The drink quality has definitely been declining, and the food portions seem to be getting smaller. Plus the tiki mug selection has been dropping. Very sad. And the Libbey's that they do have weren't even marked with their logo. That would have been good at least.

My wife and I were in SD at the beginning of June. Mr. Tiki's was on the (long!) list of places to visit. It won't be on the next list. Yes, the decor was fantastic. That's about all I can say. The vibe was terrible. I felt like I was in some way-to-hip ultra lounge. You could tell that no one there (save us) was there for a tiki experience. Like many of you, we had one drink and left. I asked our server if they had mugs for sale, and I got the deer in the headlights look. Next time, we'll just go to the Bali Hai twice!!!

Me and my lady went to Mr. Tiki's about 3 weeks ago. It was our first visit and most likely our last. The service was terrible as our bartenders sat at one end chatting up some locals. The drinks menu was sparse at best and when I asked if they had any mugs the bartender replied with "Naw. I'm not sure who does but we don't". The decor was decent but I wasn't really wowed by the setup. Located in the Gaslamp District of San Diego, occasional hipster couples would wander in, order one drink, and leave. The only upside was when the bartender asked up "Did I mention that drinks are all half-off tonight?". Besides that, the trip was a wash.

It's too bad about Mr. Tiki. It started off great -- good service, good food and drinks, and certain drinks with mugs you could take home with you. But the Gaslamp is a bad place for a place like this, in my opinion. It's usually overrun with tourists with young hipsters arriving at night for all the nightclubs. A lot of people point to the Gaslamp as a great example of urban renewal, but to me it's just become another gentrified entertainment district like in just about every city. Most of the places that used to have live music with local bands are gone. There are now about 857 Starbucks. Even the last remaining dive bar (the Star Club on E Street) left over from SD's Navy town past now charges a cover on weekends!

On 2004-10-21 12:34, PiPhiRho wrote:
I was in San Diego yesterday and instead of going over to Shelter Island and the Bali Hai this time I made a special trip to the Gaslamp to check this place out. I was very impressed! This is a wonderful neo-tiki spot with great decor. Both the drinks and the food were excellent.

I went there last night. I am really impressed by how thoroughly decorated the interior is - even on the ceiling. I love the use of batik and bamboo framing. There is an extraordinarily high TIPSY rating here. My favorite tiki is that with a Moai cariving.

Okay, time for my review. Knowing I'd be a tipsy torch, I asked for paper and wrote things down. And remember, I'm no pro, I can't say exactly what certain drinks "should" taste like, etc. This is all opinion.

I went to Mister Tiki three times, not counting the night I had dinner there. There's a big (I'm 6'4 and he was over my head by an inch) carved tiki out by the hostess stand, a huge Easter Island head behind the bar, and tall carved wood tiki poles in corners, plus a lot of bamboo and dark red, some funky wall fixtures made of shells with cut-acrylic flowers having spun-glass 'starlite' bulbs as the stamens, and clusters of blown-glass puffer fish (wearing sunglasses - look closely, that's easy to miss) over big tables, bamboo cylinders over smaller ones, and clusters of glowing blue glass floats in netting. The ceilings were decorated with lots of neat stuff, and the ceiling fans had woven rattan paddles. The bar had bamboo high-seats with small backs. Many of the tables had a working Lava Lite standing on them. I honestly don't remember the music, but the big flat-screens (very high up on the walls) were playing surfing documentaries, with the sound very low.

All the staff I met were friendly, and dinner service was prompt. My friend got a drink with dinner. Food was a bit pricey (bill for 3 with 2 drinks and pupus was about $100) but extremely tasty - all three of us really enjoyed it. The menu listed specialty sushi rolls as well, but they would also bring you a paper all-sushi menu with the nigiri, maki etc.

Bar review: I dealt with two people here. My notes help. First was Tony, a tender with wild black hair. Didn't really know true authentic perfect tiki drinks, but knew about what they had and was helpful. Other was Darryl, the bar manager. Same details apply to him, though he knew a bit more about traditional stuff. Both had heard of, but not seen, TikiCentral. Over the three nights, I stuck with the three most traditional-type drinks: the Mai Tai, the Zombie and the Navy Grog.

Mister Mai Tai: Cruzan Estate Light, Mount Gay Eclipse, Myers' Dark + "house mai tai mix" (I did not find out what's in it, but they make it there). Very balanced, no pineapple juice or grenadine. It was a warm cinnamon-brown color, and was extremely tasty and potent but not killer. On two occasions, I had them add a float of their 151, Ron Antigua, which they were happy to do - just as they were happy to answer all of my questions. $9, came in a tall glass.

Navy Grog: Appleton Special, Ron Antigua Light, Lahaina Dark, Grand Marnier, lime & grapefruit juice, dashes simple and ginger syrups. Very tangy and tart, hint of a bitter flavor, as good as but different than what I've had at TV's. The tartness varied, and I found out why: the ginger syrup is made fresh daily, and can vary depending on the strength of the ginger they get that day. $10, in mug (described below)

Kiwiki Zombie: Cruzan Estate Light, Ron Antigua Gold, Lahaina Dark, Laird's Applejack, Torani passion fruit syrup, orange, pineapple & lime juices. VERY potent, yet flavorful, and not too much sweetness - just enough to balance the burn a little bit. $12, in mug (see below)

All were mixed consistently, save the variations in the ginger syrup, garnished with lime wedges, cherries (one in the Mai Tai) and thin wedges of pineapple (Mai Tai). None of these were shaken - they were poured into a mixing cup and back into the mug, or in one case - I forget which - just stirred once with a bar spoon. All were begun in glasses/mugs filled with finely crushed ice. All were good enough that I kept coming back.

The "Haole Mai Tai", I was steered away from when I said I wanted traditional. It says it's a Mister plus an "extra twist" which (I asked) consisted of Grenadine, orange & pineapple juices, and a float of Lahaina Dark rum. I didn't try this.

They currently have six mugs, but two are discontinued. I asked, and Darryl put one example of each, plus a bowl, on the bar for me to examine for my notes. The mugs are $12 each, and they hand you a clean one. --Warm brown tiki full-body, marked "Made in China DW 114"
--Tan with all-over vertical bamboo pattern, marked "Made in China DW 115-L"
--Warm brown Maoi head, "Made in China" sticker, marked "DW 128" (Navy Grog comes in this)
--Leaf green, short and rounded, evil-looking head with nosebone, marked "Made in China DW 128" (Zombie)
The following two have been discontinued - is Libbey out of the mug business? They are available while supplies last, and are thicker and heavier than those above:
--Dark brown with green showing through, three-segment bamboo, smooth, marked "Libbey"
--Terra-cotta orange showing through green glaze, evil tiki face, marked "Libbey" (I got this one)
Not sure which drinks the other mugs go with - I think the full-body brown tiki is with the Horny Monkey. There is currently no Mister Tiki mug.

Bowl drinks: They have one bowl drink, the Killa Kilauea for two at $19, in a big bowl with hula girls and palm trees and a built-in volcano. This consists of Cruzan Estate Light, Seven Tiki Spiced Rum, Cruzan Coconut, Myers' Dark, + Torani passion fruit and "all the juices in da house" ( asked: grapefruit, lime & pineapple). The volcano is filled with 151 by the tender, and lit by the server before heading to the table with long straws. The bowls are not sold. Shows how tipsy the Torch Guy was: under this, I scribbled "Fire! Fire! Fire! Heh heh heh"

Also, Mondo Martiki for 4: Cruzan Coconut, Ron Antigua Gold, Cruzan Estate Light, Captain Morgan + orange, pineapple & grapefruit juices. This isn't served in a bowl but, rather, in a gigantic martini glass. $35

Had a good time, enjoyed the food and drinks, and will go back. It's not really too traditional all-around, but I enjoyed it a lot. Was only 1 1/2 blocks from the hotel, too. Torch Guy out!

Just got back from San Diego trip. Loved Mr. Tiki! We stayed at the Indigo hotel in the Gaslamp District and walked around downtown. We just happened upon it and had drinks at the bar.

Went again for dinner and loved their dining room. High back booth in the corner, awesome decor, kind of upscale. Loved the glass fish lights, they were beautiful. They played surf music and surf movies.

Dinner: parts were great, the sushi was very good. We shared lettuce wraps with chicken which were ok. Matt's dinner was really delicious, spicy with red peppers. Mine was too sweet, I asked them to make it spicy and they didn't. I had to steal peppers from my husband to spice it up.

Matt had the mai tai and enjoyed it, although it wasn't as good as others such as Trader Vics. I ordered the passion fruit mojito and they served it in a tiki mug. It was fresh and wonderful! I'm going to try to make it at home. (If you have the recipe, please share it)!!

I would go back again. The staff was friendly and accomodating. I like that they serve drinks in tiki mugs. The decor was great :)

On 2009-12-16 11:04, TikiMookie wrote:
I ordered the passion fruit mojito and they served it in a tiki mug. It was fresh and wonderful! I'm going to try to make it at home. (If you have the recipe, please share it)!!

Not positive about the recipe for the Lilikoi Mojito, but I think it's your basic mojito recipe using 3/4 oz each of Mount Gay Eclipse and Cruzan white for the rum component, and using passion fruit syrup rather than simple syrup or sugar.

I'll start off with the disclaimer that I'm not any sort of food, drink or restaurant critic. Last night my wife and I and another couple went to Mr. Tiki for the first time. I have driven past it probably a hundred times and have always wanted to try it out. The bottom line is.....we all liked it. The decor is great ,with tikis everywhere. I wish that I had a camera with me, I would have gladly looked like a tourist and taken a lot of pics to study for inspiration for projects at home.
We got there in time for Happy Hour and enjoyed some $5 drinks that were pretty good ( limited choices for Happy Hour, the only mai tai is called Haole Mai Tai and is a little sweet, but for $5 and with all the ambiance I would return)
The food was pretty good.....no complaints. Next time I will probably just get drinks and try some pupus.
The hostess was friendly as was the waiter. the bartender kind of ignored us for a while, however it was towards the end of happy hour and he was swamped with drink orders.
As I said before, I am no pro but I liked it and I loved Boskos' decor so I'll be back for more.

RIP Mister Tiki Mai Tai Lounge.

I was just visited by a customer who dined at Croce's in San Diego's Gaslamp Quarter and noticed Mister Tiki's was shuttered. Croce's hostess told him that while the Cohn group is retaining the property "...Tiki just wasn't making it for them" and a complete overhaul is in progress as of march...

Very sad. :(

Smoke Tiki up North and now Mr. Tiki.

What will happen to those amazing glass puffer-fish lamps?

Bummer. I wonder if Bosko can get his carvings back....

NOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!

I liked that place. They supposedly had a new manager who was more into tiki.

Man, what a bummer. Yea. Bosko needs to go reclaim his work. Great stuff in there.

It probably was too much of a headache for the Cohn Group to find management and staff that cared enough about the details, specifically the mixology --especially since the majority of the customers were most likely not able to tell the difference. And the "new cocktailians" wave has not come to its full height in San Diego yet, I would assume.

Dang.

We really liked this place. They had awesome veggie sushi, and a great drink called Dragon's Fire that was made with a chipotle-pineapple syrup. Delish!

The last time we were there they had finally stopped playing incessant reggae and were playing surf music... not tiki, but as close enough.

Mr. Tiki Did a great job balancing a tiki atmosphere and appealing to a wider, beer-swilling hipster gas light district crowd.

This place will be missed!

I really enjoyed this place...what a bummer

R.I.P Mister Tiki and all that awesome Bosko decor.

Sad indeed