This bar is an absolute hidden gem -- the kind of place you walk into "just for one drink," and…read moresuddenly you're three cocktails deep, debating whether you should just move in. The staff? Incredible. They don't just serve drinks -- they adopt you. After 10 minutes I felt like I was a regular, even though I had never been there before in my life. The drinks are chef's kiss -- tropical, balanced, and dangerously easy to order "just one more." The tiki vibes are top notch, and the ambiance is pure nostalgia... like walking onto the set of Cheers, if Sam Malone traded baseball for rum cocktails. It makes total sense why so many regulars basically have their own seat and probably their own emergency pina colada ready at the bar. If you love tiki, good people, and the feeling of being part of a secret club you didn't know you joined, this is your spot. I'm already planning my return -- preferably when I'm not pretending I'll only have one drink.

Came here for a little drinky drink to celebrate my bday!…read more Arrived and was so happy to find two seats at the bar. This was a Frday night so the bartenders were definitely slammed, but I had a seat so I didnt mind. Got the holy grail macadamia nut chi chi. It wss very good, very creamy. We got a bunch of other drinks too and alll were great. I will say that although this is technically a tiki bar, its catering to a. on tiki audience. Oldies esque music playing, but to be fair, I like a little Denny Martin in my tiki spots. All in all a good time and I'll be here again.

Fun, unique atmosphere. Great drinks and service. Everyone was having a good time…read more Bartender River Jordan was awesome! We'll be back

Such a cool place, I have known about this place for years and why I hadn't gone sooner I really…read moredon't know. Me and a coworker went after work for snacks and a drink sand wow this place is really cool, as soo n as you walk in your engulfed in Tiki vibes. The place isn't that big and it fills up super fast so try to get there early. We showed up at about 5:00 pm and when we left the line was super long and we over heard the waitress telling people the wait was well over an hour. Now I'll need to take the whole family back here the kids will love it and my husband is a huge Tiki fan! Just go early evening you gotta heck this place out!

The vibes were fun! The drinks funner it was a Friday night, around 8 - it wasn't too crowded but…read morethere was an amazing DJ playing a mix of oldies, millennial vibes and newer tracks - made it super fun! We sat outside by the fire pits. We tried so many drinks but the waiter suggested Paradise Lounge was the best one I tried. We did try the Phoenix Rising... hard pass on that one - something tasted rank to me. They were kind enough to remake it, and after the second version it still tasted weird. I do think it was something off with me. Ultimately they brought out another PL. Really appreciated that and they didn't make me feel bad for being picky. Overall great drinks, great vibes, awesome staff - highly recommend!

Tiki Bar located in Downtown San Jose in San Pedro market. There's parking around, the garage or…read morestreet if you get lucky. They offer a selection of craft mixed drinks. We got the Mai Thai and punch. Came in a plastic cup. We also put an order for fries, but $10 is a lot for a decent amount of basic fries. Unfortunately, they did not have happy hour when I visited. There's plenty of water stations to self serve a drink break. There's a lot of seating inside and outdoors. Inside has tables, booths, and a large television to watch the basketball game. Outside, it face the inner street of San Pedro. The day I went as a fun surprise because I got the stroll through free photobooth, and other activities for the event in the area.

Forbidden Island is one of those rare neighborhood gems that somehow manages to feel both special…read moreand effortlessly welcoming. It's a longtime local favorite of mine and my go-to spot for meeting up with friends--equal parts escape and comfort. The cocktail menu is impressively deep, full of beautifully crafted, fancy tiki drinks that practically beg to be explored, and so far every single one I've tried has been delicious (dangerously so). Inside, the bar nails the classic tiki vibe--warm, immersive, and transportive--while the outdoor patio offers a lovely, relaxed option with plenty of extra seating on warm days. It's the kind of place where you can linger, laugh, and lose track of time. The staff deserve a special shout-out: genuinely friendly, attentive, and accommodating, which only adds to the overall experience. A quick pro tip: if you're planning to stop by during popular after-work hours, definitely make a reservation--it fills up for good reason. The food menu is on the smaller side, but the bites are tasty and thoughtfully done, perfect for sharing alongside a round (or two) of cocktails. All in all, Forbidden Island is a standout spot that keeps me coming back again and again.

Forbidden Island is a usual pitstop for us after the Antique Fair in Alameda. The drinks are solid…read moreand the interior decor is fun, but fall short of its neighbors in the surrounding area. It's got a hybrid dive bar with dollar bills on the ceiling, mixed with Tiki. I have tried the Grog, Rum Barrel, and Sunday Special, all of which were solid, but not out of this world.

This place is known for it's mai tai's, but they have lots of other fruity and colorful cocktails…read morehere. I think the main attraction of this place is the location. It sits on the beautiful Emeryville Marina. It's an amazing piece of real estate, right on the water. The service here is decent, but nothing special. Everyone seems to have worked there for quite some time. There wasn't a lot of enthusiasm in the service, but they tolerated my questions. Parking is easy. There's a parking lot right out front.

Not what I was expecting…read more It's been a little while since I have been to Trader Vic's. And especially this location. I will say 3 nice things about this experience. The location is gorgeous! The last time I was here it was at night. This was an afternoon visit and it was still a beautiful view of the water. The food is amazing! Great flavors and wide variety of selections even for the time we came which was in between lunch & dinner. The portions were a good size. The overall look of the restaurant is very well kept together. Very well themed and sits perfect with the Hawaiian esthetics. Okay there are my three nice things. Let's get down to business because this is where the experience lacked. SERVICE! We came at a time where we didn't know they stopped serving lunch (The in between I mentioned earlier), which was not a problem. Our family knows how to pivot and adapt to situations. What I didn't like was that our server made us feel really unimportant. Let's start with the greeting. It was ready to order? As if we were a burden. It wasn't busy at all. 2 people at the bar, a couple opposite of us in the bar area (yes we were placed in the bar which is fine, because the dinning room is being set for dinner service at 5), and a gentleman to the right of us. Clearly not busy. We finally get our food and we are missing a Tuna Poke. We asked the food runner where it was and he said this was all that was on the ticket. Okay that's fine. Can you send our server so we can get it taken off our bill? The server/ bartender never came back to check on us to see if everything came out until we were almost finished. By that time we had empty drinks for our entire meal. And we asked for refills and our check. We get the check and sure enough the Tuna Poke was on the bill. You know the one that the food runner claimed wasn't on the ticket. This place (due to the standards I have always experienced going to ANY of their locations) my family should have been taken care of and treat like guests instead of burdens or even forgotten in an empty bar seating area.

Great cocktails! Great service!…read moreThe atmosphere is unmatched! Love the decorations inside, the massive snake hanging from the ceiling is so cool! Christian served us well! Will be back again and again

Food was delicious and service was great! Ambiance is great to catching up with friends and having…read morea kickback! Willow was amazing! She helped us so much and gave us great service! Everyone was friendly and accommodating! Willow was the best ever! Recommend this spot to others!

First time at this restaurant and it was fantastic. Love the Hawaiian music in the background while…read morehaving lunch with my granddaughters great menu friendly staff I hear there's a live music Friday and Saturday nights. Can't wait to go back.

All the service staff was friendly and took great care of us! The ambiance of the outdoor patio was…read moreupscale but lowkey. Perfect place for brunch in a beautiful day! To drink, we had passionfruit mimosas, the maitai (the non-classic one), the chi chi, and the painless (mocktail). All were delicious and beautifully presented. To eat, we shared the Spam musubi. Another lovely presentation! The ratio of Spam to rice to seaweed was balanced and came with a tasty sauce drizzled overtop and a different one on the side. For brunch entrees, we had the ube waffles (one as is and one with chicken katsu), the kalua pork breakfast sandwich? And the poke bowl. The ube waffles are unique and delicious! They are topped with whipped cream, ube syrup, and a fresh fruit salsa; all complemented the waffles well. The chicken katsu was perfectly coated in panko and fried well. The poke was refreshing and came with crunchy pickled vegetables, edamame, and avocado; which was a healthy and tasty brunch dish! The Kalua pork breakfast sandwich was hearty and savory, and the potato salad completed the plate nicely. We finished our meal with the Hula pie. Must get, even if you don't have room! If you're looking for a great brunch spot with delicious island inspired food and a lovely patio (dog-friendly), make sure to check out Kaia's!

Kitschy and expensive, but my wife and I had fun at the Fairmont Hotel's Tonga Room. Strong,…read morefruity tropical drinks, live "yacht rock" music, moody lights, and a light and sound show reminiscent of the Rainforest Cafe, all add up to a great place to start or finish an evening date night. We visited on a Saturday evening in May, not an optimal choice as the place was full of prom dates and wedding parties. Our original table was directly beyond the dance floor so all we could see was various couples swaying to the band. The server was kind enough to move us to a table with a view of the pool and band. The food isn't much to get excited about here, but we were hungry and ordered a couple appetizers. Quite pricey, I mean, it's the Fairmont Hotel, plus there's an additional entertainment fee when the band is playing. But hey, Anthony Bourdain actually liked this place. I agree, it's worth experiencing. PS - This was the second time I've been in the SF Fairmont Hotel. The first was Feb 1988. I was attending a conference with several lady friends, we walked by the hotel and discovered that Lou Rawls was singing in the Venetian Room. My friends finagled the staff into giving us a table at the back for the show. They loved it, but I was young, and bored, and left after a couple songs. I went to a nearby bar, had a couple drinks, and then meandered back to my room, alone. So much for my carefree bachelor days.

I was able to celebrate my birthday here. The vibe and experience is definitely like Hawaii. We did…read morethe poo poo platter as well as two drinks the Golden cup and then we also did a Kahlúa pork plate and it was very filling. Service was pretty good and the ambience definitely felt like I was back home. Definitely would come back here and celebrate my birthday again. Thank you for letting me spend my birthday with you guys.

Came here before sushi dinner at Robin across the street and thought it was a great tiki bar! The…read morebouncer was friendly and talkative, the drinks were quite strong (you'd better be ok with drinking a lot of rum). There's a downstairs seating area and bar. It can be quite crowded on the weekends but you can usually stand and just snag seats as they open up. Very cute decor.

Tucked away behind a black panel in Hayes Valley is the the not-so-secret Smuggler's Cove (the line…read moredefinitely gives it away). If you brave the line on a weekend, you will be rewarded handsomely with delicious tiki cocktails and friendly service. The menu is extensive, so you won't be hard-pressed to find a drink you'd like. I personally love the Leilani Nouveau, which is refreshing When I lived in San Diego, a bartender at a tiki bar said the first stop in SF must be Smuggler's Cove and it really deserves all that praise and more!

We were looking for a place to grab a drink before dinner at Jaji and decided to head to Sand Bar…read more I knew nothing about the bar other than that it seemed universally liked on Yelp. When I walked in, I felt a little out of place wearing stilettos in a bar that's covered in, well, sand! That's on me for not connecting the dots there, ha. Despite feeling like a misfit, I completely enjoyed my time at Sand Bar. Our bartender was very friendly and welcoming. Our drinks were perfectly crafted. Our fellow patrons all bonded while cheering on the Niners in their eventual victory over the Bears. Overall, this was a fun stop and I recommend it to anyone looking for pre- or post-dinner drinks.

Sand Bar is quite the vibe. The main appeal is of course, the sand. But, there's also a boat you…read morecan sit on. And a photo booth. And jenga. The place is very spacious, but the bar still feels very divey. Like, a beach, I guess. Drinks are ok. My friend was taking notes for future hinge date venues and said this would be a good one.