'Ohana

The owner is bona-fide Hawaiian, and "it shows!" There are notable decore items on display that make for cool items of interest once you know their significance. Like the shiny teapot that was his grandmother's, displayed next to an electric green tiki. Or the portait of his grandparents over the lava lamp, or the wall-sized blowup of his grandfathers prize marlin catch that dominates one wall. What's the deal, you ask? OHANA is Hawaiian for "family." It all ties together...it may be the adorable 4 year-old daughter of the manager who brings you the menu. She's polite and experienced at service.

You can drink excellent drinks in cozy, decorated booths, or you can sit under the palm thatched bar and watch the TV in the corner hanging in fish net.

We made a stop at 'Ohana while spending a couple days in Seattle, and while I wouldn't go out of my way to check it out, it's a nice enough place to get a drink if you're in the area. It's kind of a combination of a tiki bar and a beach bar (some unfortunate Margaritaville vibes from life preservers, etc. hanging from the ceiling) - not very high on pure tikiness, but tastefully decorated (bamboo booths, a large island scene painted on one wall) with a nice-looking but too-small (in my opinion) thatched bar.

Relatively small drink selection (with a few frozen drinks, which my tiki-visiting companion appreciated); drinks were expensive and just ok. The service was friendly, however, and we did have a dynamite Bananas Foster for dessert.

I would have liked to check out the scene on a less busy night ... we were there on a Friday, and everything was bright and noisy, with a DJ and quite a few people dancing. I think (as with my 'home' tiki bar) this may be a place that's better visited on a weeknight or right after work, if you want to avoid the party atmosphere.

Still, it's a good-looking place and worth a stop if you're in Belltown.