Kona Club

with the help of Crazy Al Evans. Highlights of the decor include a volcano behind the bar that "erupts" with smoke periodically, and a life-size bronze hula girl complete with swivelling hips. Kona Club is situated just a block or so from Trader Vic's final resting place

classic

Trader Vic's Final Resting Place

Oakland, CA

Park

4.9

at Mountain View Cemetery.

Comments

August 21, 2017, 6:59 PM

OK. Loved the darkness &the decor. The music sucked so very much. I think it was "R&B" but Hate calling it that. Bartenders wanted to deny our existence and my Mai Tai was no bueno... Sweet and weak. At least the source of the sticky tables was revealed!! Bathroom smelled worse than the music. BUT yeah I would totally go again!!! I will just pee before I go and soak up all the sweet dark tiki dankness!! (Oh don't order a beer! Dirty lines. Flat off flavored beer. I tasted my friend's! Bleach)

tikiwithray

June 5, 2017, 3:42 PM

Kona Club may be a little bit off the beaten path from downtown Oakland CA but it is truly worth a visit. The drinks are good, the decor even better! Here is my full review...

http://www.tikiwithray.com/tiki-bar-review-33-kona-club-oakland-ca/#more-3488

KevinCrossman

KevinCrossman has visited Kona Club.

May 7, 2017, 5:20 PM

A very nice neighborhood tiki bar. We walked in right on opening on Sunday afternoon and had the place to ourselves. This place looks great, and I love the swirling hula girl and the tiki hut room with the pool table. There are so many tikis here! The decor is really outstanding, with lots of little touches especially behind the bar. There's room for lots of people here in both the front and back room.

My Painkiller and my wife's Macadamia Nut Chi-Chi were really excellent. The drink menu isn't extensive, which is sort of a shame given the quality of the drinks we did have. After a while there were a few groups of other patrons (all women) all seated at the bar. The eruption effect with the volcano is nice.

The music when we came in was 80s R&B. I asked for "something island" and the bartender put on a quite good exotica playlist featuring Martin Denny, Les Baxter and even newer acts such as the Tikiyaki Orchestra and the Blue Hawaiians. I know that music is an issue here, as is the basketball game on one TV (and Return of the Jedi on the other). So close to great, compared to places like Forbidden Island and Jungle Bird that have similar neighborhood locations.

Kona Club is well worth seeking out. There's a nice set of restaurants just down the hill on Piedmont Ave, so this could be a great place to go after dinner.

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