Kona Club

Comments about Kona Club

tropicsdiver

tropicsdiver has visited Kona Club.

June 16, 2019, 9:43 AM

More tiki-lite than true tiki bar. It's a nominally tiki-themed neighborhood bar with a younger crowd. The tiki decorations seem somewhat incidental.

KevinCrossman

KevinCrossman has visited Kona Club.

March 14, 2019, 9:13 AM

I understand and appreciate Will's gripes. They are specifically not trying to compete with Smuggler's Cove. At least the cocktails are cheaper (my island style Mai Tai was only $8) and plenty boozy. I'm willing to give "divey" neighborhood style bars a little bit of slack with TVs especially if there is a space away from the bar to hang out and Kona Club definitely has that.

I don't love the music here, though. That's almost worse than the TVs for me.

https://www.instagram.com/p/BuQBTacgAWN/

Stacy

Stacy has visited Kona Club.

March 13, 2019, 2:48 PM

Super chill and full of tiki atmosphere! Cheapest collectible mug in the world. Friendly bartenders and a pool table, too.

Stacy

Stacy has visited Kona Club.

March 13, 2019, 2:48 PM

Super chill and full of tiki atmosphere! Cheapest collectible mug in the world. Friendly bartenders and a pool table, too.

WanderingWill

WanderingWill has visited Kona Club.

March 12, 2019, 10:18 PM

What’s going on here? Things looked so good when we first approached the door. We walked in and I turned to my wife and said, “I’ve got a good feeling about this.” And that’s when things went downhill. The decor was top notch. Tiki-ness was apparent and the owners definitely had that aesthetic in mind.

But this place gets its first strike for the big TV playing sports. Call me a purist all you want, but that’s a big no for me at a tiki bar.

Second strike was the crowd. Maybe it’s the pool table and a bit of the vibe spilling over from The Mallard, but there wasn’t a single colorful shirt in sight. The bartender said they were really swamped that night, but there were only about a dozen people in the whole bar. I’d hate to see it on a really busy night.

The third strike and perhaps the one that will keep me from ever coming here again were the drinks. My god, those drinks were bad. I’m not exaggerating when I say that they are among the worst cocktails I’ve ever had. Cloyingly sweet, syrupy, cheap tasting, and bottom-shelf rums. Their “Zombie” had spiced rum in it, for Pete’s sake! Corners were cut left and right. My wife and I ordered a Kilauea and an Undertow. We had a couple sips of each and couldn’t take any more. We left after hardly making a dent. The drink selection was poor with more beer choices than classic tiki drinks.

With all the resources we have at our fingertips from people like Beachbum Berry and Martin Cate, there’s no reason a tiki bar (especially in the Bay Area) should serve drinks like this. It’s a simple formula, you just have to care. And I think that’s where this bar falls short. They just don’t seem to care.

Tiki Grabowski

Tiki Grabowski has visited Kona Club.

February 11, 2019, 8:14 PM

First visit to the Kona Club. As a fan of the original (and only true Magnum P.I.) their "Real Men Drink Chi Chi's" shirt is what drew me in. Walking in the decor and lighting is awesome. Bamboo Ben did a great job (but then again doesn't he always). Tapa cloth, tikis, puffer fish and even a "dancing" hula girl. My chief complaint is the music. When I walked in Mariah Carey was playing. Naturally I had to give the bartender a hard time about the music where I was then told, "We are not that type of tiki bar". That was very disappointing to hear. They have some interesting takes on classic tiki drinks which aren't too bad.

Shop99er

Shop99er has visited Kona Club.

October 8, 2018, 4:40 PM

Nice clean place. Not close to being the five some people have alluded to.

Drinks were excellent, and the decor was very well done.

NeilSmith

NeilSmith has visited Kona Club.

July 25, 2018, 1:02 PM

We visited on our Tiki Kon Trip, the drinks were awful, embarrassing, no Tiki love in there what so ever.
Bonus Tiki Mug was only $3 😳

Astro Tiki

November 21, 2017, 3:36 PM

A nice little bar. The drinks are spot on, the decor is perfect and on weeknights, it's not blisteringly crowded.

The two complaints I have are the slightly smelly bathrooms and the random music. The music is fine - but is utterly unrelated to anything even approaching a Tiki vibe.

Still, I have been there quite often.

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.

Monster A GoGo

Monster A GoGo is a semi-regular at Kona Club.

March 2, 2016, 5:30 PM

I stumbled into this place not expecting much based on the shockingly low (6.6? Really?) rating. Oh my stars! This is my new favorite tiki bar in the Bay Area (East Bay)! My friends and I loved it. Granted we went in the late afternoon, before the place was very crowded, but we totally dug it anyway. It gave us a chance to really soak the place in. The drinks were good and the back room gave the place plenty of space. I will be back!

not_carlos

not_carlos is a semi-regular at Kona Club.

August 11, 2015, 4:03 PM

This mostly counts as my favourite dive that also happens to be a tiki bar. Music is by all accounts all over the place and depends on who's bartending and who's controlling the music. Besides that it's been a place to go after an Oakland A's loss (which is bittersweet as it happens more often nowadays).

exquisitecorpse

exquisitecorpse has visited Kona Club.

May 4, 2012, 1:12 AM

drinks are definitely on the strong side but very good. excellent service.

tikitonga

tikitonga has visited Kona Club.

April 29, 2010, 2:04 PM

Visited for the first time this past weekend. I could have given it almost straight 9 or 10s on everything but the juke box was broken so there was no chance to play any exotica music...which would have helped immensely. Instead we were treated to such Tiki gems as Journey and Boston.......

The other detriment was the quality of the drinks themselves. There was a large drink menu, which was nice, and the drinks were strong, which is nice, but they were strong to the point of overpowering the other ingredients. I rarely saw our friendly bartender use a shaker and instead mixed everything in the glass.

On the upside, the decor was fantastic. Every square inch was utilized to house bamboo paneling, thatch, tiki masks and of course the topless lifesize hula statue with the swiveling hips. They also had some of the coolest mugs I've seen with their logo on the back. I'll post a pic soon. The bartender was really friendly which was nice.

If they can improve the craftsmanship of the drinks, I think the Kona Club could easily be one of the top 5 Tiki Bars in the Bay Area.

Articles about Kona Club in Critiki News

Regulars and Visitors of Kona Club

Semi-Regulars

People who go to Kona Club at least a few times a year.

• 
  Ben Tanuki
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  Tikitime
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  Devin
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  sherlock2713
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  Noland Nocount
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  not_carlos
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  Gpullen
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  Monster A GoGo
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  kanaluna
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  rob rose
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  amy
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  tikiray
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  bardot
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  knosilla
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  terrylee
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  hhparsons
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  acrylicskies
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  kdouglas
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  Rockinpoodle13
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  Suffering Bastard
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  daworley23
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  TikiDiki
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  The Daywalker
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  ChulaCher
• 
  Kawika

Visitors

People who have been to Kona Club at least once.

• 
  Humuhumu
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  Tiki-Kate
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  Johnnie Velour
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  Trader Mike
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  Tiare
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  ted tiki
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  TraderTiki
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