Tiki Haven

Well, they can’t all be winners.

Tiki bar #76 for me on Critiki and also #29 for me in 2019 is San Francisco’s Tiki Haven. Unbelievably, this place opened after Smuggler’s Cove, yet presents a pre-craft tiki bar in all it’s warts and glory. My $9 (Sundays $1 off all cocktails) Mai Tai was made with nondescript Rums, Orange Juice, Amaretto, and Triple Sec. The island style mug was pretty nice, but that was the extent of the good feelings with this forgettable Mai Tai.

Tiki Haven is a neighborhood bar in the Sunset district, surrounded by Chinese restaurants. The decor is a mix of beach and off-the-shelf “tiki”, with a soundtrack featuring 1980s-1990s hard rock and grunge. So, yeah, it’s that kind of place.

Sad to report it’s my lowest rating tiki bar on Critiki: 4.6

https://www.instagram.com/p/ByzF3v7gkKV/?igshid=amfk1upx8n0r

I wasn't expecting much when I walked into Tiki Haven but I found myself utterly delighted in this little neighborhood tiki bar. Sure its regular customers are probably there for beer and I am sure the place pays the bills by doubling as a sports bar (judging by the many large TVs up along the bar--that were thankfully not in use yet in my just-after-opening visit), but I'd be more than thrilled to have something like this in my neighborhood (My town seems to be in a tiki-free zone...so it does NOT take much to do it for me). The decor isn't all that original---most of it looks like it was purchased from a restaurant supply place . Nothing by tiki masters such as Bamboo Ben or Tiki Diablo. But, for what it is, I thought it was swell. My drink wasn't bad at all either.

For more details on my visit (along with photos and stories of other tiki spots in the area), you can visit my blog. The link is here:

https://monsterago-go.blogspot.com/2018/01/im-freaky-for-tiki-10-great-san.html

CHEERS!

It's a neighborhood bar with a Beach-Tiki veneer. Wall surfboards. TVs tuned to sports dominate. While they do make a nod to classic Tiki fare--Mai Tais, Scorpion Bowls, etc.--it's really more a "shots of Jaeger and Captain Morgan" kind of place. Drinks are simplified and not exactly nuanced: Their Zombie, for instance, is "four types of rum, OJ and pineapple juice" --no herbsaint, falernum or Donn's Mix here. They do use tiki mugs, paper umbrellas and festive straws, but the atmospherics are more neighborhood bar than an immersive Tiki aesthetic.

Still, it's a friendly place, conducive to hanging out. They have a broad selection of board games. It's worth noting that on weekdays, if you show up in "island attire," you can drink at happy hour prices all night.

Bottom line. if I were in the neighborhood and had time to kill, I'd happily drop in there again. But I don't know if I'd make a pilgrimage.