Tiki Tiki Shinjuku

This was my 2nd visit to the Tiki Tiki. My first was a longer visit in 2009. This visit we only had about 20 mins until closing but they were very nice in letting us order drinks. You MUST order the smoking coconut drink. It is just amazing to watch. I had a mango drink that was pretty awesome. The good part of being there so late was that it was empty so I got to walk around and take photos without anyone in them. I had forgotten they had entertainment so would try to time my next visit better.

Tiki Tiki provided a substandard faux polynesian experience that left me feeling bummed out. I had high expectations when I arrived. However, by the time my visit was through, I was lacking the rum soaked aloha spirit that a tiki bar should provide.

Drinks:
The most important part of the tiki experience is rum. So to start, I order a Mai Tai--the benchmark drink for any tiki establishment. Tiki Tiki’s Mai Tai was served in a sundae glass with a pineapple, orange, and flower garnish. Neat. It looked pretty, but how did it taste? Bad. The first thing that jumped out was the temperature of the drink. It was warm. There was just a scant amount of melting ice floating at the top of the cocktail. Pineapple and orange juice dominated the flavor profile. There was only the tiniest hint of lime--not nearly enough. The drink was missing the taste of orgeat and rum. To sum this cocktail up: I asked for a Mai Tai, but was served a warm glass of fruit juice.

Service:
Terrible. After being shown our table and served our first round of drinks, we were ignored by the servers. They were zipping around the dining room tending to what appeared to be a birthday party. After more than 30 minutes of sitting in front of empty glasses and plates, I got up and requested further service.

Surprise charges:
When the bill finally got to our table, I noticed that it was 1000 yen too high. I looked a bit closer and noticed an item simply labeled “charge.” I asked our server what it was for, and he said that they charge 500 yen per customer simply for visiting. Well, it would have been nice knowing that before hand. There was nothing posted at front of the restaurant regarding a cover charge, our server did not inform us when we were being seated, and there was nothing noted in the menu.

Summary:
Terrible drinks and service capped with a surprise cover charge that is revealed only when you receive your bill. Do not waste your money here. If you want to visit a tiki bar in Tokyo, you are better off going to Trader Vic’s at The New Otani.