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| - One thing is certain here - the Tiki Hideaway is up-front when it comes to the name. Even knowing where the place is, and it was still a bit of a challenge to find the place. (Hint, park upstairs, head down the stairs, turn left and keep going until you can't go any further. If you get to Chick-Fil-A. you've gone to far.)
It's really not that bad, but tucked into this tiny little corner on the bottom level does not make for an easy location to find, and you have to think that being in NoDa or Plaza Midwood would be a better spot for popping in for drinks than on a busy street like Woodlawn.
With that in mind, the Hideaway is a bar. Sure, they have small plates, in the vein of Yama Izakaya if that helps - though the selection here isn't nearly as interesting.
Both drinks and plates are Polynesian-themed, and just about everything, from the menus to the walls to the tables to the blowfish lights hanging from the ceilings fit right in. Not sure about the candles on the tables though. Dimly-lit as the place was (and as blind as I am growing by the minute), they looked like those Himalayan rock salt candles, which didn't seem to make sense in the overall scheme.
Perhaps after a scorpion bowl or three it doesn't really matter.
The good news is that the staff is about as friendly as you can imagine. Even the chef came out - or at least someone who seemed to be the chef. He didn't introduce himself as such, but he came from the back after no one had gone back there for a while, so I'm thinking they didn't just leave the back door open to allow some vagrant to walk in and greet folks.
When it comes to the food on those small plates, you get a decent amount, but keep an eye on your wallet, because the prices can add up quickly! Unfortunately, the promise of the flavors doesn't seem to come through when they are delivered - meaning what is on the menu isn't what we tasted on the plate without really searching for it. This doesn't mean you need to be overwhelmed, but you shouldn't have to dig for the flavor either.
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