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| - Not the best experience for my very first visit there - 2.5 Stars
Heard good things about this place from friends and Yelp reviews have been pretty favorable. I have been wanting to check out this place for a while and I finally got a chance to do so this past weekend.
Let's start off with the obvious. This place is located in a long strip mall located in the busier area of Chinatown. Parking in this area as with a lot of places in Chinatown can be scarce during the busy times. However, I met up with a friend there after work at about 11:00pm this past Saturday, and was able to find a parking spot. Outside of the bar has large tiki masks with the door entrance to the right of it. Signage is large enough for people from the street to see.
We were greeted by a male and female staff member as soon as we walked in. The female staff member informed us the only available seating at the moment was at the bar. Walking inside it is dimly lit with the walls, floors and ceilings blacked out. Lots of vintage/retro looking decorations to look at. The drink menus were pretty cool and were easy to read. Love the graphics and typography used. The female staff members nailed that vintage/retro look from their hairstyle to their outfits. The male staff were donned in Aloha shirts. The music wasn't too loud or too quiet and was provided by a house DJ dressed in eclectic fashion. It did not smell too bad of heavy cigarette smoke like Frank's Tiki but was tolerable enough.
We did a quick walk-around and confirmed there were no available booths but did see one spot in the back room. We went back to the bar and the bartender, April, took care of our drink order promptly and with a smile. We checked the spot that appeared available earlier and it still was. We asked the surrounding guests if anyone was sitting there and they said no, so we took a seat. After a couple minutes we noticed one couple leave their spot so we moved there because it had a small table. We sat and had our drinks. I had the Monkey Business which was good.
We noticed one server taking care of the entire back room. She went over to the different groups to check up on them as well as take care of new guests being seated. I did not notice at first but she never came up to us to ask us how we were doing. I made a comment to my friend about it and she really did not notice it either. About 20 minutes go by, when the hostess who greeted us at the door, came up to us and said, ". . . even though there is no sign on this table, this area is reserved so can you please move?" We were a bit surprised and did not know exactly where to move to but there was enough room for us to scoot over to accommodate these guest who reserved this table and were seated by the hostess. To me I though it was a bit rude since they did not even apologize about the inconvenience nor did she offer another area where we could possibly find a spot to sit. 10 minutes later, the server of the area makes her way around the room again. She checked up on the group to our immediate right, skipped us, and checked on the couple who was just seated next to us if they were ready to order. Didn't even make eye contact with us. My friend noticed this time around and just raised her eyebrows at me while sipping the last of her drink. It was a couple minutes later when we left. I wanted to order another drink but after being glossed over by the server and being abruptly moved by the hostess, we did not want to stick around longer.
As a first time guest there, if there is any unmarked reserved areas, I believe we should be made known so we are not sitting in an area we are not supposed to. I will try to give this place another shot in the future but it won't be for a little while after what we experienced. Must have offended the tiki gods there in some way on my first visit. I'd rather deal with the smoke-infested Frank's Tiki located in a sketchier part of town. I have been there a few times. Their drinks are very good and their staff a little more accommodating.
*In response to Branden P., thank you for taking the time to reply back. We only heard the one-time warning when we were asked to move. Unfortunately, it's a he-said-she-said situation and I would expect you to side with your outstanding and gracious staff. I know I would. We honestly did not know the area we sat in was exclusively reserved seating. I learned not to assume things, but apparently here, you need to know how to assume. Our fault for not being more aware. Thank you for implying we are part of the 1% that don't "get it." The allure of the place with its sound, visuals and the number of people inside apparently distracted us enough to not truly heed the warning from your hostess. I shall serve as a warning to others of how not to irritate and anger the golden tiki gods. Lest feel their wrath and be cast into the pit of the 1%.
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