At long last Sonoma County had a tiki bar and an amazing one to boot with Petaluma as it's home. Everything about this bar is the definition of a quintessential tiki bar. Where to begin? From the elaborate decor, a menu of classic cocktails and homegrown ones on top of a great selection of food. (Poke nachos being my favorite). It's disappointing to hear negative reviews coming from people completely not in the know about tiki. (Tiki drinks are supposed to have a lot of ice so you can keep a slow sip going you lushes and while kids are allowed why on earth are you bringing your kids to a hot new bar and then expecting to be accommodated like a daycare?). Anyway, it goes to show the only sure things in life are death, taxes, and karens. So stoked to see Kapu continue to thrive and become a Sonoma County institution! read more

I think this place is way overrated and won't be returning for another visit. The drinks are mostly ice and water downed versions of what they are depicting and the staff are nice in a very perfunctory way. The decor is polynesian chic and a nice change for your typical bar in Petaluma, though, I have to say that the total experience is lacking and won't be returning. read more

Loved the ambience--dark and cozy but colorful. The drinks were delicious and strong--tried a mai tai and a zombie. The ahi tuna salad, poke nachos, pork adobo fried rice, and mixed veggie side were excellent. Service was perfect--never waited long for anything. read more

Staff here is very friendly and made sure our family had a wonderful evening. Drinks were great (as good as the tiki bars in SF) and the food was really good. read more

I went to Kapu this Wednesday... All expectations blown... Smash, the bartender, made me feel at home. Every drink was detectible. I had the short rib and poke nachos... Wow. Smiled all the way home. Damn good. read more

Don't go with kids and without a reservation. I found the hostess to be rude. I won't go back.

Fried rice was good! Got a henhouse beer! Our waiter was super knowledgeable on the drinks and food! The staff did a great job with picking the food, decorations and employees! Highly recommended getting a reservation in and checking out the new spot! read more

This review is just regarding the food at Kapu. As others have stated the ambiance is great, the service is excellent, drinks are good, etc. There is a MAJOR issue with the food that seriously needs to get addressed and that is the price for what they serve you and the portions you get. This area is totally and completely unacceptable! Got the Garlic Chicken, and it was definitely tasty, but for $12 dollars to be served five small nuggets of chicken is ridiculous. Even worse was the Poke Nachos! For $25 dollars you get 4 little wonton strips with some poke on it. Again, for $25 DOLLARS!!! Absolutely insulting and a complete ripoff! I have had Poke Nachos lots of other places before and it was an entire plate or bowl of wonton strips or chips with a mound of poke for the same price. What was very entertaining was watching the tables around us and seeing the exact same reactions taking place. The initial shocked looks of "Are you kidding me???" and people's literal first words of "This is it???". So I know it was not just us and we did not have unrealistic expectations. The looks of disappointment were happening all around us. This is the kind of place where you will dump a bunch of money and then have to leave and go eat somewhere else so you can actually feel some sense of being full or satisfied. Also tried the Fried Noodles and I don't think I've ever eaten a more bland noodle dish in my entire life. The Char Siu Pork on top WAS good (although again, totally not significant enough of a portion), but the rest tasted like a plate of boiled noodles with ZERO flavor or seasoning of any kind. They describe this on the menu as "Yakisoba" and this could not be any further from Yakisoba if they tried! This dish needs a ton of work or should just flat out be taken off the menu. Tried the Gau Gee friend dumplings, and again they were tasty, but you got three (yes three) dumplings for $14 dollars. Completely and utterly ridiculous. I honestly don't know what they are thinking in terms of what they are charging or their portions. Kapu is a neat new place, but they really need to address this or they are going to lose customers fast, ESPECIALLY as a brand new business where you are trying to gain customers and build a loyal base. People can get turned away very quickly and get a bad taste in their mouth after only a single visit. And these days word travels incredibly fast! Going out is a luxury for most people these days, and you want to feel like you're getting your dollars worth when you spend it somewhere. Having to spend north of $100 dollars just to get full is a recipe for disaster and failure. I sincerely hope they take these criticisms seriously and reevaluate their operations. read more

arrived on 8/24/24 at 2:10pm service was mediocre. girl was good. guy that came on at 3pm was AWFUL. took over 30 minutes for us to be acknowledged if we needed a second drink. plan was to stay a few more hours but when guy started giving free sample to others and only said to us was ""have a nice evening" we left. we would have spend at least $100 more in drinks and merchandise. we will not be back! read more

Visited Santa Rosa and Petaluma for three nights... and we hit Kapu all three nights! It was incredible. Seated at the bar, we were fascinated by the bar staff and their expertise. Each one loved their job and worked so hard to knock out those amazing cocktails. We ate, drank, and soaked in the decor. It was perfection -- so god we returned night after night and then brought friends. I had no idea the bar was a new one as the crew was so spot-on excellent. Go for the tiki, and stay for the amazing bar staff and cocktails. Excellent. read more

Delicious food and drinks, good happy hour, nice staff. Lots of fun. I'll definitely go back.

Great ambiance. Great service. Great experience. Drinks were delicious despite the high ice-to-cocktail ratio (seriously, my Zombie was 2/3 crushed ice!). This place is head and shoulders above the past few restaurant attempts at this location. If the proprietors continue to focus on my opening statements Kapu Bar ought to outlast them all. Fingers crossed. read more

Great drinks, great apps, music and tiki. This place is super fun. We'd stop by again soon.

A friend of mine bought us dinner here the other night. It was fun and the food was good. I read people's reviews before going and most of them were pretty honest. We tried all of the small plates and shared them with a group of 6. My favorite was the short ribs. Everyone agreed the noodles with kimchi was delicious. The drinks were just okay. Lots of ice and seemed a bit weak, they looked better than they tasted. I would consider going again. read more

Super gimmicky, Reminds me of my older brothers bedroom growing up that was a converted garage in the late 90s. Tiny, dark, and over decorated from Spencer's gift shop. Overpriced drinks filled with mostly crushed ice for $16 plus tax and tip, tiny appetizers for an entree price. This is petaluma not San Francisco. If you want to check out a cool tiki bar drive to SF and go to the Tonga room for these prices. Never again. You cannot be this pretentious on Keller St. read more

Very disrespectful! My friends and I waited 20 minutes at the bar just for others to served as soon as they sat down right next to us and watch out if bartenders are too busy one might say welcome to the bars baby girl/boy. read more

Holy smokes. This place is so fun!! Great staff (thank you George & Camille!), amazing ambiance, and the food was out of this world. Highly recommend the ahi nachos! Grab a reservation ASAP or make sure to get there early. The place-rightfully so- fills up quickly! read more

This place was awesome in every way. Great food, drinks, service, and ambiance. Highly recommended!

Everything was exceptional at Kapu, from service to food to drinks! Loved it! Great tiki ambiance.

Amazing atmosphere and drinks, I will definitely be back the space feels like you've been transported to a different place!

I want to thank Michael and bar manager for their hospitality. My wife and I traveled to Petaluma just to check out Kapu. Unluckily for us, we arrived on a day Kapu was closed. The front door was open so I peeked in and Michael invited us in to see the interior. It is beautiful inside. As we were talking, I asked if they Kapu was going to offer tiki mugs. They showed me their opening mug and I sheepishly asked if I could purchase one. They were only there that day to do some last minute things before opening the following day. These guys went out of their way to open the register just so I could go home with a mug, which is spectacular. What awesome and over the top service. I want to thank them for their hospitality and kindness. Michael, we are returning in April to get some food and drinks. We can't wait. read more

Seated decently quick. Server took our drink order decently quick. It Took 25+ minutes to get our drinks to our table. And the drinks we'll.. the zombie. Don't get it they need to tweak it. Scuttle is eh same thing missing something. Mia Tia is better but not great. Atmosphere is sup par too. It has potential but not there currently. Also the server made contact 3 times in an hour plus.. Sub-par. read more

Such a cool little spot . Great ambiance and decor: A true tiki bar ! Ashleigh and Chris were Amazing ! Stop by and get you tiki on! You won't be disappointed ! read more

Ok, there was way too much ice in the mai tai, my wife took one or two sips and it was gone - just a mug of ice. But let's assume that was an exception...really nice Tiki-vibe here, clearly owners have gone to a lot of trouble. Food was great, would like to see a few more Hawaiian items on the menu to complete the theme. Stuffed fish very good. Zombie drink also worth a try! read more

Ok, do not under ANY circumstances go to this place if you are either A) Hungry or B) Value your hard earned money. I have never seen tinier or more stingy portions for more ridiculous prices than at Kapu. As the reviews supporting this claim seem to just keep rolling in, (I particularly like the one that says "Left broke and hungry", couldn't have said it any better!) they obviously don't seem to care and are just coasting off of the niche business and newness and enough people blowing smoke because they're good at decorating. WHO CARES about all the decor in the world if they're flat out ripping you off?! Especially now when money is so tight for so many people!! Bottom line, everything they make should be double in portion size for what they are charging. Don't even get me started on those "nachos"!!! Lmao!!! And while they say they are going to make changes when people call them out on social media, I've been a few times now and NOTHING is changing. And I'm sorry, it does not take some massive effort to go back to your kitchen staff or chef and say "Hey, GIVE people realistic amounts of food and quit ripping them off for what we are charging them!" That's maybe a 10 second conversation at most. You can get an entire package of chicken thighs for like $6 bucks at the store, and yet somehow Kapu calculates that the amount of maybe 1 thigh (at most) should be $14 dollars!? Sorry, but once the new factor dies off I guarantee this place will go out of business if nothing changes. How many overpriced bits of food and umbrella drinks do you think people are going to come back for? Such a shame, as it had potential. read more

Alright fellow Yelp homies, let me tell you.. if you haven't gone to KAPU yet, you're missing out on the best tiki bar in the country. Not only are the drinks on point, but there is FOOD too!!! Delicious food, not an afterthought. I could eat the poke nachos every day for the rest of my life. The dude with the dreads behind the bar made me the greatest Three Dots and a Dash I've ever experienced. The dram was present but not overwhelming, the falernum was obviously homemade and not the cheap sweet kind, the Martinique rhum was funky and warming and the citrus was bright and fresh. It seemed to be his place, and if so this dude needs to run for mayor of Petaluma. Tunes were rocking, lots of surf guitar and not too much of the Martin Denny stuff. A little bit of exotica goes a long way, it's supposed to be a place of ill repute and not a Disney ride, so we were glad that it wasn't overwhelming and just enough. My partner loved her Saturn and her Domino, and the swizzle I chased my first cocktail with was equally delicious. This place is the real deal, read more