Was almost a 5 star review, until a drunk off-duty Tiki bar employee came in and invaded our good time. We were on our way out with a group of 8, it was the first time I had been there and I truly did like the bar up until this employee showed up with his friend who ruined the experience for me forever.
Positives: Angie the bartender is a considerate person, treat her well and she will treat you well. She was very much a conflict resolver and a good person generally, made good drinks. Drinks are on-theme and pretty good. Neat to be able to buy souvenir cups.
Negatives: Easily gets cramped. Kinda dark. Lots of dark corners. Heard it is a sweatbox on the weekends. Very tiny, dangerous staircases to bathrooms. 3 foot aisle between bar and booths. Based on numerous reviews, employees have had a history of being out of line at this place, and this was the first thing I encountered that I didn't like. Pinball is $1 per game. Neon sign is busted out front. Shows its age.
It was such a disappointing end to an otherwise positive night. We were there on a Thursday around 9 for a wedding rehearsal dinner after-dinner-drink. Place was pretty empty, about 5 patrons when we came in. After less than an hour of drinking, our night was over, and they had drained us of several hundred dollars for the shots and the volcano and multiple drinks, but it was all good.
Around 10 or 11 o'clock, we were looking to get out of the place and things were winding down with our group, when a guy showed up with this girl in a hoodie and things got lame from there. We had been sitting next to the pinball machines, playing them while waiting for the Uber XL to take the group onward, when this guy rolls up and breaks the machine intentionally. This caused free games to be given to his female friend -- after we dumped like $10 into this one machine. Then, after an awkward moment with his female friend, where I patted her on the back for getting a free game -- she squealed that I was "acting weird" for touching her -- I did my best to apologize but she sicked her male friend on me, who got in my face and kept yelling "DO YOU KNOW I WORK HERE?" "I WORK HERE" and "HEY MAN I WORK HERE" to which I responded, "WHAT AM I SUPPOSED TO DO WITH THIS INFORMATION?"
I ducked the conflict, and after clearing my tab, as I made my way to the door, I made sure to verbally let the guy know he was in the wrong, and he began pushing me out with his chest like a real rube. Then the doorman bouncer who was actually working got in the middle and also pushed me out but also whispered apologies in my ear as I explained I would have left a lot faster if everyone just left me alone. Then, Angie The Bartender ran out and was like "Oh man you forgot your souvenir mug!" This was exemplary.
Anyway, it was my first time there, never will return. Others may love the place or have fond memories, but the dusty decor and the insanely territorial bouncer incident turned me off forever. There was just no conflict resolution. Maybe its the stress of all the dumb shootings in the neighborhood. But, no apology was good enough for him (or the girl, afaik). My friends told me later he was very drunk and so was the girl he was with. Huh.
Having read the reviews, I see they've had a history of egotistical bouncers and questionable bartenders. As a person who used to work as a restaurant manager, this guy wasn't respecting the place. He shouldn't have come in and taken over, flaunting his ability to hack the Godzilla Pinball machine, on a Thursday, just because he considered it a throw-away day. It's only because of activities like that that people end up having a bad time and not coming back. It has that attitude of "we don't need customers" which translates to less customers overall. Bar probably needs a deep clean. read more