Every painting starts with one brush stroke. Each stroke that follows can make the painting better or worse.
The same thing is true with building a Tiki bar. The possibilities are only limited to your imagination, or to how much you care about building something special. I don’t want to say there’s a right or wrong way to build a Tiki bar, but as they say, “The proof is the pudding.” There are definite reasons why certain Tiki bars have lines outside the door and why others close a couple months after opening. Forbidden Island in Alameda, CA is not the later! Forbidden Island is one of the oldest of the new Tiki bars, opening its doors a decade ago in 2006.
Let’s go back in time. Before Forbidden Island, there was Lincoln’s Address…
As you can see, Lincoln’s Address was your standard local dive bar…
But Michael Thanos had a dream. When Michael looked at Lincoln’s Address, he didn’t see a dive bar, he saw the potential to create the perfect Tiki escape. Michael got his brother Mano and Martin Cate on board and started making changes.
The bar transformed from this…
To this…
As I always say, “You can’t get better than perfect.” They knew what a Tiki bar should be and made it a reality. There are no windows in the bar and when you step inside Forbidden Island, you’re transported away from the East Bay!
Décor is only one part of the trifecta of making a great Tiki bar. The second part is the drinks…
If I can sum up Forbidden Island’s drink menu with one word, it would be “extensive.”
They have all the Tiki classics and just as many original drinks. All great!
If you want high-quality drinks, you need a high-quality mixologist. Forbidden Island has that covered with a guy like Brian Rechenmacher…
Before Brian came to Forbidden Island, he mixed drinks at Trader Sam’s in Disneyland. He also makes craft cocktails at 5 Points in San Jose. I can’t speak for any of the other bartenders at Forbidden Island, but Brian was “The Man” during my visit. Every drink I was served was better than the last!
The last thing that makes a good Tiki bar great is the music. Forbidden Island does it right again! The only music in the air is exotica or surf. That is fine by me. Forbidden Island does have live entertainment and it’s all in the vein of what should be heard at a Tiki bar. They have surf, rockabilly, garage, and everything in between. There’s even room for Jello…
And if Forbidden Island is good enough for Jello, Forbidden Island is good enough for me!
After you’ve taken a ride on a trolley car and you’ve seen the Golden Gate Bridge, head over to Alameda and hit up Forbidden Island. Come see for yourself why this awesome bar is here to stay!
Here is Forbidden Island’s website.
Like Forbidden Island on Facebook!
Want to learn a little bit more about Forbidden Island’s Michael Thanos? Click here.