999 Tiki proved to be a surprise on several levels. First of all, I had never heard of it before. Secondly, I confess that I set my expectations on a Tiki bar that was an outgrowth of a pizza parlor pretty low … and am happy to say that I was a misguided in this initial reaction, for reasons that I will further elaborate below…
The 999 Pizza side of the operation was garish and fun, with plenty of neon, video games and other eye candy.
Then, you walked through the door joining the pizza parlor to the Tiki bar, and there it was …
… in one of the last places I would have expected it, a Bamboo Ben build out, and with a few nice Tiki Tony touches into the bargain, including a Tony doorframe.
Despite the Tiki décor, make no mistake, this place is still deeply pizza-themed too, the two themes merged in unholy matrimony. If this statement seems unlikely, just look a bit more closely at the detailing in a few of photos taken.
Moving on, 999 is well-named, as most menu items, both food and drink, are priced at – you guessed it – at $9.99.
Those who ordered pizza spoke well of it, as one would hope, since it was the restaurant’s specialty. The personal veggie pizza Jeanie ordered she reported was quite good — artichokes, green peppers with still a bit of crunch, a nice crispy crust, and not the least bit greasy, which suggests the cheese was quality.
The next surprise for me was not only that I could order tacos in a pizza joint, but that they were in fact great – you were offered a choice of chorizo, beef, or chicken for your three tacos, and you could mix it up, so I had one of each.
They arrived with an amount of meat and veggies so generous that I had to acquire a fork, due to structural integrity issues … and when the owner noticed, he unbidden brought me more tortillas to help. The mild salsa was fresh and clearly housemade. For $9.99, they were one heck of a value.
And those $9.99 drinks? Better than what you might expect. Were the drivers in the rum drinks Myer’s Dark Rum and Bacardi light or gold rums? Yes. Was the lime juice bottled? Yes. All classic Tiki drinks were lighter, breezier, and a little (not overwhelmingly so) sweeter than their namesakes, but for the price, they were by and large a value too:
Dan’s Pink Drink: OK, not a classic, but more of a dessert in a glass. Coconut-forward, with pineapple, lime, grenadine, and rum. Pretty, sweet, perfectly OK if that is your thing.
The Zombie: Everything said above applies – lighter in color and flavor than Zombies I am used to, but with light flavor notes suggesting the original recipe, if lacking the deep rum undertow of any Donn recipe. Refreshing and enjoyable if one does not think too hard about the whole Zombie part of the equation.
Mai Tai: Same notes as for the Zombie, except it seemed a wee bit closer to a traditional Mai Tai than the Zombie seemed to an actual Zombie. It contained neither grenadine or pineapple, and was close to the correct color.
Three Dots and a Dash: Same note as per Zombie.
In short, for what you get with the price point, pretty much fantastic drinks, per one of our fellow diners, so no need to believe just me. If you find yourself in Camarillo looking for lunch and some fun and less-than-serious Tiki, this is a great choice. And by all means, do not heed the directions in the bathroom; you know you totally want to push that big red button!
999 Tiki (Pizza)