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Mister Tiki Mai Tai Lounge, San Diego, CA (restaurant) |
ModMana
Tiki Socialite
Joined: Sep 05, 2002
Posts: 263
From: San Diego, CA
|  Posted: 2004-06-15 4:11 pm Permalink
Name:Mister Tiki Mai Tai Lounge
Type:restaurant
Street:801 5th Avenue
City:San Diego
State:CA
Zip:92101
country:USA
Phone:(619) 233-1183
Status:operational
Description:
Description from the MISTER TIKI website:
Mister Tiki Mai Tai Lounge - Home of the \"Mondo Martiki\"
MISTER TIKI MAI TAI LOUNGE is a fun, hip spot for dining and sharing. Featuring Pacific Island Cuisine with a Poke & Sushi Bar, exotic cocktails and a fun lounge atmosphere, MISTER TIKI is your late night dining spot.
The creative, one-of-a-kind design at Mister Tiki Mai Tai Lounge is a collaboration between the Cohns and noted San Diego designer JLorene Gage. JLorene was the designer for Kemo Sabe, Indigo Grill and Blue Point (other Cohn restaurants in San Diego). All Cohn restaurant designs have incorporated the work of local artists and MISTER TIKI is no exception. San Diego is a hot bed of Tiki culture and Tiki artisans. MISTER TIKI features more than a dozen custom Tiki Gods and masks carved by San Diego County's own Bosko Hrnjak.
MISTER TIKI MAI TAI LOUNGE is a 21 & up restaurant and lounge.
Open Nightly at 5:30 PM
Located at 5th and F Street in the Gaslamp Quarter, downtown San Diego.
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freddiefreelance
Tiki Socialite
Joined: Feb 15, 2003
Posts: 2983
From: San Diego, Ca.
| Posted: 2004-07-11 12:24 pm Permalink
Here's a puff-review from the San Diego Union-Tribune's Dining & Entertainment Advertising Coordinator, Wolfgang D. Verkaaik:
Quote:
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Mister Tiki's casts fun, exotic spell over the Gaslamp
How wonderfully unique. Finally something very different has opened in the Gaslamp, and it is a perfect fit! The magical lure of the tropics is a bout 2,500 miles or so from our coast, but thanks to the restauranteurs David & Lesley Cohn is now much closer.
Mister Tiki's Mai Tai Lounge, which has opened in the former location of Fio's, brings the old "Tiki Culture" back to the forefront in a hip and trendy way.
This spot opens at 5:30 PM and is ideal for just about anything: Savory pu-pus, full on meals, tropical cocktails, a sushi bar and a fantastic menu of entrees (designed for sharing), inspired by those alluring islands of the Pacific. Mister Tiki's Mai Tai Lounge is casual (your Tommy Bahama outfit would look great in here) and it is not tooo pricey either (from $7 to $22). All in all it is a vibrantand refreshing addition to the downtown dining scene.
The interior is fantastic, with lots of Tikis, wicker & bamboo and a great looking bar with a huge Tiki god that looks down on the lounge crowd. Tropical lanterns & ceiling paddle fans also add a perfect touch. Among Exotic drinks is the Mondo Martiki, a gigantic concoction for four or more persons made with spiced rums, pineapple, mango, Ron Matusalem Gran Reserva, Parrot Bay Coconut, and all the juices in "da house." it's $35 and you take home the glass! In addition there is the classic Mai Tai for $7 and several other tasty versions of the popular drink. You'll also find dribks such as the Lei Lani Lei, Mo Bettah Mama, Sake Tsunami and the Bobsa Chai Chai.
Moving to the nourishing side of the offerings there's Dim Sum and Den Sum, which include Crispy Crab Won Tons, Curried Ka-Lua Pot Sticker, nad the awesome Poke Platter(Poke is a delishious marinated sashimi) and also has spicy crab, citrus salmon, ocean salad and taro chips. Chicken or vegetable letuce wraps are listed and so are steamed bunsand Baked Luau Oysters Rockerfeller. From the pu-pu menu come Thai Curry Calamari Fries, Coconut Crab Cakes, Dragon Fired Chinese BBQ Ribs, Satay and Grilled Kalbi Ribs. There are a couple of soups listed including lemongrass coconut soup and four meal size salads such as the Cobb style seafood salad.
Island Plate selections include Hawaiian Swordfish (with tomato salad, Asian greens, roasted pineapple and cilantro rice), Big Island Grilled Iron Steak (with roasted island sweet potapo, sauteed mushrooms and green peppercorn sauce), Chinese Hoisin Duck, Rotisserie Huli Huli Chicken and the signature Misoyoki Seared Salmon Nigiri Style.
Find this paradise at 801 Fifth Ave. Call (619) 233 1183.
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hiltiki
Tiki Socialite
Joined: Jun 10, 2004
Posts: 2773
From: Reseda, calif.
| Posted: 2004-07-11 2:25 pm Permalink
I just came back from San Diego, I went to Mr.Tiki and it was great. It was decorated so nicely, a lot of people were there. Food was great. I tried the shrimp tempura, out of this world. Service was very good. I met the owner and his son. Told them about T.C. and that I heard about his place from you people. I only have one complain, the music was just not happening. No tiki music, not even 50's stuff. By the end of the evening we were listening to Rap.??????
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3DTiki
Member
Joined: Apr 20, 2004
Posts: 10
From: Inglewood
| Posted: 2004-07-26 6:16 pm Permalink
During the San Diego Comic-con I had a chance to eat there twice, once with a group of 18 and a second time with a party of four.
The consensus was that both the food and drinks were quite good, the desserts were small for the price, and the reggae music that played both nights was better than pop or rap, but not as good as actual tiki music would have been.
The service was great, even with a party of 18, and when it was just 4 of us on a busy Saturday, the food came out to the table really fast.
The decorations were nice, especially Bosko's tikis (it was nice to see a Bosko drink on the menu), the glass fish lamps hanging from the ceiling, and the tables made up inlaid laminated bamboo slices.
Aparently there's sushi available on the bar side which isn't on the regular restaurant menu, which I'd recommend making available to both sides of the split layout, as people were asking for it at their tables.
Unfortunately in my enjoyment of the whole weekend, I didn't see if there was a signature mug for the Mr Tiki Mai Tai itself, and no one at the table ordered that particular drink. Something to explore on the next trip down to San Diego, I think.
Also of note, while it says on the website 21 and up, at the restaurant itself it says 21 and up after 9:30, so well-behaved youngsters can still enjoy the place (as long as they're not expecting a kid's menu).
I certainly recommend it, and maybe we can get some better music in there if we ask nicely. 
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freddiefreelance
Tiki Socialite
Joined: Feb 15, 2003
Posts: 2983
From: San Diego, Ca.
| Posted: 2004-07-27 08:38 am Permalink
The Bosko has it's own mug you can take home, the Martiki has it's own mug that you can take home, I forget which other's do but I think there's 1 or 2 others with their own mug to go & most of the Tiki drinks are serverd in a Tiki mug.
_________________
Rev. Dr. Frederick J. Freelance, Ph.D., Th.D., D.F.S
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3DTiki
Member
Joined: Apr 20, 2004
Posts: 10
From: Inglewood
| Posted: 2004-07-27 09:31 am Permalink
I was thinking more on the lines of if Mr. Tiki's had a custom mug of their own, with Mr. Tiki on it.
I did see stuff being served in appropriate mugs and glasses overall, and quite a few you could take home with you.
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freddiefreelance
Tiki Socialite
Joined: Feb 15, 2003
Posts: 2983
From: San Diego, Ca.
| Posted: 2004-07-27 09:56 am Permalink
I don't know about custom, but the Bosko has the Mr. Tiki logo in it's mouth. I think the Bosko is a Libby mug, not custom.
_________________
Rev. Dr. Frederick J. Freelance, Ph.D., Th.D., D.F.S
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MachTiki
Tiki Socialite
Joined: Feb 16, 2004
Posts: 1363
From: San Diego, CA
| Posted: 2004-07-29 09:48 am Permalink
I picked up a couple of these mugs last time I was there. They're VERY generic, but they have the name on them.
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vegastikidude
Tiki Socialite
Joined: Jul 07, 2003
Posts: 104
From: Las Vegas, NV
| Posted: 2004-07-31 7:45 pm Permalink
My little wahine and I went to San Diego last weekend for a few days. We drove up to Whittier and while spending some quality time at Oceanic Arts, LeRoy had mentioned Mr. Tiki to us so we decided to check it out. Afterall, we were going to be downtown anyway. I must admit we were a little disappointed. Had it not been for a few new Tiki appointments in the place, you would not know you were in a Tiki Bar. It's a very new, trendy place catering to the younger, twenty-something crowd and I have to give it credit for that. It's a nice place, but for me the highlight was bringing home the figural pineapple mug with the Mr. Tiki Logo. We had a much better time at The Islands Restaurant at the Hanalei Hotel and the Bali Hai Restaurant on Shelter Island (definitely recommended if in San Diego).
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tiki5-0
Tiki Socialite
Joined: Jun 29, 2004
Posts: 247
From: Pomona, CA
| Posted: 2004-08-16 09:43 am Permalink
we ate here this past weekend. the place is decorated very well. bosko tikis and masks all over, glass floats, puffer fish lights, tapa lights, matting on the walls with bamboo trim. it was a great visual place. the food was good. the only mug the have now is the pineapple mug, which of course i had to get one. the other mugs were just for the grand opening. it was a good place, but we liked the bali hai better.
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PiPhiRho
Grand Member (first year) 
Joined: Mar 25, 2002
Posts: 977
From: Redondo Beach
| Posted: 2004-10-21 12:34 pm Permalink
I was in San Diego yesterday and instead of going over to Shelter Island and the Bali Hai this time I made a special trip to the Gaslamp to check this place out. I was very impressed! This is a wnderful neo-tiki spot with great decor. Both the drinks and the food were excellent. I had the Suffering Bastard and the Mister Tiki Mai Tai. Not a bad mai tai and the suffering bastard was a nice modern take on the original recipe. I had the swordfish - three swordfish filets each with a different topping. Well worth the trip despite the rain!
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alohashirtbob
Grand Member (first year)
Joined: Nov 03, 2004
Posts: 49
From: Mount Prospect, IL
| Posted: 2004-11-09 09:07 am Permalink
The owners of this 'Tiki' bar own serveral of the resturants in the gaslamp. It looks Tiki enough but is a souless expensive place. It takes more than a couple of carvings and matching shirts to make a good Tiki Bar in my opinion.
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alohashirtbob
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Digitiki
Tiki Socialite
Joined: Jul 22, 2004
Posts: 749
From: L.A. baby!
| Posted: 2004-11-30 09:47 am Permalink
OK, so Mrs. Digitiki and I made a trip to San Diego, and stopped in on Mister Tiki for the first time. Decor-wise it was kinda sparse, but very nice. A very upscale neo-tiki look that was different but plesent.
The service sucked! We arrived at 7:30pm and there were only 3 other people sitting at the small bar. We went for drinks first and thought we would glance over the menu before deciding to get a table. The bar tenders - ALL OF THEM were utterly disinterested in waiting on us-and they weren't busey either. They were more interested in chatting with themselves. We had to ask for everything. We asked for a sushi menu and dinner menu, nobody came back to ask us if we wanted to order anything. When my wife finished her drink. Nobody came. When I was finished--nothing. And we weren't suckin'em down fast either.
Needless to say, we paid our 2-drink tab (after having to almost force someone to pay attention) and left. We went to the Bali Hai on Shelter Island instead and had a wonderful dinner and several great Mai Tais. Now, I'm sure that our experience may not be typical, but it sure was a turn off. I mean, c'mon--4 bartenders, 5 customers sitting at the bar??? Bad odds.
Bottom line for me: Interesting "modern" tiki interior, the items on the menu looked good, but the absolutely terrible service put a serious damper on it.
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Digitiki
Tiki Socialite
Joined: Jul 22, 2004
Posts: 749
From: L.A. baby!
| Posted: 2005-01-13 4:00 pm Permalink
Anybody know where they got those hanging glass pufferfish lights?
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MEAN GENE
Tiki Socialite
Joined: Jun 09, 2004
Posts: 385
From: San Diego
| Posted: 2005-01-13 9:12 pm Permalink
I spoke to thier interior designer before they open about them. She said that she had them made. She wasn't into hanging the dead kind. She wasn't a true tiki freak either, but those glass ones are pretty cool. She didn't say who made them.
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