2 stars. Meh. I've experienced better. (such a great way to sum things up)
The Downtown Tiki Lounge is pretty spacious with a good amount of seating but the atmosphere seems a bit dull and lifeless. I came here for the first time on Saturday night and by 12, the place was practically empty. When my friends and I came at 11, there was quite a few people. The thing was that everyone seemed to be grouped up and unwilling to talk to anyone other than who they came with. There was no liveliness.
Drinks are pretty cheap and they have a decent selection of specialty drinks. Most of the single drinks on the menu are $8 bucks and for the bowls (serves up to 4 people) those go at $17 bucks. Another thing I liked about this place was their music selection. They were playing a ton of Sublime which was awesome.
But yea, with all that being said I don't think I'm going to be back here for a while. It's no fun going to an empty bar or a place with no type of liveliness.
Came here for Happy Hour and definitely loved the vibe. Â It totally reminded me of the dive bars that you go to in Hawaii. From the hawaiian themed decor, reggae music and the cute attentive bartenders - great change of pace from the typical happy hour spots.
Happy Hour 4pm-7pm (Mon-Fri)
$5 appetizers/jameson
$4 drinks
They offer a great selection of tropical and non-tropical drinks as well as happy hour specials. I'm not one to know if their drinks are strong or not - I am a complete lightweight but in any case, the drinks were delicious! Â The food however was blah...typical bar food. Everything tasted as if they it was frozen and heated up. Save your appetite and eat elsewhere.
Ending your work week sipping on "tropical paradise" in an island themed bar was an awesome escape from the foggy bay area weather. :)
Overall, I would recommend this place for big or small groups.
Another place I've tried. My friend and I sit down at the bar and my friend orders some cocktail with gin, the bartender must have thought we both wanted the same drink cause she made two, however I don't like Gin so I had to pass. She gave the second drink to my friend at no extra cost. I asked for an old fashion, but she didn't have the ingredients to make it. So I asked what Whiskey cocktails would she recommend. I finally settled on a Manhattan. It was made well but definitely not my drink.
I had a nice experience here
This is my current favorite bar in San Mateo (sorry Yuppie bar!) with a great tropical atmosphere. Â For some reason the fries here are delicious. Â My only complaint is the draft beer selection is sometimes lacking and the service can be slow sometimes even if there aren't many people there. Â Bonus points for using Square, I feel like I'm in the future when signing my bar tab on an iPad!
Review Source:Is this place closed? Â My date and I planned to come here for drinks as San Mateo is halfway between where we live, and we were so disappointed to find out it wasn't open at 4pm (like it says on the website). Â So we ended up going elsewhere on the street. Â As we were leaving San Mateo (around 6:30pm) it still wasn't open. Â What gives??
Review Source:Next stop on our mission was Tiki, which we came to accidentally.
Enticed by the narrow entrance and glimpse of cool decor, we entered.
Empty, but it was early. Â Bartender gal was nice enough. Â Beers were beers, if we weren't about to grab sushi, we would've tried the massive must-share bowl drink.
Suspecting this place may have potential.Will return to see. Â Can't muster to give them more stars just for comfortable outdoor patio furniture we chilled on.
I've walked past this place so many times, without even realizing it existed for the longest time. One day, my friends and I decided to stop by here for a drink before dinner and ever since then, I keep on coming back for more.
Around Burlingame, there aren't too many happy hour spots like in San Francisco. So I was really excited to add another hh spot to my list. The staff and bartenders are really friendly and easy going. The atmosphere is really chill here. They have HH specials on food as well, which I got to try. The wings were good with a spicy kick to it. The quesadilla was okay. My coworkers got their sliders which they said was good.
If you're looking for a casual relaxed atmosphere to kick back some drinks and eat some food, this is the place to go. One day, I'll suck it up and try their famous volcano bowl.
My team entire team (40+ ppl) came here for Happy Hour after volunteering. Â The location is super convenient for everyone (those who need to commute home via Cal-Train and those who drove and need parking.
Kim, the manager of the place is super reliable and helped us plan the event. Â She is also very responsive.
Dennis, the owner treated us really well and made sure that our team feels welcome.
This place is great for 75+ people for a low key event! Â I am a big fan of their wings and recommend this place for people who want a laid back vibe!
It's tiki, what were you expecting? Of course there's surfboards mounted on the walls, big bowls of blue tropical drinks with several straws, fruity sugary mixed concoctions... Whiskey, um, then you are limited. Fancy classic cocktails... good luck. This is strictly tiki-themed. Good for the after party, when other places close, this place is always open.
Review Source:This is a great place to come if you want to pretend you are in Hawaii. They have amazing tropical cocktails here. They even have super sized ones that are called volcano bowls!!! I really like the owners as well, Chris and Dennis. They were very welcoming and definitely made sure that their customers are taken care of. This is my new tropical hangout!
Review Source:We came here for party and the bar is small and narrow. They have booths on one side and a seating area and the other end. The drinks range from beer to these humongous volcano drinks that cost $17 each. I tried their volcano maitai and it was incredibly sweet. It was so huge that I ended up breaking it down to 3 drinks and giving them away as I couldn't finish it.
Crowd varies from young to old. Laid back vibe. You could come here in jeans and not feel underdressed.
A couple friends and I decided to check out the bar scene in San Mateo and ended up here due to its proximity to the Caltrain station. It's fairly inconspicuous from the outside but pretty unique on the inside. I've never been to a tiki lounge before so I can't comment on its authenticity, but I liked the decor- a little tropical island in the middle of San Mateo.
The drinks were good but I wasn't particularly amazed by any of them. I saw some people drinking from special volcano drinks that looked interesting, but I didn't find the idea of a group of dudes sipping from the same bowl particularly appealing so we skipped out on it. I might re-review this place after I check out some more bars in San Mateo and try some of those volcano drinks.
At a certain point in the evening we had to plan an escape from O'Neil's Pub down the street. A bunch of guys in security shirts were forcing us to move to make room for a DJ which seemed a little strange, but a quick glance around the room revealed all sorts of white hip hop guys ready to get their party on. And scene....
Luckily, the Downtown Tiki Lounge was only a block away and it wasn't too crowded yet. I've passed by a million times while walking my dog and I've always wanted to stop in. I'm glad I did! The place is small'ish on the inside, but it's also well-decorated, comfortable, and warm. The friendly bartender got us our drinks quickly. I just got a Guinness draught (I didn't want to start mixing my alcohols) and my coworkers got various Tiki drinks. The scorpion bowl looked great and it took at least three of them to put it away!
As the evening went on, the bar filled up with a mellow, diverse crowd which was a nice change from O'Neil's. I would definitely come back here again! Fun place!
Came here with a girlfriend and it was pretty chill. I guess we were a little early on a Fri night. Heh...we tried the green monster and it was most def the GREEN MONSTER. To rephrase, it turned us to the tomato face (asian glow) monster. Haha, we wanted some food to soak up some of this alcohol goodness so my girl went to ask if the kitchen was still open. Sadly, it was not BUT! the guy kindly made us some french fries. SCORE!
Review Source:This is a weird bar. The clientele consists of both young people and fairly old people enjoying fruity drinks. The volcano bowls are $17 a-piece, but man, there is so much ice and fruit syrup that you can barely taste the alcohol. Had the scorpion bowl, but it was really weak and watered down. Someone knocked something over in a drunken stupor and then proceeded to fall down. That was fun. It's one of maybe 3 actual bars/lounges in the downtown area. Slim pickins. Oh, and parking sucks.
Review Source:I was thrilled when I discovered the Downtown Tiki Lounge! This is the perfect place to grab a tropical drink and hang out in a fun environment on the Peninsula. They have a fun area with chairs right next to a lit up image of the beach so that you can really pretend that you are in another world. The large bowls to share are a lot of fun and there are so many enticing drinks on the menu, there is no way you can go just once. Several of them are very fruit juice laden, but that is to be expected. The only downside is that the music here really doesn't match the mood and decor of the place, which would be fine if it wasn't blasting so loud that everyone yells to hear themselves over it. Â Overall, its a fun little local place, not the most amazing tiki bar, but the best in the area!
Review Source:The decor of this place was a little tacky, I didn't buy the whole tiki theme. Â We got the volcano thingy goblet - but it was extremely weak on the alcohol. Â At least it tasted alright I guess.
A good plus (if you somehow actually get drunk from the weak drinks here) is that the entrance of the bathroom doors has a BRIGHT WHITE SIGN - look for that if you need to vomit. Â Just don't mistake it for the doors to heaven.
VERY... VERY... Good place.
I came here with some friends for happy hour one week and I am absolutely bummed that I didn't come here earlier. They have amazing drinks, not necessarily the happy hour drinks, but the specialty cocktail. Sometimes, I feel as if the beer is a better deal, but those darn specialty drinks are so freaking good. Definitely try them all. Maybe not all in the same day, but if you have a DD and a good alcohol tolerance, you sure can try.
Moving on from drinks, those wings... Are... DE... Licious. Ever had San Tung Wings from SF? These guys are pretty close. For $5 during happy hour, I got about 8-10 sweet wings that I could not get enough of. NOM NOM NOM!
TL;DR: NOM NOM NOM ON SWEET WINGS AND DRINK THE SPECIALTY COCKTAILS!
I went to tiki for the first time.. For a friends  bday since she loves reggae. Not many ppl.. But since there was 10 in our party.. We all had a good time.. Chatting, drinking, listening to music. Â
Very laid back and relaxing which is always nice!! Love their bowl drinks!!
Def. want to come back!! Good place to get away from the city!!
Hidden Tiki gem in the middle of downtown San Mateo. Â Thanks Yelpers for helping me find this joint. Â We have a dirth, of small, cool and fun places in San Mateo, and this is one of them that isn't (a) a dirty dive, (b) stritctly for barflys and (c) doesn't scare me like O'Neill's!
Oh, and they have the cutest serving glasses or bowls if you opt for the "made for 2" drinks. Sweet stuff!
~Ms. Ali
Mmmmm, Tiki Tea. Â You have made many an evening awesome for me. Â Just one of you and I'm niiiiice and toasty. Â Ok, you're right... drunk. Â One of you and I'm pretty well drunkified. Â No need to worry about buying a second or third drink! Â You give me confidence and make me feel like a freakin' champ. Â Delivering yourself to me in a cute little HUMONGOUS bowl. Â You've been good to me. Â I love you. Â Wicked hangovers and all.
Review Source:Roomy, relaxed, good for groups. Stopped in with my boys for a Thursday happy hour, not too crowded, just some corporate folks who looked strait out of the movie Office Space. Â
It's right across the street from Curry Up Now and pretty tiki-ish for downtown San Mateo.
                         ~~~~~~~~~
                           4-7pm
                        $3 Draft Beers
                        $4 Well drinks
                        $5 Appetizers
                         ~~~~~~~~~~
The nachos ($5) were regular with the usual guac, sour cream, refried beans, salsa, jalapeno. YAWN. Would have loved if they added some extra Aloha. Kalua pork or loco moco nachos anyone?
The Hawaiian roll sliders were easy to share since they came 3 per order. Definitely easier than trying to share a $17 scorpion bowl between 3 guys.
If you like this you might also like Forbidden Island Tiki in Alameda and the Tonga Room in SF.
It was a pleasant surprise to discover this place.
The drinks are good, the prices are decent, and it's right in the middle of downtown San Mateo. It can get pretty crowded on Friday nights so it could be a challenge to find a place to sit.
Also, they use an iPad to process credit card payments and you can sign on the screen and enter the tip so that's cool.
Me likey! And this is coming from a girl who just got back from Honolulu.
Downtown Tiki Lounge had been on my radar for awhile, as it's not too far from home and I've been to many divey Tiki lounges over the years. Extra points for being really close to the movie theater in San Mateo. Stop in here and grab a cocktail before a flick!
Is it the most authentic Tiki bar? Probably not. BUT they do serve delicious drinks that taste just like what you'd get at an island bar. My Blue Hawaiian tasted just like sunscreen and rum - exactly how it should! It's also very clean, which you don't necessarily get in most divey joints.
Checked their menu and they do serve light bar bites too. Hot wings and the likes. I'd definitely be tempted to go back, sit in the lounge and enjoy happy hour!
Hubby and I came here to start off our anniversary weekend and...well...we left after one drink. Â Maybe it was too early on this Saturday evening - I don't know - but we were really disappointed. Â
First, I asked for a glass of wine from the list. Â The bartender said she was gonna check downstairs to see if there were any more bottles. Â She came back and said they were out. Â I asked her for a glass of any of the other good reds (except Pinot - not in the mood). Â Then she said they were out of most of their reds. Â Now, it's Saturday night and I would think they would have their wines in stock, but whatever. Â So I look behind the counter and there are about a dozen bottles of red wine on the counter, including the one I asked about. Â I asked if they had been opened too long or what (some were not open) and she said they were saving those for Sangria. Â Okay.
Next, we're not big on rum drinks so we ordered one of the fancy Mai Tai's in the cool volcano bowl, but asked the bartender to use tequila instead. Â She was very uncomfortable with this and it showed in the drink. Â She may have well made us a fruit punch. Â It was good fruit punch, but for $15 it really could have used some more tequila.
It's not like it was super busy and we were putting her out, in fact it was just the opposite. Â There was a handful of folks sitting at the bar and that was it. Â She was polite, but she clearly didn't care whether we got the drinks that we wanted, even knowing it was our anniversary.
Loved the decor and the spicy wings were good which earned this visit its whopping two stars, but I'm not in any hurry to go back for the service. Â (You know bad service is my pet peeve.) Â
TIP: Â If you go, better only order the easy to make rum drinks on the menu or you might be disappointed too.
I would have given this place 3 stars, but the $5 Jameson shots for happy hour gave it an extra star! Â
Being at this lounge makes you feel like you're on some tropical island... Very casual, pretty chill, and relaxed. They have a lot of yummy drinks to choose from, and some of them even come in the big drinking bowls! Â The food here is comparable to gas station food, but the drinks are pretty good!
I've had this place bookmarked forever, and after enjoying a recent tiki bar visit, we finally made it here.
I was hoping it would measure up to Bamboo Hut, but unfortunately it didn't.
The drinks were good, (but not amazing), the bartender was nice, but she needed some help. She was the only one making drinks, and even though it wasn't super busy, another bartender would have been helpful.
Since this place is closer than Bamboo Hut, and my husband and I both have a fondness for tiki bars, i  would return.
They weren't that busy when we were there, but hopefully that was just an off time. There aren't that many tiki bars around here, so I hope this one stays around.
Aruba
Jamaica
Oh, I wanna take you to
Bermuda
Bahamas
Come on, pretty Mama
Key Largo
Montego
Baby, why don't we go....
Down to Tiki Lounge
We'll get there fast and they we'll take it slow
Way down in Tiki Lounge
Yup, this place reminds me of that Beach Boys song. So campy, so corny, so over the top, but oh so right. This is the only place where it's OK for "Manly" guys order "Girly" drinks with those little umbrellas and no one would make fun of you. They better not make fun of me or I'll use that little umbrella to poke their eye out.
It's a good mixture of clientele from college-age patrons, locals and people like us who wants to release our inner dorkiness. It's a fun atmosphere and you can also watch some sports on their large screen monitors to people-watch.
Very cool and laid-back place, and it's OK to let it all hang out. Make sure to wear some coconut bras if you decide to do that though.
And if you come here with a large group, make sure to order the Volcano Bowl. It's a 48 oz concoction of Tropical Paradise in your mouth. But you don't have to be in a large group to order it if you're feeling adventurous. It's OK, really....no one would make fun of you.
Just get the little umbrella ready just in case though.
A group of 10 of us were due to go here last night, we had reserved an area the week before and were due to arrive at 530.
Got there at 530 and all the lights were off and there was no-one inside, we tried phoning but it just went to voicemail.
We waited 20 minutes in the hope someone would turn up, but they didn't so we ended up at the Irish bar down the street.
The drinks menu looked really good, so we were all disappointed.
Very bad business to take a reservation and not call us to say they weren't going to be open, there wasn't even a sign on the door to say they were closed!
Motivation drives a good Yelp review, be it a scathing grade or a raving critique. On that note, I am frustrated at my indifference to writing something useful for the browser, the onlooker, the passerby. I harbour anticipated disappointment towards this venue. Other patrons' reviews had set this thirsty hunter's expectations to a certain level. Once again, the sushi-hamburger idea applies, which is basically the matter of knowledge in one area which cannot be theorized in another. Perhaps I know nothing about Tiki lounges as I enjoy frequenting wine bars. Perhaps I find little charm in downtown San Mateo when there are handfuls of hidden treasures. Perhaps I am overlooking what this bar has to offer. Perhaps I have fun being critical.
The drink menu is overwhelming. Not because that there is a great or large selection of cocktails, but because I felt as if I was forced to pick my own poison. After some deliberation, entered the volcano bowl- a 32 ounce, 17 dollar cocktail. Sidewinder Fang filled the bundt shaped ring as a sapphire blue flame burned dimly in the center. Novel, but ephemerally amusing, the drink lacked pizazz. However, this lounge does serve a purpose to those needing a change of scenery. Nonetheless, my prescription for a good time anywhere, is good company.
Let me first say welcome back to the Sidewinder Fang. You old time Lanai' patrons know what I am talking about!
I've swung by to get my Tiki on a few times now and have been impressed with the consistency of service, beverages and snacks. I love the ambiance, could live without the tv at the bar, but would have a great time chillin in their quasi lanai. Has great squishy seats and just looks like fun.
Bar food has more of a Mexican feel (tacos and quesadillas) versus Polynesian. Not that it is a bad thing, the tacos are delightful.
All in all a good place for small groups of friends for a taste of Hawaii in San Mateo.
Yet another amazing night at the tiki lounge!!
If you have read my last review, you should already know that my friends and I had a great time there. Â But it gets even better!
After visiting 3 times within the past week and a half ( no we arent alcoholics!) the owner/ one of the bartenders whose name is Dennis, surely remembered us, as we are one of the younger crowd. Â He promised a pitcher on him and just last night, when we visited again, he fulfilled his promise!
this time, our party of 8 ordered 5 volcano bowls and a pitcher of beer. Â
We ordered:
Tiki Tea (again) - turns out my boyfriend's brother really liked this one.
Green Monster - this one was definitely on the stronger side. Â Lots of rum taste. Â Not too bad.
Rum Runner - this was not too bad either! The female bartender said this was one of the popular ones.
Tropical Paradise - OK. I gotta say this volcano bowl tasted like juice! It was strong in the taste of pineapple and some coconut. Â Very tropical indeed. Â You can barely taste the alcohol. Â This is also one of their popular ones.
2 tickets to paradise - slightly on the stronger side. I liked it while some of the guys didnt. Â Than again, this was our last order of the bowls, so our taste buds might've been a bit off? :P
As for the pitcher of beer, im not sure what we had, because it was on the house. Â
We also ordered 2 appetizers. Â Fries for $3, delicious!
and
nachos for $7 or 8. Big plate, good for sharing. Â It was yummy since it had sour cream and i forget what toppings..
and that leaves 2 volcano bowls to finish the list!
The Tiki has come to downtown San Mateo. A few months ago, I was on a San Mateo pub crawl, and stumbled upon the Downtown Tiki Lounge. Hello Hi! Oh Mylanta, my eyes weren't deceiving me. Tis true, the DTL is located right on B Street.
Since it was late on a Wednesday evening, it wasn't super crowded. Love the quaint, tiki tropical vibe with bamboo throughout. Can't forget to mention the surfboards and exposed brick, too. Â It's super cozy and relaxing, and easy to throw back a few and hang out with friends. I would assume that it gets uber crowded on Friday and Saturday evenings.
Anywho, the service was amazing. Georgia, the bartender was awesome, and gave us some snacks and allowed us to sit in the front area (VIP and even roped us off). At the time, they weren't serving food yet, but looking forward to returning so I can get my grub on, and to imbibe in the umbrella cocktails or beer (hopefully, they'll have the HOegaarden).
Thanks Georgia and Downtown TIki Lounge!!
Cheers and Mahalo! I'll return to DTL, and who wants to Tiki Tiki  and get Leid with me?
Finally a place to get tropical drinks within walking distance to my apartment. Â Previously I would have had to make the trek up to the Tonga Room or Tradr Sam's in the city or down to Trader Vic's in Palo Alto for my Mai Tai fix. Â But I digress.
This place has the tiki theme down pretty well. Â The bar is nicely decorated with the usual tiki heads, bamboo, and wood trim. Â They even have a couple of TV's if you need to catch up on sports while you're on vacation. Â Off to the side several booths offer a little more privacy and emergency surf boards on the wall in case the mood strikes. Â Towards the front of the place, there's actually a small separate area with tropical seats and some tables. Â In the back corner, there's a great little karaoke stage set up that will no doubt offer some great entertainment when this place starts getting popular. Â While there were some bare spots in the place, they did a great job bringing the tiki vibe to San Mateo.
I had a Mai Tai and my girlfriend had a Scorpion. Â Both drinks were pretty good, not great though. Â They did have a lot of fruit garnish to make up for it. Â I couldn't quite put my finger on it - maybe they weren't as strong as other drinks I've had, or maybe it was the fact I was secretly hoping they would be served in tiki mugs instead of glasses. Â The menu looked like it had around 10 drinks on it at $8 each or $15 for a bowl. Â Also, I didn't see the Mai Tai on the menu, so you might have to ask if you don't see your usual.
Overall a pretty good experience. Â The drink was sorta pricey, but did the trick. Â The decor is great. Â They are supposed to start serving food soon, so I'm looking forward to that. Â I'll most definitely come back as a place like this will only get better with age.
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