Discover the North San Diego Tiki Bar in Oceanside: Review Of The Lobby Tiki Bar

By Kevin Wilkerson, PubClub.com San Diego Nightlife Blogger

Jimmy Buffett may not have known where to go when the volcano blows but I sure do when I’m in San Diego: Straight to The Lobby Tiki Bar & Grill in Oceanside.

There, one can get a flaming volcano cocktail and The Nacho Volcano with smoke coming out of it. As as well as several other concoctions in a Polynesian atmosphere. Best of all it’s not a speakeasy. You can come and go as you please. No disrespect here to the Grass Skirt and False Idol but San Diego has long been in need of a true tiki bar where you don’t need to reserve a spot days or weeks in advance and can only stay a limited amont of time. Yes, there is the legendary Bali Hai but that place is more of a restaurant than a true tiki bar.

Located on the first floor of the Brick Hotel, The Lobby Tiki Bar & Grill has 13 drinks – mostly rum but not all – including some pretty powerful ones that will shake you as if a volcano did blow. These include the nine-ingredient Cobra Kai and the Temple Of Doom which has a flame on the top of it, both of which make the tiki bar standard Mai Tai seem mild by comparison. You can get those Mai Tias for $7 from 3-9 on Mondays, by the way, along with $10 Huli Huli Chicken Wings. And on Fridays there are hula dancers to provide even more of a Polynesian atmosphere.

Another cocktail to get is the Pain Killer. It is so well made that I put it in the revered neighborhood of the ones served at the bar that created it, the Soggy Dollar Bar in the British Virgin Islands. In fact, the Lobby Tiki Bar has such respect for the drink that it often puts the Soggy Dollar Bar webcam up on its TVs during weekend brunch (11 a.m.-3 p.m.) At other times surf videos are shown and the music – which is not too soft, not too loud – is from The Ventures, Dick Dale and other instrumental surf bands.

The cocktail prices are a quite reasonable $13-16 and are served in fun specialty mugs; the Cobra Kai, for example, comes in a cup shaped like a cobra ready to strike. They are practically inviting you to have the Mai Tai, which is only $10. The bar is narrow and kind of small but the staff opens up a patio in the back to handle the overflow, which can swell on Mondays and weekends. In fact, it was recommended to get a reservation for those times in order to get a table. There are, however, seats at the long bar.

“Our goal was to create a space where people can relax, sip an incredible drink, and feel like they’ve taken a quick vacation,” says Pete Cich, owner of Grind & Prosper Hospitality, which built the bar. “From the décor to the menu, everything has been thoughtfully designed to celebrate the spirit of tiki and bring something fresh to Oceanside.”

Objective achieved! The decor has grass skirts hanging from the ceiling, colorful tropical birds on the walls and other tasteful Polynesian touches. Yet it’s not overdone. It’s classy, not tacky. And, unlike many tiki bars, it’s not dark; some are so dark after walking in you have to stand there for a minute until your eyes adjust to the lack of lighting.

The real test of a tiki bar, tho, are the cocktails and here The Lobby Tiki Bar & Grill excels. Drinks with those fancy names can sometimes be so overwhelming you only taste the rum and not the other ingredients and it takes the talented hands of a quality bartender to make a strong drink that doesn’t taste too strong. Here, you certainly know there’s a good amount of spirits in a cocktail but it doesn’t numb the tongue and launch your eyeballs to the back of your head as does the wicked Mai Tai at Bali Hai.

The food is quite good, too. There are sharable plates as well as small other items. We had The Volano Nachowith the kalua pork and this was excellent. The blue chips and white melted queso cheese give them a different flavor than standard nachos. The Poke Inari Bombs were, simply put, outstanding. I was glad to see kalua pork on the menu. That’s kind of a tiki bar menu test of mine becaue it is big in Hawaiian culture. Kalua pigs are buried in the earth and covered in leaves to be cooked for hours in what is called an “imu” (pronounced e-moo). It’s a sacred part of Hawaiian food culture and it’s good to know that The Lobby Tiki Bar & Grill does it justice. In addition to the nachos, you can also get kalua pork in tacos. Now there’s a touch of San Diego!

As someone who loves beaches, bars – and Jimmy Buffett – I really embrace the tiki culture and lifestyle. As well as a good rum drink. Tiki bars were first created by Ernest Gantt, in the 1930s when he opened Donn The Beachcomber and grew when Jules Bergeron – Trader Vic – renamed his little beer joint Trader Vic’s a couple years later. Each claimed to have invented the Mai Tai but regardless of whom gets the credit it became synonymous with the culture and was established as the signature cocktail of tiki bars worldwide.

Tiki bars began to pop up all over America after WWII when servicemen came back from the South Pacific and flourished into the 60s and 70s. But by the 80s they but began to fade like a palm frond knocked off a tree during a hurricane. The trend never really disappeared, tho. Rooted into the minds of tropical lifestyle lovers, tiki bars sprung up in the backyards and patios of people’s homes rather than as actual bars in towns. Trop Rock music, led by the boat drinks songs of Buffett, helped keep it alive. The past few years have seen somewhat of a tiki revival and it’s good to see it growing here in a city that hosts the annual Polynesian party Tiki Oasis.

If you think Oceanside is too far or you (wisely) don’t want to worry about driving after having a couple of The Lobby Tiki Bars cocktails, then take the train. Both the Coaster and Amtrak’s Pacific Surfliner roll up within a 15-minute walk of the bar. That’s the way I got there and rolling along the coast with those ocean views will really get you in the mood for this place.

The Lobby Tiki Bar & Grill Location, & Hours

Address: 408 Pier View Way, Oceanside, CA
Hours:
• Monday: 3-9p.m.
• Tuesday: CLOSED
• Wednesday: 3-9 p.m.
• Friday: 3 p.m. – Midnight (kitchen closes at 9 p.m.)
• Saturday: 11 a.m. – Midnight (kitchen closes at 9 p.m.)
• Sunday: 11a.m.- 9 p.m.
Website: Lobbytikibar.com
Phone: (760) 688-7249

Kevin Wilkerson is an award-winning writer whose works have appeared in several magazines, newspapers and blogs. He has been publishing PubClub.com for more than 20 years and lives in San Diego This story was written by a human wiht no assistance from AI.