Hawaii West - San Francisco

For sure, this longtime watering hole is far more Mr. Bing's than Smuggler's Cove. I'm sure it was once a legitimate tiki bar, but I'm guessing it's seen better days. When Jamie W. and I dropped by, there was a rustic tiki statue and a tropical cocktail menu, but the rest of the decor was more vintage....an Elvis photo, a provocative boudoir blow up, glossies of who knows who. It felt kinda dark and empty on a Sunday afternoon, but the bartender was attentive when we ordered a couple of $12 tiki cocktails. Jamie went for the Pina Colada, which was already pre mixed with rum, coconut milk, and pineapple juice. I ordered the Hawaiian Volcano which blended vodka, Southern Comfort, orange, and pineapple juice (photo: [hidden link] . Both drinks were serviceably tiki, though they were missing the fruity accoutrements we had come to expect. I think it was all part of the laissez faire approach they take here with the faux leather couch, the pool table, and the pointless rock wall covered by a jukebox that I'm not sure works. But who cares if it's shabby? There's a tiki heart in here somewhere. DRINKS 3 stars...not the best but I like the who cares approach AMBIANCE 3.5 stars...not really tiki, more like garage sale SERVICE 3.5 stars...kinda respect the been there, done that attitude TOTAL 3 stars...not sure if it's Hawai'i West...more like Hawai'i U Turn RELATED Exploring North Beach? Here's a collection of places I've visited and reviewed: [hidden link]

Mele Kalikimaka. This is a dumpster fire of a dive bar that probably hasn't been renovated since the first edition of that Bing Crosby Christmas album came out in 1945. That being said, that's why I love it. Sunny makes a strong drink, keeps the late night chaos down to an acceptable level, all while making me contemplate why I came in here? Free pool, sometimes food, and a guaranteed travel back through time to when bars were nothing more than bars.

We stopped in here on a total whim as we were looking for a nice quiet place without a lot of people so we could relax for a bit before moving on to some other things we were doing in Chinatown. This small hole in the wall is unassuming and won 't grab your attention easily but we 'd passed by a few times before and decided to check it out. It 's small, dingy, grubby, and dark, there 's one person working who chats with you a bit but really just wants you to order something. My partner got a mai tai and I ordered the Jungle Ass Juice because why the heck not? These are not your fancy tiki drinks (seriously what do you expect out of a place that serves ass juice ?? but holy this is an absolute gem of a find. Prices are good, drinks are strong, and the place is relatively quiet.... outside of the three social media influencers that showed up, ordered a shot of fireball each, then recorded themselves belting out Livin ' On A Prayer that they loaded onto the jukebox... and then immediately left?? That was amusing and hilarious and we chuckled to ourselves while continuing to work on our drinks. I like this place and it 's going on our bar-hopping rotation through Chinatown/North Beach.

Five stars for Sonny (Sunny? the Bartender! Backing up a bit, this place is a dingy, dark and thoroughly musty joint. There are a lot of hip cool new tiki bars popping up but this one is not that. Instead it is the legit remnants from before tiki bars went out of fashion and long before they came back in. This place is a DIVE. So if you like that sort of thing you'll love it. If you don't you won't. My recommendation is late night. Y'know, like how we popped in the first time close to 2am after a show, concert, or club. Right before hoping in my car parked in the garage next door to use the restroom before the drive. The plan being to order a coke and drink so we aren't jerks just going in for the restroom. Well we noticed a food menu...and it changed our lives forever. Spam burger(! , kimchi fried rice (with spam of course and the star chef and bartender with an (awesome ornery attitude Sonny. Doesn't matter what time you come in; if they're open and she's there, she'll fry you up some delicious, salty, amazing late night guilty pleasures and might also serve you up some trash talk. Seriously try a spam burger. Spam on a toasted bun with melted american cheese. Life changer. We have been a handful of times since and lucked out with Sonny every time. Anytime we hit the city we try and fit in a visit now. You should too. PS we love you Sonny, if that wasn't obvious : PSS don't play Sunny by Bobby Hebb on the jukebox (like I did . She hates that

I made plans to catch up with a friend and we were in the mood for a tiki moment, so I did a quick search and found Hawaii West. So glad we decided to try it out! The venue is charming and an extremely dive y way. We mostly wanted Mai Tais, but we also ended up getting food. The food menu looked good! Here's what I thought: Mai Tai Generous portion, decent prices and potency. We got two rounds! Jumbo Garlic Prawns Juicy, decent portion. Great kimchi too! Loco Moco Huge dish, I had to take half of it home. Overall, great experience! Very unique, might not be for everyone but it's a great time if you give it a chance.