Your next tropic vacation is in San Francisco ’s Financial District , thanks to the guy cable behind Bourbon & Branch , Devil ’s Acre , Local Edition , andRickhouse – this veteran squad sneakily openedPagan Idol , the most heroic tiki bar in the country last dark . How do we know ? Well , in true FutureBars fashion , Doug Dalton and company visit all of the nation ’s best tiki parallel bars and worked for over a year to make a rendition that takes the best of each . They more than matchThe Tonga Room’sover - the - top décor , and combine it withSmuggler ’s Cove’sattention to pleasant-tasting drinks – while dosing the whole thing with fun , FutureBars - flavored surprises .
In Pagan Idol ’s looping of the watering hole classic , the Polynesian vibration is n’t so much a theme as it is a way of life – an immersive experience that will make for you the closest you ’ll ever get to joining the cast ofGilligan ’s IslandorPirates of the Caribbean … minus the cheesy Disney ingroup , plus seriously good swallow .
Your journeying starts in the cavernous Isaac Hull of a sunken wooden ship , where the first bar mimicker a ship ’s gin mill . On your right , portholes describe the wall , featuring loop videos of Pisces and sharks swim by . Custom , glass - blown krakens take over as sconces , and mermaids wrap themselves around shine glass Earth . It ’s essentially like drink in in that underwater cave where The Little Mermaid salt away her collection .
York Prado
Take your classical Mai Tai – or must - order beverage The Banana Life – in the “ sea captain ’s quarters , ” which is perfect for stimulate cozy next to an exotic brine fish tank as the sounds of aquatic spirit make you feel part of an submersed mankind . If shipwreck adventure is more your style , carry on on to the second bar – and massive back elbow room .
Ascend a few steps to the main bar country , where the island music get a bit more bumpin ’ and the vibe a small looser . Water fixtures behind the barroom bubble like overactive lava lamps , while monolithic , handwriting - carve tiki sculptures and graphically paint walls add loads of Polynesian soda pop . Walk out from under the thatched hut , and you ’ll be greeted with cozy secret hut and a fiber - optic cap that actually twinkles like the night sky .
But the surprises do n’t end there : the Tonga Room may offer tropical rain , but Pagan Idol has a trickling water feature – and a vent in the recess that erupts sporadically , fill up the room with secret Mary Jane .
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As for the drinks , come on – you ’re in the dependant manpower of the master behind Bourbon and Branch and Tonga Room . Tupper and Reed alum Justin D’olie , who grow up in Hawaii , joins the political party , lend his exuberant Aloha cordial reception – and collecting of tropic shirt – with him .
The drink themselves are a passing from the chemical group ’s usual attention to booze - forward , Bourbon dynasty - leaning concoctions . There are no katzenjammer - inducing sugar bombs here – instead , you ’ll find balanced , fruity drinks in ludicrously fun glassware , likely change your whimsey of how tiki beverage can taste . While there are definitely gruelling - hitters here , like the one - and - done Daywalker ( which is essentially a snake god featuring over - substantiation rum ) , there are also day - imbibing - favorable libation , like the Poolside Affair , which get its subtle kick from Swedish Punch and comes adorned with an orchid .
It would n’t be a tiki bar without a few puncher bowls and flaming drinks mean for sharing . One of our favorites is the made - for - two , creamy Rum Monkey , boast Ron de Venezuela , rhum Martinique , banana tree , pineapple , orange , lemon , cinnamon , macadamia nut , cream , and a whole ball .
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Less - discerning drinkers will be happy to make out the menu is more paired down than the typical FutureBars tilt , and comes with helpful illustrations that allow you to choose your drunkenness by the shape of the chicken feed . After all , vacation is for drink , not reading .
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York Prado
York Prado
