Post #39462 by thejab on Mon, Jun 16, 2003 1:47 PM

Stopped for a quick visit to the Bamboo Room yesterday after seeing Junior Brown at Rancho Nicasio. I was impressed with the decor and atmosphere. Lots of bamboo, rattan furniture, thatched roofs over the bar and tables, a few lamps and illuminated puffer fish, and of course several tikis. One of the wall mounted tikis has red illuminated eyes.

The drink menu was small, only having a few classic tiki drinks such as the Zombie, and a bit of a disappointment as every drink except the daquiri had pineapple juice, even the Mai Tai. I was driving back to Oakland and I had already had a few beers at the show so I didn't get to sample the drinks. I'll be back though and I'll probably start with the banana daquiri that's made with fresh lime (as are most of the drinks) and real banana, or a mojito, that I saw the bartender making with fresh mint.

The bartender John, formerly at Club Deluxe, was very friendly and professional and he took great pride and pleasure in making the drinks. I saw him make a volcano bowl drink ($22) and he seemed more excited with the flaming presentation than the customers he was serving. I wished I could stay a while and sample his craft.

In addition, there was good classic lounge music playing the whole time at a nice low volume and no TV in sight!

All in all, it's one of the best executions of a small new tiki bar I've seen yet. They only need to work on the drink menu, adding a few more classics and refining the current offerings. I'll definitely be back. I'm looking forward to seeing the place at night as there are windows in front and it was light still when we stopped in.

Unfortunately I'll be out of town this weekend so I won't be able to attend the Project Pimento show there (as posted in Tiki Events).