Friday, June 18, 2010

Tonga Room And Hurricane Bar

Tonight Sean and I finally celebrated our 2-year anniversary (only a few months late) by going to the Tonga Room and Hurricane Bar. The Tonga Room is located in the basement level of the Fairmont Hotel in the Nob Hill neighborhood of San Francisco, which just so happens to be my 'hood. Rumors have it that proposed remodeling of the hotel would close the Tonga Room for good, so I wanted to visit it before it disappeared.

Sean and I walked the very steep block uphill and another block or so down the road and through the side door that lead us into the restaurant. It was packed but luckily I had made a reservation a few days ahead (which I would highly recommend, thanks opentable.com).

The place itself is pretty huge, built around an old swimming pool now used as a lagoon, complete with a live band playing on a floating barge. I would say the restaurant decor itself is more Polynesian than kitschy tiki. There's a pirate ship/dancing stage and thatched canopies, large torches and carved tiki heads.

Every 30 minutes or so would be a rain and thunderstorm over the lagoon, which I thought really added to the tropical atmosphere.

I ordered their signature Hurricane drink but was bummed when they told me they were out of the take home glasses! Boo! So much for adding to my tiki mug collection tonight. I settled for the typical Mai Tai which was served in a ceramic coconut; it was delicious and I would definitely recommend it. Sean's not into the sweet drink thing so he had one of SF's local brews, Anchor Steam (but hey, it goes with the whole nautical theme.)

We started with the Pork Lettuce Cups as an appetizer, which I'm sorry to say looked and smelled like some of my cat's canned food. It didn't taste bad and we were hungry so we ate it (the pork was braised in coca cola, how strange).

We shared the Fire Cracker Prawns and Huli Huli Chicken, both were excellent! The shrimp was perfectly cooked with the right amount of spice, and the chicken has this yummy, caramely sauce.

I ordered a Planter's Punch as my second drink which was a mistake on my part because I hate spiced rum; this drink had way too much for my taste. Oh well.

We had pineapple upside down cake which came with a nice sorbet, it was very light and sweet which was a nice ending after our spicy entrees.

What I didn't like about the Tonga Room was the band's repetoire: Phil Collins, Van Morrison, lot's of 50's and 60's Top 40 hits, so not the right music for the atmosphere! The majority of the crowd, however, seemed to love it (elderly, white tourists) so I guess we were just the wrong demographic.

All in all, the food, drinks and atmosphere were only so-so; I don't know if I'll be making the trek uphill again anytime soon to go back before it closes. However, I am glad I went because it's been a famous SF institudion for the 60's and is fun to visit if your touring the area.

For more history about the place and a complete drink and food menu, you can visit their official website:

http://www.tongaroom.com

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