(Santa) Cruz-ing it to MAKAI ISLAND KITCHEN & GROGGERY. Yahoo!

On my recent trip to California, I had a little road trip planned that would have allowed me to experience three new (to me) tiki bars. Due to various reasons, the trip got pared down (which I was totally fine with). But of those three bars, I was only able to visit one…and it was the one I looked forward to the least. But, boy…was I in for a huge surprise.

Makai Island Kitchen & Groggery had been on my radar since not long after it had opened, but I really had not heard all that much about it. From what I could glean from the photos on its website, I thought the place was going to be too modern and not that appealing to me. But, sure. A tiki bar? I’ll gladly check it out. (However, I really was not expecting much…at all.)

The fact that it is located on Santa Cruz’s Municipal Wharf was an instant plus. I had been aware of that all along, but the novelty of it being out there was certainly appealing. It had been several years since I had last been out to the wharf — or Santa Cruz in general.

There was parking right smack dab in front of the Makai that day. It was a Thursday in February in the middle of the day–the joys of off season!

Although the outside looked pleasant enough, I still had my reservations about the place. The little sea creature sculpture around the water works equipment near the door was at least cute. But that wasn’t going to be enough for me to like the place.

We stepped inside and were greeted by the host. I didn’t hear what he said and I was only vaguely aware that he was leading Erich away to a table. I couldn’t help it–I was just too distracted. I was ever so delightfully surprised by the tiki bar just to the left of the entrance that I had to snap a picture. Wow! It looked pretty nice. Maybe things wouldn’t be as lame as I expected?

I went into the restaurant, rounded a corner and caught up with the host and Erich. Erich was holding out a chair.

“Is this spot okay,” he asked. “Or do you want to sit on the revolving platform?”

Revolving platform? WHAT!? As if that were an actual question that needed to be asked. There was a revolving platform? Hello? We’re sitting there.

At the rear end of the L-shaped restaurant there is another bar. This one was circular, surrounded by bar stools with tables at the outskirts of a circular seating area. We were seated at a table near the window…and it truly was on a revolving platform, as the window view slowly fell away (ensuring that everyone on the platform got a “window seat”, if only temporarily). How absolutely fun and marvelous.

Again, I couldn’t help but think how lucky we were to have come off season during a weekday. I would bet anything that the place is packed during tourist season and we’d never gotten to try the platform (or possibly even know about it). But while we were there, besides ourselves, there were only a few others who were silently spinning with us.

We perused the drink menu. Ooooo… There were lots of interesting concoctions to choose from.

I started with the bar’s namesake drink, a Mr. Makai. It was a wild blend of rums, Amaretto, lemon, lime, some house-made dragon fruit ginger syrup, bitters and absinthe. I was hoping to get the mug that went with it as well. Unfortunately they were out of stock and our server told us that he thought the restaurant would probably be discontinuing the mug. Drat it all! Instead, it came served in a generic skull mug (which I already had).

Erich started off with a Hawaiian Mai Tai made with rums, pineapple, lime, and guava juices, orgeat, and triple sec. He found it mighty tasty.

For lunch, Erich chose the Pineapple Beurre Blanc Mahi Mahi, which came with housemade mashed potatoes and grilled vegetables. I went with the Hawaiin Mochiko Fried Chicken, which was a chicken thigh that was fried in a mochiko rice flour marinade. It came served over rice with a gojuchang aioli and miso sauce. I also ordered some mixed veggies.

As we sipped, ate and s-l-o-w-l-y circled the bar, I was enjoying the ambience and the view. The restaurant was directly across from Santa Cruz’s little lighthouse. Although I didn’t get pictures of them, we spotted two sea lions swimming in the water a bit beyond the window.

And what was that I spied? The Captain’s Table? It looked like a private V.I.P. room. As we swung closer to it, I got up and checked it out. There were portholes on either side with “ocean views” (i.e. televisions screens showing video of the sea). No V.I.P.s were there at the moment. But it did look like the employees were making use of it as a break room. Good for them.

Incredibly, our cocktails seemed to have vanished into thin air. How could that be? We just had to order more. I had a Walking Dead, a blend of rums, passion fruit syrup, triple sec, and pineapple, lemon and lime juices. Erich had a Dragon’s Bite, a potion made with Luna Sea Vodka (a locally made brand), dragon fruit ginger syrup, lemon juice, soda water, and muddled mixed berries. It looked refreshing. Since the Mr. Makai mug was no longer available and I already had the generic skull mug, I still wanted something from the bar. Although they had a couple of signature mugs, I went with the one on the left below.

Still a mite hungry after lunch (we hadn’t eaten all day until then), we ordered some fries to split, too.

Eventually, the fries disappeared and our glasses were mysteriously empty again. It looked as though our time in this spinning paradise was coming to a close. There was a lot to like about this place–the food, drinks, mugs, decor, view, even the music (not exotica, not surf, but traditional Hawaiian) was on point. I hadn’t even really gotten to explore the place. Perhaps we could go and sit at the bar in front and have one more little drink? Since moving to Washington, who knew if I’d ever be back in Santa Cruz again or not. We had to make the most of our time there.

As we headed back to the front of the restaurant, I tried to snap shots of the place. It really was turning out to be a nicer spot than I had imagined it would be.

At the front bar, we encountered two of the restaurant’s finest–Michael and Byron. Michael seemed like he may have been part of the management team with a bartending background. Byron had started off as a server and had become a bartender. Both seemed like great guys and were very personable.

For our last round at the Makai, Erich tried something called That One, which is the restaurant’s take on a Corpse Reviver. It featured Tanqueray elderflower liqueur, orange curacao, lemon juice, and simple syrup. I wanted to try the Bonzer, which is the drink the mug I was buying was usually teamed up with. The Bonzer is a mixture of rum, allspice liqueur, falernum, coconut cream, cinnamon demerara syrup, and lime juice. And might I say it was delicious! Mmm.

As if by magic, my mug was empty. Yes, my Bonzer had somehow disappeared. Erich was still sipping his drink, so I took the opportunity to snap some shots of the nifty looking patio area, the mini-souvenir stand at the host’s station and some of the other decor on display.

Erich was soon slurping up the last of his drink. That meant it really was time to say aloha to this surprise-o-rama tiki sensation. Gimmicky, yes. But I’m sorry… I enjoyed being on the wharf. I enjoyed spinning the afternoon away while catching peeks of the view. I enjoyed my time at the Makai. What fun! It was well worth the time to visit (especially off season).

Mahalo, Makai!

CHEERS!

MAKAI ISLAND KITCHEN & GROGGERY
49A Municipal Wharf
Santa Cruz, CA 95060
(831) 466-9766
makaisantacruz.com