The San Francisco Bar That Serves Tropical Drinks With A Side Of Tropical Storms

Back in the 1950s and 1960s, Americans were really into the "exotic" culture of Polynesia and the South Pacific. This was due in large part to World War II, when servicemen and women who had seen little of the world came into contact with different cultures — a fascination that carried over into peacetime and gave rise to the tiki bar, decked out in Polynesian kitsch and serving tropical drinks. For a time, tiki bars were wildly popular, even influencing the aesthetics of Trader Joe's, but they fell out of favor. However, some still remain, like San Francisco's famous Tonga Room.

Located at the Fairmont San Francisco Hotel, the Tonga Room first opened in 1945, with the hotel's indoor pool being repurposed as the Tonga Room's trademark lagoon. It may seem odd to see something so kitschy in such a classy hotel, but that was actually par for the course when it came to tiki bars back then. They were ornate, aesthetically polished establishments for globally-minded people, and as such were quite expensive. The Fairmont hired a Hollywood set designer named Mel Melvin to redo the place, and he established its lagoon, complete with a floating orchestra. Every so often, it "rains" in the Tonga Room, complete with thunder and lightning; it's a little like the once-popular Rainforest Cafe, except less nightmarish.

But what about the "bar" part of this tiki bar? There has to be a reason why Anthony Bourdain — a man whose love of authenticity would seem to run counter to something so gleefully artificial – declared it "the greatest place in the history of the world." And sure, he was mostly wowed by the lagoon and the rainstorms, but there's plenty else to satisfy you at the Tonga Room. If you're hungry, you can indulge in appetizers like coconut calamari or luau-style pork belly bites, or perhaps some poke served with plantain chips.

And if you're thirsty, well, you've got no shortage of options. Like any self-respecting tiki bar, you can enjoy a mai tai, which was supposedly invented by another tiki bar institution, Trader Vic's. (Yes, that's where Trader Joe's got its name from.) If you'd like something with a bit of citrus, you can have a piña colada, with rum and pineapple balanced out with balmy coconut. Or you can enjoy a Tonga specialty with the Divine Dragon, which has vodka and coconut water mixed with yuzu lemon and a host of other tropical fruits. After redoing its drinks menu in 2013, the Tonga Room has gotten plenty of praise — and hey, you can only experience something like this for the first time once, right?