Bar • Mai
Tai Bar is located above Club V2O and
Bubba Gump Shrimp Co. at the Pike in
Long Beach. Tracey
Roman/Daily Forty-Niner
Every
night is college night at Mai Tai Bar
Bar
review
By
Lesley Nickus
Daily Forty-Niner
Diversions Editor
When you walk into Mai Tai Bar, you immediately get a laid back feeling. After
showing proper identification — you must be 21 to enter — you
are surrounded by comfortable couches and friendly people.
Add two happy hours and live music and you get a nice place to hang out.
Mai Tai Bar originated in Honolulu, Hawaii, then later expanded to Daytona
Beach, Fl. The success of those two, led to the addition of the Long Beach
bar, which opened in June.
On opening night, they worked with Sugar Ray on “Music for a Cure,” a
program that benefits children who are significantly ill. The promotion, offered
in conjunction with 102.7 KISS-FM, gave the winner and five friends a chance
to hang out with Murphy Karges, the bass player from Sugar Ray, as well as
an autographed Fender Startocaster guitar.
Mai Tai Bar donated $6,600 to the program. Members of Smash Mouth were also
present to help support the cause.
According to manager Bagus “Goose” Anak-Agung-Gede, the live entertainment
and double happy hour has been positive for business.
“We’re doing really well,” he said. “On Fridays and Saturdays
the line is out to the bridge [outside and around the block from the bar].”
Don’t let lines discourage you though, this is definitely a place to
visit at least once. Inside, the room is filled with comfortable couches and
chairs surrounding a single, horseshoe-shaped bar.
Outside is a patio with fans and more cushioned chairs and tables.
Their two happy hours are from 4 to 7 p.m. (this one is called Hang Ten) and
8 to 11 p.m. on weekdays with many drink specials.
Specialty drinks, many served with orchids on the glass, such as the peach
elixir and key lime martini, are only $4 and domestic beer is $2.50 for a pint
and $6 a pitcher.
On weekends, the specials are the same but the hours are 2 to 5 p.m. and 7
to 10 p.m.
In addition to their drinks, they also serve food. Many appetizer items are
available all day and meals are served until 9 p.m.
Some dishes include are firepot shrimp, hoisin glazed salmon and Asian pear
chicken salad. The Hang Ten happy hour has appetizer specials for $5.
They also have desserts. A local tradition, borrowed from Hawaii, is milk and
cookies at midnight. This is only available at midnight and, because it’s
a bar, a shot of Starbucks liquer, Kahlua or Bailey’s can be added for
$3.
They offer three different Mai Tais: the traditional, South Beach and Icy.
The South Beach Mai Tai ads the flavor of mango and pineapple to the traditional
recipe and the Icy Mai Tai is a frozen drink and can be server with a float
of peach or watermelon schnapps for added flavor.
Although their name is Mai Tai Bar, they have many more martini options than
they do Mai Tais.
According to Anak-Agung-Gede, the average crowd ranges from 22 to 45.
They get little daytime business but make up for it at night. On the weekends,
they remove some of the furniture to allow as many people as possible inside,
without breaking their 250-person capacity.
“For now, we want to keep it casual. We’re not a club, we’re
a bar,” Anak-Agung-Gede said.
The casual and very clean atmosphere, as well as the bartenders and servers,
is very friendly and inviting.
The “aloha spirit,” as they like to call it, makes for a comfortable
visit. However, nights tend to be more busy so if you aren’t into crowds,
you may want to opt for visiting earlier in the day.
Whether you are looking for a good place to grab some food during the day or
a place to drink and socialize at night, Mai Tai Bar is a great place.
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