Dining and drinking review: Tacoma Cabana and Rum Bar

I can't think of a better time of year to enjoy a taste of the tropics than the week between Christmas and New Year's! If a visit to Tahiti is not in your immediate plans, you can still enjoy some island food and spectacular rum drinks within walking distance of The Esplanade. Enjoy!

Review and photos by Ted Broussard

Tacoma Cabana and Rum Bar is located at 728 Pacific Avenue.

Who knew that a trip to Gilligan’s Isle is as easy as walking down Pacific Avenue? While you won’t see the entire cast there, you will experience delicious tropical-inspired craft cocktails and a limited Polynesian-flavored menu in an almost over-the-top Tiki palace.

Tacoma Cabana has recently been named the winner of “King 5’s Best Cocktails” for the second year in a row. Not surprising. With a 26-page drink menu, with names like "Painkiller," "Drunken Helmsman" and "Suffering Bastard," along with the anything but mundane Mai Tai, rum drinkers hit the jackpot here. A couple of specialty drinks come served in pineapples, and it's easy to be dazzled by a server who sprinkles sugar from above and then flambés your drink right at your table.

The food is serviceable and fits the environment, but failed to impress on a recent visit. There’s a limited food menu with appetizers (called Pupus as you’d expect), a couple of burger choices, an entree salad, a chicken offering, a steak option, and a catchy dish of something called "Loco Moco," described as a classic surfer’s breakfast with white rice, hamburger patty and two eggs over easy with brown gravy. Our party of four started with an appetizer, tried the burgers, salad and the Loco Moco. All of us thought our dishes were good but nothing bowled us over. The Pupu Platter appetizers were tasty and the meatballs had just enough spice to make them interesting. For those of us who have come to expect French fries with our burgers you may be disappointed to find that they serve a bag of potato chips (Hawaiian flavored, of course) on the side instead. The Loco Moco was interesting in the first couple of bites (think comfort food), but lacked big flavor to make it memorable.

The environment itself is very fun. Lots of Tiki décor but just under the tacky threshold.  There’s a surprisingly large dining room toward the back of the space beyond the bar that you might not know is even there, as well as an adjacent building they have set up for private parties.

All in all, Tacoma Cabana is a very fun place for delicious drinks and a bite to eat while you’re there. I wouldn't make a special trip just for the food, but if you've got an urge to have a tropical drink with a little umbrella in it, head to the Cabana. And while you’re there, raise a glass to Gilligan and the gang.