After the Extreme Barhopping post a few days ago, bartender Danny let me know that he's actually been to the Tonga Room/Hurricane Bar and experienced their indoor hurricane. He meant to report back to us about it, but forgot.
Here's what he had to say:
Basically it was a large, dark, tropically decorated space with seating along the edges, and a large fake lake in the middle. In the middle of the fake lake, along the back wall, there was a little hut floating in the water. For the hurricane, they turned on flashing lights, rain machines, and some thunder sound effects as the floating hut floated towards the middle of the lake, closer to the bar area. The band was inside the hut and began playing cover tunes.
Here's a picture of Danny and his brother enjoying tropical drinks at the bar. Danny said he tried to videotape the "storm," but it was too dark and you couldn't tell what was going on.
However, he searched YouTube for a video and found this one:
Thanks, Danny! If you make it to San Francisco, check the place out and let us know what you think. Our Twitter friend @irishroadman also reported that he's been to this bar, and he said it's decent but expensive. (And he likes us better! Thanks!)
Doesn’t Buffett refer to The Tonga Room in one of his songs? 🙂
Oh probably! It’s very possible! Apparently they claim to have originated the Mai Tai cocktail.