Sign for the weekly luau show from the early days of the restaurant's existence (the show had long since stopped being performed but the sign remained) at Jardin Tiki in Montreal
Jardin Tiki was an extravagant space, a mid-century building that had been a car dealership. It was filled with many large hanging lamps and other decor that came from the Kon-Tiki (which had closed in 1981). There were water pools complete with turtles, and bridges to cross them. Large cane chairs provided glamorous seating for all. As grand as this all sounds, its most distinctive feature was the natural light: while most classic tiki bars are dark, windowless caverns, Jardin Tiki was full of natural sunlight from the windowed ceiling, giving a bright airy feel usually avoided in Polynesian restaurants.
Jardin Tiki closed at the end of March 2015, and was later demolished for new development.
I had lunch at Jardin Tiki today with my young son and the experience was almost zen-like. The place was really quiet. A few old people eating in silence. Hawaiian and exotica music playing softly. Only one waitress quietly doing his job. Snow falling down outside. It was really relaxing.
The chinese buffet is... well, a little sad. I mostly ate pineapple chicken and I would rate it as "edible". Let's just say this is not an all-you-can-eat where you run the risk to eat too much.
I had two drinks and was not impressed. The Scorpion tasted funny and was really underpowered. And the "Mai Thai" tasted almost the same.
The decor is a mixed bag. There's a lot of tikis inside and an impressive array of great looking lamps. But the place is too large and open to be immersive.
That being said, I didn't have a bad time. After my two drinks, I was happily listening to the music and was in no rush to leave. The exotic music was really the best part of the meal. I suppose it's a little less quiet at dinner time. I've been told the place still get packed on some nights. I'll have to go back to see that.
A weird mix between a polynesian and a chinese-american restaurant! Some parts of the decoration seemed out of the right place, like the giant chinese dragon and the Christmas «outfit» with icicle lights and pine tree: an illuminated palm tree might have been more kitschy and appropriate!The food is also «chinese» (nothing polynesian) and the single choice is a buffet. But the vanilla ice cream is the best I ever ate, and the coconut pie and mai thai were great.The chicken had a very plain taste and a «dry» texture,chiken wings apart, but the spare ribs were good.It should be better rated as a chinese restaurant, because of its lack of Tikiness !But the service was good, we had a lot of fun and I liked the big turtles in the fountain basin: they were also the most appetizing meat of the buffet!
I had lunch at Jardin Tiki today with my young son and the experience was almost zen-like. The place was really quiet. A few old people eating in silence. Hawaiian and exotica music playing softly. Only one waitress quietly doing his job. Snow falling down outside. It was really relaxing.
The chinese buffet is... well, a little sad. I mostly ate pineapple chicken and I would rate it as "edible". Let's just say this is not an all-you-can-eat where you run the risk to eat too much.
I had two drinks and was not impressed. The Scorpion tasted funny and was really underpowered. And the "Mai Thai" tasted almost the same.
The decor is a mixed bag. There's a lot of tikis inside and an impressive array of great looking lamps. But the place is too large and open to be immersive.
That being said, I didn't have a bad time. After my two drinks, I was happily listening to the music and was in no rush to leave. The exotic music was really the best part of the meal. I suppose it's a little less quiet at dinner time. I've been told the place still get packed on some nights. I'll have to go back to see that.
A weird mix between a polynesian and a chinese-american restaurant! Some parts of the decoration seemed out of the right place, like the giant chinese dragon and the Christmas «outfit» with icicle lights and pine tree: an illuminated palm tree might have been more kitschy and appropriate!The food is also «chinese» (nothing polynesian) and the single choice is a buffet. But the vanilla ice cream is the best I ever ate, and the coconut pie and mai thai were great.The chicken had a very plain taste and a «dry» texture,chiken wings apart, but the spare ribs were good.It should be better rated as a chinese restaurant, because of its lack of Tikiness !But the service was good, we had a lot of fun and I liked the big turtles in the fountain basin: they were also the most appetizing meat of the buffet!
The chinese buffet is... well, a little sad. I mostly ate pineapple chicken and I would rate it as "edible". Let's just say this is not an all-you-can-eat where you run the risk to eat too much.
I had two drinks and was not impressed. The Scorpion tasted funny and was really underpowered. And the "Mai Thai" tasted almost the same.
The decor is a mixed bag. There's a lot of tikis inside and an impressive array of great looking lamps. But the place is too large and open to be immersive.
That being said, I didn't have a bad time. After my two drinks, I was happily listening to the music and was in no rush to leave. The exotic music was really the best part of the meal. I suppose it's a little less quiet at dinner time. I've been told the place still get packed on some nights. I'll have to go back to see that.