. The theme here was not strictly tiki, but rather "adventure," with a mix of African and Papua New Guinea elements, but the echoes of golden-era Tiki were still felt, especially in the drink menu.
The buildout was done by Tiki veteran Bamboo Ben. A massively long and wide monkey pod-topped bar anchored the space, while the main attraction was a large, raised African hut with seating inside. There was an upper mezzanine that overlooks the room below. A sophisticated sound system delivered a variety of jungle sound effects and exotic music. Fresh orchids and plenty of greenery added to the jungle feeling. Beautiful drawings of African animals on the menu and adorning the walls to the mezzanine were created by Long's mother.
The food menu was influenced by Africa's colonial past, with familiar British items like Bangers & Mash and Shepherd's Pie. There were plenty of the old traditional Polynesian restaurant appetizers, including a flaming pu-pu platter.
The drink menu was full of Long's own take on Tiki classics, and her own inventions. The Navy Grog could be purchased with a souvenir Longitude rocks glass, while the Black Orchid came with a real black pearl to take home.
Longitude... Who knew when I visited it for the first time that it would also be my last time? The place closed down just a matter of weeks after my visit. The shockingly sad part is that I really didn't pay close attention when I was there as i was engaged in conversation with friends and, oh yea, I was also drinking alcoholic beverages. Had I known the place was going to close down, I would have tried to get the full experience. Drat.
What little I remember and the few photos I took of the place are recorded in a blog i wrote AFTER learning of its demise: You can check it out, if you care to, HERE: https://monsterago-go.blogspot.com/2017/10/im-freaky-for-tiki-5-longitude-in.html
Post Mortem:
Even a week before they announced they were closing the quality never dropped in my opinion. The Exotica remains one of my favourite coffee-tinged cocktails and it's a shame I won't be getting those any time soon.
I spend a birthday hammered on a huge bowl of Mai Tais split between 12-14 of my friends with tons of food under the hut on a Sunday night.
This place was dangerous for me, it was mere blocks away from the BART station and only a block away from a friends apartment so I would stop by before or after meeting up with them. Nothing wrong with a Peter Love Grog here or there.
I'm gonna miss walking back to 12th St BART station with a Longitude Giraffe or two sticking out of my shirt pocket.
Glad I made the trek before they closed. The Mai Tai was just okay (with small cubed ice, where I prefer it crushed in a Mai Tai). But the Special Daiquiri was amazing. The best Daiquiri I've ever had (and no ice). The Shrunken Skull wasn't my favorite (crushed ice would have helped) but did mellow as I drank it. Unfortunately they were no longer serving the Exotica.
Decor here was a little "suburban" and the neighborhood is a little sketchy. I liked a lot of what I saw here, too bad I didn't make it out here before.
Longitude... Who knew when I visited it for the first time that it would also be my last time? The place closed down just a matter of weeks after my visit. The shockingly sad part is that I really didn't pay close attention when I was there as i was engaged in conversation with friends and, oh yea, I was also drinking alcoholic beverages. Had I known the place was going to close down, I would have tried to get the full experience. Drat.
What little I remember and the few photos I took of the place are recorded in a blog i wrote AFTER learning of its demise: You can check it out, if you care to, HERE: https://monsterago-go.blogspot.com/2017/10/im-freaky-for-tiki-5-longitude-in.html
Post Mortem:
Even a week before they announced they were closing the quality never dropped in my opinion. The Exotica remains one of my favourite coffee-tinged cocktails and it's a shame I won't be getting those any time soon.
I spend a birthday hammered on a huge bowl of Mai Tais split between 12-14 of my friends with tons of food under the hut on a Sunday night.
This place was dangerous for me, it was mere blocks away from the BART station and only a block away from a friends apartment so I would stop by before or after meeting up with them. Nothing wrong with a Peter Love Grog here or there.
I'm gonna miss walking back to 12th St BART station with a Longitude Giraffe or two sticking out of my shirt pocket.
Glad I made the trek before they closed. The Mai Tai was just okay (with small cubed ice, where I prefer it crushed in a Mai Tai). But the Special Daiquiri was amazing. The best Daiquiri I've ever had (and no ice). The Shrunken Skull wasn't my favorite (crushed ice would have helped) but did mellow as I drank it. Unfortunately they were no longer serving the Exotica.
Decor here was a little "suburban" and the neighborhood is a little sketchy. I liked a lot of what I saw here, too bad I didn't make it out here before.
Glad I made the trek before they closed. The Mai Tai was just okay (with small cubed ice, where I prefer it crushed in a Mai Tai). But the Special Daiquiri was amazing. The best Daiquiri I've ever had (and no ice). The Shrunken Skull wasn't my favorite (crushed ice would have helped) but did mellow as I drank it. Unfortunately they were no longer serving the Exotica.
Decor here was a little "suburban" and the neighborhood is a little sketchy. I liked a lot of what I saw here, too bad I didn't make it out here before.
This was a stop on our grand California tiki bar tour - in the best interest of our livers, we had the (virgin) guava pineapple lemonade (so I'm reluctant to comment on the actual boozy drinks).
Generally bar food is pretty mediocre, and Longitude nailed it - we had the plantains with the best black beans I've ever had, and fried pickles (it's all pickled veggies: onions, carrots, celery) - they were tangy and perfectly fried.
It was hard to rate this as a tiki bar since it's more "adventure" themed, but would rank this as one of my favorites even still. Can't wait to come back!
As Humuhumu says, this isn't really a Tiki Bar, but an Adventure Bar. That being said it's still a really cool place.
Their Mai Tai is made with their own homemade Macadamia Orgeat. It makes for the absolute best Mai Tai I have ever had anywhere.
Finally made it here. We were in the area on a Sunday at 4pm right when they opened. Great time to go, not crowded at all. Drinks were good, we also ordered the pupu platter which I thought had a nice selection of items. They were super nice to us. Also plenty of parking out front. More safari meets tiki but nicely decorated.
What little I remember and the few photos I took of the place are recorded in a blog i wrote AFTER learning of its demise: You can check it out, if you care to, HERE: https://monsterago-go.blogspot.com/2017/10/im-freaky-for-tiki-5-longitude-in.html
CHEERS!