First Glance: Bungalow Tiki & Cocktails, Dongsi Jiutiao

So we checked out Bungalow Tiki & Cocktail Bar this week, and it was indeed impressive. Though set in a modest little store front and filled with all of the necessary kitsch that seems to abound in these types of watering holes, Bungalow doesn’t waste your time with those unsavory versions of Tiki drinks that you might find in a small Southeast Asian beach town. Instead, you’ll find traditionally crafted tipples straight from the recipe books of Don the Beach Comber or Trader Vics. If you are not familiar with these bars, these are the most famous Tiki brands in the world, that more or less invented this brand of venue approximately eight decades ago.

We tried the Jet Pilot (RMB 58), and it was everything that it should be. Filled with crushed ice submerged in a long list items (mostly alcohol) and topped with one of those delicious Luxardo Cherries. It was the perfect mix of sweet, sour, and bitter inspired from a 1958 recipe from the Luau in California. Other Tiki drinks on the menu include the Zombie Punch (RMB 80), Mai Tai (RMB 45), and Leilani’s Volcano (RMB 45), just to name a few. We can’t wait to try the rest of these. All of the prices are more than reasonable, which bodes well for a long summer and a packed bar full of patrons craving these tropical potions.

Bungalow Tiki & Cocktail Bar

Daily 6pm-midnight. 82 Dongsi Jiutiao (behind Zhangzizhong Lu Station Exit C), Dongcheng District (158 0132 2795, 155 1024 7991)

东城区东四九条82号，张自忠路地铁站C出口后面

Photo: Kipp Whittaker