Tiki Rock — Restaurant in Boston

Few things give me as much joy as saddling up to a bar counter at a Tiki bar and ordering away. I've been to many Tiki bars. I seek them out and just love everything about them. From the tropical drinks that taste like vacations that I can't afford to the relaxing theme and the music. It's like being transported from a barstool to the beautiful islands of Hawaii.

I was very excited to take my wife to Tiki Rock, which is only six weeks old. We waltzed in and sat at the bar and were greeted by a friendly bartender and a menu. We ordered away: an Our Thai ($15) for me and a Painkiller for the wife ($15) and both drinks were pretty tasty and nicely garnished... but didn't feature a signature, ceramic Tiki cup.

We downed those and proceeded to get a second round: I went with a classic, my go-to, something I've had hundreds of times: a Mai Tai ($14) while the Mrs got a Saturn ($13). A different bartender made these and she was nowhere near as friendly as the other guy. It was to a point where even my wife gave me that "what the hell" look.

The wife's drink was great. Mine, not so much. It was arguibly the worst Mai Tai I've ever had. To a point where it was completely unrecognizable and I started to wonder if she had heard me right. There were no distinguishable traces of Orgeat in there and their recipe doesn't feature the satisfying pineapple juice. It lacked sweetness. It was too sour. A very odd recipe.

All in all, the place has potential but it's just not there quite yet. They need those signature Tiki cups. They need a better food menu, which in its present state feels very much like an afterthought, especially if you don't eat fish or seafood. They also should bump their prices down a bit, because it got real expensive real fast. It was well over $70 for 4 drinks which is damn pricey, even for downtown Boston.

Most importantly, they need to work on consistency of service. Our first bartender was awesome, the second one, not so much. Oh and every time I tried to ask for recommendations, they defaulted to their 'Rum Barrel' cocktail which is $22. C'mon, how about you work with me here and actually focus on what I like and not what's most expensive? I specifically said that I wasn't very into Falernum and it's a key ingredient in that drink...

The potential is there and hopefully the tweaks will happen. I look forward to trying it again, in a while, and hopefully the Mai Tai will be improved as will the attitudes. For...

Update: 7/30/25 @Juan Felipe Carmona, I read your review. Out of all the reviews, you chose mine. For what reason I do not know. This is a public forum where people can leave a review or comment in regards of their experience. It seemed that you took it personal when you saw my review. To assume someone was flirting with a bartender is reaching 😆. And respectfully it seems that you are bias because like you stated “you visited this particular establishment for YEARS” great for you. For the record, people are allowed to leave a comment, review and rate as they please. So respectfully, it seemed personal and it seemed that you were at the establishment and worried what I was doing instead of doing your thing. You are allowed to speak (if you choose to) but a reminder that I have that right as well. Bye now 😌

This was my first time being at a loud bar/club-like scene. If I have to be blunt; I was not impressed with the food selection nor the drink selection. I was with my siblings last night and we had a few drinks (a margarita and something called the hurricane) The bouncers were okay. I did enjoy the music, that was the only positive factor about it. I gave it this average rating was mainly the staff (more specifically the Cuban bartender that was serving last night Sat 7/19/25) If he is reading this (or even cares to improve his performance: my sister is a sweet person and the fact I saw her ugly side… the way you interact with customers say a lot and to the point that a guy was trying to get your attention and wanted to place a drink order but you zoned out and you had a pompous attitude. Pretty boys like you don’t last that long and I do hope this particular review humbles you because I work in customer service and hospitality and that’s not how you treat customers. You are not friendly, just stone-faced cold. Respectfully if it wasn’t for that enforced 20% gratuity, you my sir, don’t deserve those tips. If anything your other coworkers deserve and the kitchen staff deserve. Not you. You don’t deserve to pocket that money. If anything it is only a matter of time before some files a complaint on you for your services. Work on yourself before you step...

I had high hopes for this place but was sadly disappointed. Myself and a friend had a reservation for Friday night. We were seated pretty quickly and very happy with the atmosphere and vibe of the place. The place had a very fun environment with fun music and nice staff. First we order drinks off of there drink menu. Drinks were pretty terrible and loaded with sugar and crushed ice. We then order our dinners and another round of different drinks. Bartender comes over and tell us they don’t the ingredients for our drinks and makes recommendations for other drinks. We were extremely happy with her recommendations and kindness. My friends dinner comes out pretty quickly but pretty cold. After an hour & 15 minutes of waiting I ask the waiter about my food and he checks on it and says it’ll be right out. Another 20 minutes go by and I cancel the food. We then ask for 2 kamikaze drinks and we are brought over 2 shots. At this point we just assume that the waiter was confused and brought us “kamikaze shots” instead. We drink the shots and then our drinks are delivered. So now I’m all confused. We ask to speak to the manager and they send the head chef over who was so sweet & kind and offered us a round of drinks on him. Then the manager comes over and tell us they are sorry and MY dinner won’t be on the bill. Well of course my dinner won’t be on the bill we were here 2 hours and never received it?! We get the bill and all of the drinks including ones “on the house” and food are on the bill and also they upsold us on 2 drinks for a more expensive liquor without asking. The whole night was very confusing. I paid the bill and tipped 20% but will not be going back. They did not take anything off the bill which seems absurd to me. The 2 stars given are for the fun atmosphere and...