Island Root Kava Bar Suntree — Restaurant in Florida

Came here on 2/27/25 with my boyfriend and two friends. We had been to plenty of Kava bars around the area before with no issues.. this day we were refused service because my boyfriend moved here from out of state (Illinois) just a few months prior. I am 23, he is 22 and our friends are 21. The lady working the bar that night comes up to the door with no greeting or anything just said “i need to see IDs”… very hostility checked my boyfriends ID first and ran it through the scanner and it comes back green (which i assume means good) and tries to bend his ID and says it’s fake because it bends. I along with our friends all pull our id’s out and bend them just the same. She then checks the rest of ours but by quick glances, does not even scan ours and says that we are good but my boyfriends is fake and will not serve him.

I understand how it may look in this situation with everyone else having a FL ID while he has a IL one; However, the fact that she ran his ID through the scanner, it came back green and she still refused us service was insane to me. I wanted to ask the other person behind bar for a second opinion but my boyfriend was over it at this point and just wanted to leave. So we went to Kavasutra down the street and they took all of our ID’s just fine and we had...

Another of Melbourne's main stay kava bars. This one in Suntree is like many of the other franchise's bars. It features a pool table and ping pong. The crowd is eclectic as is expected at Kava bars. Unlike other Kava bars in the area, being located in Suntree on the cusp of Viera, the crowd here is more white collar and sophisticated. If you've had a funky experience before at a kava bar, give it another try here. Connor is awesome and has cinematic knowledge beyond his years - he Lewis me hipped to the latest independent film making the rounds as well as timeless classics. His shifts are punctuated with great and sometimes shocking films on the TVs.

Update: Stopped in for the 4 test anniversary party and was reminded of how much I love hanging out here. I don't get in as often as I used to but was instantly greeted by familiar faces and warm welcomes. This is not atypical for the kava community but it feels more real here. Had a nice night with a couple shells and a cold tea which tasted just as delicious as they always do. Had a slice of cake and am looking forward to doing the same next year with maybe a few more...

My husband and I popped in to see the atmosphere and try a drink. It was mid-day, but the bar was still full and pool table occupied. The issue we had was the service tbh. They seemed annoyed and ignored us for a few as we waited at the bar, but we thought whatever, let’s just get a drink. Not sure what to get, asking what others had and telling them we had been to another place for kombucha. He gives us bottled kombucha which tasted good, but $11 a bottle was tough to stomach. From then on it just sort of continued as we asked questions here and there. It was clear we were just not the customers he cared to serve or maybe he was having a bad day, no clue, but none of the other customers even seemed too engaging. We weren’t expecting a carpet rolled out, but with any drink or food service place I’ve been too, people usually try to acknowledge and engage without seeming so annoyed/grumpy. Either way, we paid, walked out and immediately said wow, we sure weren’t welcome. Maybe it was an off day, but first impressions ya know. Others might get a better response though so to...