Bootlegger Tiki — Restaurant in Palm Springs

In support of the review posted by David S on Dec 11th, I’d like to confirm that it happened by providing information about our experience with the owner and two staff members of Bootlegger Tiki:

On Dec 11th at 3:52pm my husband and I parked on the same street as Bootlegger Tiki on Via Lola. We noticed there were loading cones for curbside pickup so we made sure to park past the cones to not get in their way. So we did just that by taking a 3hr residential space. We were clearly out of their loading zone by multiple car spaces. Now, here’s the reason I’ll never support any of the owners businesses ever ever again:

A Bootlegger Tiki employee (petite man with tattoos) came outside with a very smug condescending attitude and confronts us to move our car. We accommodated without an issue, and we moved our car twice even though we weren’t in their way to begin with. Still, he was unsatisfied. He made me feel very uncomfortable when he couldn’t legitimately provide the reason we needed to move our car. He went as far as talking and following us in close proximity as we started to walk down the street as though we had stolen something from a retail store. Around this time we tell him we don’t like his tone or how he’s physically positioning himself toward us.

Since he couldn’t let the issue go We then asked if he could provide more information on the parking situation since:

1. our spot was labeled 3hr residential parking
2. no cones in the space
3. no signage the spaces beyond the cones are assigned to Bootlegger Tiki

He could not. We were met with eyerolls and lots of attitude. That didn’t sit well with us.

Soon the owner(long hair/long beard/French accent) and another employee came outside to continue pressuring us to move. There were now three men giving us a hard time refusing to clarify the length of their loading zone but insisting we do it through yelling and intimidation. All we asked for is an explanation that wasn’t an eye roll

What I’m most disappointed in is learning the man who acted the most unprofessional is actually the OWNER. He never introduced himself, or attempted to deescalate the situation. He was inside the dark tiki bar while his staff was pressuring us outside on the curb. So he did not witness how his employee approached our car and spoke to us. Instead of neutralizing the situation, the owner pursued us with animosity and angrily waved his hands in our faces yelling at us insisting they had the right to take extra space past their loading cones. The only explanation was cars were going to come hit us and damage our vehicle. We were baffled. By the way, the entire time this was happening, not one single car pulled up for pickup and there were at least 4 generous size car lengths of space they reserved with cones. We could have been left alone all together. The short male employee went out of his way to confront us, and the owner was even worse.

Now I get it, communication can get skewed and things can get weird especially during stressful times but I experienced Non existent conflict resolution and leadership ability from the owner. You can see reviews that need simple rectifying are met with zero accountability, hospitality, or responsibility. It’s always the guests fault, no matter how his staff and himself treat people. And that’s also the attitude he gave me in person.

We will never support or refer anyone to Bootlegger or their sibling business ever again. I’m a fair person and would’ve been more than happy to deal with the owner had he introduced himself and asked his staff to go inside for a moment. We would’ve moved completely had we really been in their parking zone. we were met with very unreasonable bullies with severely bad attitudes. When three men confront a man, his wife, and puppy yelling and screaming yes people will be angry about that. When you make demands but can’t provide legitimate explanations people will not respond to that well either. We don’t stand for the mistreatment of residents or visitors in PS. No amount of tiki hipster cool is going to...

Made a reservation well in advance based on the reviews talking about how busy this place is. Arrived on a Thursday night at 6:30 to find 5 customers inside and 4 outside and plenty of empty seats. Host still asked if we had a reservation and we confirmed ours. Then he asked to see both our IDs; we are 49 and 61 with gray hair and receding hairlines or bald spots but I guess some places just card everyone… it was odd.

He then seated us in the worst seats in the bar in these very uncomfortable wooden chairs that were placed against a wall with a cutout to the kitchen where we were faced away from everyone else in the bar including the bartender. As we walked to our seats a strange couple seated at the bar gave us weird looks as they were pawing each other. After sitting in the uncomfortable chairs we asked to be moved to one of the multiple empty booths in the bar. Another couple was seated in a booth so we didn’t understand why we weren’t also seated in one. The guy who seated said us he needed to “go check” if we could have a booth. With who we wondered as he was acting as host for the place and controlled the seating? He said a booth was okay so we moved over.

Once we sat in the booth the man disappeared behind the bar and never returned. We assumed then that he was not the server. We waited for a server to appear but that never happened. The only staff in the place was the man who seated us and the female bartender. While we waited, the female member of the couple who stared at us upon walking in kept staring at us off and on while she stroked her partner’s knee making me very uncomfortable. After 5 minutes passed and no one came to take our order my husband started looking towards the bar and was thus facing towards the bartender. But she refused to make eye contact with him. Both she and the man who seated us remained behind the bar just chit chatting nonsense with the three people sitting at the bar. After 10 minutes passed with no one acknowledging us to take our order we finally walked out. It was one of the strangest and rudest experiences I have ever had in a bar in my life. If you want a good tiki experience in Palm Springs avoid this bizarre place and try Tonga Hut or check out The Reef at the Caliente Tropics Resort with very friendly staff and solid...

Used to love this place but it got way too popular and the warm, welcoming vibes are totally gone. The service at the door is always unpleasant - even when you have a reservation. The drink menu changes every 6 months for better or worse. Lately for worse - I asked for dealers choice last time I was there and described what I wanted - the emphasis being tart. The waiter just started suggesting things off the menu and said if we didn’t choose, he’d just choose a menu item for us - was super uncomfortable. So I just ordered his first suggestion. Was so beyond sweet, I couldn’t drink it. Meanwhile, the guy who sits on his Chrysler Le Baron was ripping cigs and that’s all anyone in our party could smell. Our waiter handed us the check to shuffle us out before we even asked for it. I don’t know - I just can’t stand the holier than thou vibe that exists there now - I’ve tried to chalk it up to off nights but its happened time and time again so now I’m over it. It used to be super warm, local sort of haunt vibes with people who worked there who would sit down with you and talk through the menu and genuinely wanted to make sure you had a good experience. Sadly, it’s no longer a place I really want to go to anymore or recommend to friends. Just feels kinda whack and exclusive for no...