*** Mr Tiki like most fad restaurants has faded away….
Last year I actually won something, man was I thrilled, mainly because I never win anything. On one hand I was really excited, it was two $50 gift cards…on the other hand, it was for a Cohn Restaurant Group restaurant. Most of our experiences at Cohn Restaurants have been of the "all style, no substance" variety. So here it's almost a year later, and we're thinking we better use these soon. So the Missus chose Mr. Tiki in the Gaslamp.
One thing you've got to give to the Cohn Group is that they are masters at the art of marketing and creating theme restaurants. Mr Tiki is a restaurant with a pseudo-Polynesian, Tiki Culture theme, serving Asian Fusion style dishes. Items like Kona Coconut Crabcakes, Miso Salmon Dumplings, Korean Style Smoked Ribs, along with a "Poke" and Sushi Bar on the premises. Now I really enjoy Pacific Rim style cuisine when done well, but in most cases it's a train wreck of mismatched flavors waiting to happen.
The Missus and Her Girlfriends have been to Mr Tiki several times, and had always enjoyed the 
experience. So I was all for giving it a try, especially with a $50 card, and a $10 off coupon, and arriving during Happy Hour to boot! The first thing the Missus noticed was that the menu had changed since Her last visit, and Her favorite dish, a Miso Salmon served on a pseudo Yaki Onigiri was no longer on the menu.
So the Missus decided to drown Her sorrows in a glass of Coconut Kiss($4 Happy Hour – $8 regular):
A coconut-pineapple-rum concoction with a hidden kick. She did enjoy it while it lasted.
The next thing the Missus noticed was that all the Fish Fillet, Whole Shrimp, and other dishes were now conspicuously missing from the menu.
We started with the Island "Poke" Platter ($18):
According to the menu, all these dishes are made for sharing. The Poke Platter had Lime Ceviche on one side, Poke on the Other, and Taro Chips scattered around the plate.
The Lime Ceviche, was indeed Lime Ceviche, that's all you could taste. The Ceviche was lip puckering sour, very one dimensional, though the fish had a nice firm texture, it was not particularly enjoyable.
The Poke
was okay, much too salty, and the marinade was wet and runny. The fish was of decent quality. Though the portion looked to be fairly decent, the fish was served in a banana leaf cone which was empty.
The Taro Chips were good though!
By this time the Missus ordered something called a "Volcano" ($7 Happy Hour):
Think of it as being a bowl of slushy Mai Tai, with a little(luckily) bowl of lit 151 proof Rum in the center. We were given two looong straws, though I wasn't drinking on this evening. The Missus stayed with the Mai Tai portion, and enjoyed it. She managed to drink about a third.
The Missus ordered the Mini Ahi Sliders($13):
I clicked this photo, and realized, that I couldn't see the Ahi, so the Missus opened up one of the sliders.
My first reaction was "ugh, grey food…". The Missus thought these were pretty good, even though cooked "well done", the fish "cakes"(I don't know what to call them) were very juicy and moist. I thought these were much too sweet, and a strange sour flavor(I believe it was lemongrass) really didn't help much. The Sesame Aioli was so mild, that you couldn't taste it at all. The fries were excellent, and we enjoyed those.
I ordered the Sesame Grilled Lamb Chops($15):
First off, the Lamb Chops were very soft and moist, though all the "wildness" was taken out of the chops. The flavor was very mild, I really couldn't taste any marinade. On the other hand the flavor of the Pineapple-Mint Chutney tasted so very strange…almost like eating pieces of oregano and onion flavored pineapple. The Sweet Potato Cake, is a Mashed Sweet Potato Crouqette with just a touch of spice, otherwise not much going on here. Still the Lamb Chops were soft and moist…too bad that taste wise, it could've been chicken.
Still I thought this meal was worth the price we paid…it came to about 3 bucks and change after the gift card and coupon, without tip! We did tip really well, since we received very good service; friendly, efficient, without being obtrusive. But would we have spent $60 for this? I really don't think so.
In the end, nice theme, nice drinks(per the Missus), very good service, the food needs some work.
Mister Tiki Mai Tai Lounge
801 5th Ave
San Diego, CA 92101
Dinner Nightly from 530pm