This is one of my favorite Tiki adventures. Was in Sitka, Alaska for work and flying back to New Orleans with a 7 hour! layover in Seattle. So I decided to take the light rail from the airport to downtown, dropped off my bags at the Hyatt Regency, and walked up the hill to Rumba/Inside Passage.

I arrived shortly after 5pm on a Thursday and the bar was about half full. The Inside Passage space is small, so I would def recommend a reservation if not getting their right at opening. Overall, it was an outstanding experience - Decor, Music, Drink quality, Drink selection, Food, and service. It was an awesome place to spend 3 hours of my 7 hour layover.

Drinks I ordered: 1. Premier Mai Tai - Excellent but pricy. One of the best I've had post-pandemic. 2. One Eyed Willy - Amazing presentation, but way too sweet for me. Something seemed off.

1. Jet Pilot = My favorite drink and this might have been one of the best I've ever had. The bartender let me taste the rum blend before I ordered and it was on point.

2. Camera Shy = Cool bigfoot mug and interesting northwest inspired flavor combination. A little lighter than the rest of the drinks.

Definitely a must see modern/post-pandemic Tiki bar with outstanding aspects whatever brings you to a Tiki bar.

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Tiki Bar

Inside Passage

Seattle, Washington, United States

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Inside Passage opened on June 25th, 2021 after a long delay because of the COVID pandemic.

It is owned by Pike Street Hospitality Group (the group behind Rumba, Agua Verde Café, and Tango Restaurant).

You enter by going through Rumba.

The interior was designed by Notch Gonzalez — and is more nautical than "tiki" in nature -- mixing tropical aesthetics (thatching, lighting, drink mugs) with Pacific Northwest seafaring history (including the name). That’s reflected in the rubber-and-foam octopus (which the bar nicknamed Kiki), as well as rustic wood accents throughout that recall an old ship.

Initially, the owners of the bar very pointedly tackled the concept of "tiki" on their website (in a section entitled "The Tiki Thing" which has subsequently been removed) and declared that they were not a tiki bar but an "immersion bar". They have tried to resist using any depictions of tikis, weapons, or sexualized native wahines (but topless mermaids and ship figureheads are nautical and okay apparently).

Despite this, if you are a fan of tiki bars, you will probably find much of their decor and their cocktail menu VERY familiar...