Pagan Idol
1 Dec 2023
The decor of this place is pretty good, but it's spatially awkward. There's a fair amount of wasted space. Better than half of the seating is made up of small stools that are an awkward height, and the tables are even more awkward, making that part of the experience uncomfortable. The best part of the visit was the bartender; he was a nice fellow. We were there early on a Friday night, so maybe it picked up later; but while we were there, the place was pretty dead. I wanted to like this bar, but it's in last place of the eight Bay Area tiki establishments we visited this weekend.
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Tiki Bar
Pagan Idol
San Francisco, California, United States
Pagan Idol opened in San Francisco's Financial District on February 24th, 2016. The bar is owned by the Future Bars group, which owns a variety of craft cocktail bars around the San Francisco Bay Area.
Pagan Idol has a front bar, which is designed to look like the inside of a wooden ship, complete with porthole views of swimming fish, and blown glass tentacle light fixtures.
Red-lit stairs lead to the back bar, which is where the full-on Polynesian Pop experience can be found. A second bar is lined with zebrawood and backed by lava windows. Overlooking the bar is a massive tiki carved by Crazy Al Evans, and a large outrigger canoe hangs overhead. A tangle of ropes and fishing floats decorates the bar. The walls are lined with Tongan tapa cloth designs.
Just beyond, the room opens up, and a night sky of twinkling stars hangs overhead, with a volcano waterfall and two cozy booths. Looming over this room is a second large tiki, this one carved by Ivan Lee Mora. Periodically, the volcano "erupts" and a fog creeps along the starry sky, adding to the moodiness of the room.
The soundtrack is all Exotica and hapa-haole music. The drink menu is all original tropical drinks, but a full array of classic tiki drinks can be ordered off-menu.
In the 1950s, this same location held Tiki Bob's Mainland Rendezvous.