Bamboo Hut - San Francisco

San Francisco, California, United States

When Bamboo Hut opened in 1999, it was at the very front of the wave of modern bars inspired by the resurgence in interest in Polynesian Pop. It's more of a nightclub than a bar, with DJed music setting the soundtrack, but it's full of spot-on details. There is lots of bamboo and thatch, pufferfish lamps and glass floats, and an outrigger canoe hung from the ceiling. The lighting is appropriately dim and moody.

Drinks are served in tiki mugs and bowls, but were on the sickly-sweet side until rather recently -- until after a year long closure, and now the cocktails have been updated as of 2019 with several new ones on the menu.

Dozens of bras hung over the bar where they had been tacked up due to the house rule that women who wear them may not dance on the dance floor -- but looking at recent photos, the bras are nowhere in sight, so this may have been phased out after the latest round of updates...

Near the entrance is a dramatic waterfall feature, topped by a massive tiki head. The tiki started life as a road sign for the Coral Reef Restaurant in Sacramento, and the Bamboo Hut website says it dates from 1947.