The Downtown Tiki Lounge

The place was closed when we got there which was odd on a Saturday night, but the owner was very apologetic and thankful we came back once open. The volcano bowl drink was really good and definitely shareable. Has music and karoake as an option and the owner is very willing to put on the genre you like if you ask. Not a huge crowd but a nice chill spot. The décor is a little confusing because it is a mix of «Tiki» with Jamaican which in my view are different. I’d give it another try if in the area again.

I went there twice in the last couple of weeks during the posted business hours. The light inside was on, but nobody was there. There was no sign that tells me about anything either.

Definitely an average spot in the heart of downtown San Mateo.
The décor is very cute near the bar but it splits off into a weird diner-​like feel. Behind the bar is a tv where they play sports. So it’s like a mix of a tiki bar, sports bar, and a diner. But they don’t serve food.
I went around 10pm on a Saturday night and it was rather empty until around 10:30 when more people started rolling in.
I shared a volcano punch bowl with my boyfriend and it was very weak. Definitely mostly juice, which was what it tasted like. But for $ 17, it’s definitely more worth it than the individual cocktails ($ 8).
Including tip, I paid a little bit under $ 20 which wasn’t too bad. But this place is definitely one of those places I just wanted to visit but probably wouldn’t come back to.

This was our first stop bar hopping on New Years Eve around San Mateo. Ambience-​wise, this place was pretty meh. Most of the tables were empty. We shared the Tiki Tea volcano bowl. It was decent, but I’m pretty sure it was more than half sprite.

I came to the Downtown Tiki Lounge for the first time last week. I wanted to have a surprise birthday party for my fruity-​cocktail-​loving boyfriend. I called the bar a few days before and asked if I could leave an ice cream cake in their freezer for the party. I spoke to the owner, Dennis, on the phone and he was so incredibly nice and helpful. The surprise party went perfectly! Fruity, delicious, fun drinks galore! The ambience was laid back, the other bar guests were not rowdy or unsavory (unlike other bars in the area). I highly recommend this place for a large group of people or just to have a cocktail with a friend. The vibe of this lounge is so welcoming and chill and the owner/​bartender, Dennis, is generous and personable.
If you’re looking for a comfortable, chill, happy vibe-​type bar I recommend coming to The Downtown Tiki Lounge.

Not my favorite San Mateo bar — but it’s an okay spot I like to stop at during bar hopping nights. It feels kinda rundown and just really cheesy and cheap (not the drinks, but the place itself).
My friends and I usually stop here for the volcano bowls. If I remember, they’re about ~$ 14 for a fairly large bowl of booze (and ice…). All of the ones I’ve tried taste like college. You know, the coconut rum and fruit juice days. They smell and taste fairly strong but I really don’t think a bowl of ice warrants for $ 14. Sometimes it’ll just taste like ice, other times just juice. They’re still fun to get and share though, especially when they light the volcano on fire! All other drinks are at usual pricing. Beer is like ~$ 6 and they have an okay selection.
I’m actually surprised this place gets crowded on weekend nights. I don’t know what’s the big deal about this place… but I guess I’m glad some people see something in it? There’s also just one bathroom, so that can be a struggle especially if you really gotta go.
Overall, I’d just come here if I’m already drunk — that’s probably why everyone else is here too anyway.

I’ve walked past this place for years, but didn’t wander in until a birthday celebration last weekend.
This place is kitschy and loud (not because of the crowds, because of ‘Buffalo Soldier’ blaring on the speakers), and was quite crowded on a Saturday night. It took around 25 minutes to order a drink (and receive it), despite being the only ones who had placed an order at a time.
It’s definitely not a place you go when you’re in a hurry, or on any type of schedule at all, really. The drinks aren’t bad, though, which is a plus. It’s just a sort of dusty feeling sort of bar, overall.

Came here for the first time one Thursday night for a friend’s 21^st birthday. We ordered three mai tai volcanoes. Honestly, I think it tasted like most of the tropical alcoholic tiki bowls… fun, fruity, and nothing too crazy (unless you drink one to yourself, have multiple bowls, or if you’re just a lightttweighttt: P). The music choice of throwback r&b and hiphop that night had me vibing as well. The ultimate reason I’m giving 4 stars is because we got lucky with a couple of free drinks from a lovely lady that was close to the owner of the bar. It was her birthday that night too, so she was very generous and accommodated to our night of fun.
Overall, this place is a nice place to stop by during a night out with friends. Stop by to grab a tiki bowl and share among friends!

I’ve always heard fun things about this place but I never went until the other night. We were there close to closing and it was fairly empty but I honestly didn’t even notice because we had a bigger group and it was nice to have the space. I didn’t order my own drink but tried some of my friend’s drinks and they were good. I also thought that the price point was good for how much alcohol comes in these drinks.
I tried to order food but their kitchen was closed.

This isn’t the best Tiki Bar and wasn’t one of my favorite bars in San Mateo… and so I give it 3 stars just because I think if you’re looking for a place to hang in San Mateo, there’s better to be had.
But if you’re just lookin’ for a bar covered in fake palms with fruity concoctions and good service, there’s no reason you shouldn’t check this place out!
This is what you should expect of a Tiki Bar. Silly cocktails that taste like juice and aren’t incredibly impressive. I enjoyed my volcano bowl filled with green monster — it was every bit the tacky, flamey experience I anticipated.

Clean bar but the drinks are super weak. Chill spot to hangout for a quick minute.
Not much more to say but Unilocal wants me to write more.

Ugh. No.
I usually like tiny hole-​in-​the-​wall bars, and we’re kind of suckers for a tiki theme.
It was a Saturday night, and there were a few groups pretty much packing the place, and there wasn’t much seating to begin with. One of the groups was an off-​the-​clock employee and her friends, and there was a group of four or five single (or at least, out without their SO’s) mid-20’s girls celebrating a birthday.
So we get up to the bar, take a look at the menu so we can look at their specialty drinks and such. At the time, there are two people working — a manager and a bartender. Both are making drinks.
The manager was nice enough. He took our order and then got a phone call just as he was about to start making the drinks. He needed to leave to take care of something, but gave our order to the bartender who was already helping someone else. The bartender got the order, looked at us, nodded, and continued working as the boss left.
The bartender had a bunch of drinks to finish up for the off-​duty employee, so we waited. No big deal. I figured that he’d make our drinks afterwards, as he had not taken any other orders. Instead, he decided to take the orders from the birthday party of girls. They didn’t even know what they wanted, and needed a moment to think.
As they tried to decide, I grabbed the bartender’s attention and mentioned that I was still waiting for our drinks too.
«Yeah, I know. I just need to serve them first.»
What? They hadn’t ordered yet. They didn’t even know what they wanted. Meanwhile, I had already been waiting for our drinks only to get bumped because he wanted to try to hit on some girls.
And you know what? I probably wouldn’t have been so annoyed if the drinks he served us weren’t watered down crap excuse for a mai tai.

Good casual spot to grab a drink or two.
I enjoy the chill ambience and large selection of bowls. However I’ve found that one of their flaws is lack of consistency with drinks. Sometimes I’ll get a bowl that leaves me wondering what my middle name is, and other nights I’ll down one that was basically a huge bowl of fruit juice.
It’s pretty deserted on weekdays and doesn’t even get too packed on weekends so I’ll come by when I’m tired of having to shout to be heard by my friends at other bars. Which gets old pretty fast.

I do not remember much about this place, just flashes of bamboo and colorful liquid in a huge bowl. I remember straws and laughing a lot. A lot. I think there was pizza before this, or after this.
However, I do remember desperately trying to find my jacket the next morning and the gentleman who owns this place was very friendly and more than willing to help. I appreciated the effort and the contribution this establishment had to my evening/​morning.

Came here around midnight and found a bunch of cop cars outside whattt
The place is pretty crowded on weekends at night. Damn never thought this place would be so packed. The drinks are also pretty interesting – large bowls of mai tai volcanos. Niceeee
When we were walking in a drunk dude asked us for ID – turns out he doesn’t work there. Why didn’t the cops do anything? Bar seems disorganized if they let that happen to all the customers.
The mai tai drink was pretty good – pretty sure there was a lot of alcohol in it but they mixed it so you can’t really taste the alcohol. Nice
The décor inside is also very nice. A lot of bamboo huts and stuffs
Will definitely visit again

Great fun little spot for a gathering. Owners Dennis and his brother are extremely personable and hospitable.
Drinks are very reminiscent of my tropical vacations, full of rum and coconut — If I closed my eyes I could imagine the distant sounds of seagulls and beach waves.
Great lounge/​meetup spot in San Mateo!

I’ve been to Downtown Tiki Lounge, twice, but actually got served once. The first time was back in September 2011. My friend and I were waiting around for like 15 minutes at a booth for service on a Friday night… got ignored so we left. Flash forward to July of this year on a Friday night for happy hour. My friend picked the place and there were a group of 4 of us. Definitely get a scorpion bowl or two to share, they were fine, although one was a little stronger tasting than the other. They also ordered chicken wings, onion rings and jalapeño poppers to share. I wasn’t much of a fan of their food (had a popper and some onion rings).
Heard one of the girls got stiffed a dollar off here drink. I believe the scorpion bowls for happy hour were about $ 15. Not a bad place for happy hour. It reminds me of Tiki Haven totally in SF except Downtown Tiki Lounge is roomier, better service at Tiki Haven though. 3 stars for now.

Went here on a Friday night. It wasn’t poppin, which is fine. The music and décor is pretty awesome. It was quite bright for bar at 1130pm. So all the ladies that rely on a dark setting to hide some of your flaws from your date, I suggest you wear a hat or throw on more war paint =p
I’m not impressed with their bowls. We ordered two at 18.00 a pop and felt nothing, therefore I have to assume it was all juice with a tiny splash of alky. It usually only takes one shot to get me feelin’ some type of way (oh yea, I am a cheap date lol) so I’ll leave it up to you to gauge it. I mean, I had a whole bowl and was still able to walk in a straight ass line and pass on getting fries. Only sober ppl pass on eating grease.

To be fair — my friends and I came here on a Wednesday night, 20 minutes before closing. It was pretty dead already but still a steady trickle of people coming in after hours…
I love the decorations. Very tiki-​like. It’s super chill. It would be one of those places you’d want to come with your friends after a long day at work. The bartender/​owner (?) was really nice. He made his rounds between all the customers near the end of the night to make sure everything was good.
My friends and I felt bad though because we took up a table but only one person ordered a drink. So we’ll definitely be going back some other time to give it another try.

If it wasn’t for their small chalkboard displayed outside their door, with the sign that says «HAPPY HOUR», we probably would’ve walked passed this hidden tiki lounge. It’s a pretty small space inside, but lucky us it wasn’t packed when we went here! They have a good selection for happy hour food but we were more excited to try their punchbowls!
FOOD & DRINKS
— — — — — — — — -
Green Monster Punchbowl — My friend and I shared this between the two of us… What a creeper! Worth the price!
Nachos w/​Steak — Loaded with black beans but they were not generous enough with the steak/​meat (not worth the extra charge for steak).
Chicken Wings — Sweet, Juicy, and Delicious! Don’t skip on them, and it’s only $ 5 during HH!
Overall, this was a chill and laid-​back spot to grab and share a few drinks and bites with friends! The bar area is pretty small, but they’ve got several booths set up on the side! The service was on the good side since our foods and drink were served fast.
***WIll return***