I still love that you can reserve a table - best thing from covid! I also love that there is outdoor and indoor seating. Great music not too loud fun atmosphere and friendly sporty service. The drinks of course were amazing per usual and the food has improved - had the forbidden fries and cups with guacamole. We rode our bikes there and they even allowed us to park them inside the gate which was very nice!
Chris
Forbidden Island is a wonderful tiki bar. The drinks are always good, they regularly have new ones. They have yummy bar food. The servers are both nice and knowledgeable. I'm always up for going there.
Marissa Huennefeld
Great cocktails and finger food. Super friendly staff.
David Cheney
Probably the second best tiki bar in the Bay area. The drink menu keeps evolving but the bartenders can make you a classic tiki drink as well. Hard to beat the atmosphere, there are a few booths, a few tables, and a long bar in the dimly lit interior and a fairly large patio area out back. Food options are limited to fryer snacks, but we're here for the drinks.
The patio closes at 9 due to neighborhood noise restrictions.
JosephineB
Forbidden Island has always been like a big hug for us every visit . Great staff , friendliest Ohana , corn dogs and chicken bites , and consistently stellar cocktails prepared by the best bartenders always keep us coming back. So grateful to Michael Thanos for keeping it going for 19 years and cheers to many more ! Mahalo !
Sara Martin
We love coming to Forbidden Island and especially enjoy the Chamborada. I would say though that I really hate the debit card penalty here and the fees that get pulled out of your account immediately that then take a few days to come back into your account. My partner and I shared a duo cocktail together that had a $300 ($300!!) deposit fee for the glassware that it was served in, plus another fee since a debit card was used. We ended up totaling a $66 tab, but over $300 in deposit fees. I implore the management here to find a better system that doesn’t feel so predatory on peoples bank accounts. We just paid rent this week and wanted to go out for a drink or two, but it ended up leaving my partner with only $15 in their bank account until the deposit will come back to us after the weekend. I’m just really disappointed to deal with this each time we want to go to Forbidden Island because we truly do enjoy it here. Not everyone has credit cards or wants to use them for going out, an alternative solution to this would be so great to see.
Nikolas
Always a great time at Forbidden Island where the drinks are delicious and well crafted, beautiful decor, and the always friendly staff. A must visit for all tiki and tropical drink fans.
Andrew
This place feels like my second home. I absolutely love it here — the atmosphere is always welcoming, the drinks are consistently great. It's the kind of spot that makes you want to keep coming back. Everyone should experience it at least once!
Rita
Absolutely love Forbidden Island! The staff makes you feel like true Ohana. Drinks are always delicious as well as the snacks that are offered. The decor is top notch and the events are always worth checking out!
Mazi
Disappointing experience. We waited 20 minutes at our table without anyone checking in, and only got help after flagging down the host. After that, it took another 30 minutes just to get our drinks and we later found out our food order was never put in, so it had to be redone from scratch. The food and drinks themselves were decent, but waiting over an hour to receive them is simply unacceptable.
Forbidden Island is a favorite spot for hubby and I tl come hang out. The drinks are excellent and we love the Forbidden Fries. The staff is very friendly and knowledgeable.
Elaine
Excellent service, especially our server Chloe (?) who gave us great ordering-advice! All 4 of us each had 2 tiki drinks and enjoyed all of them, plus appetizers. Also, fantastic tiki bar vibe—just plain fun for any age/group mix ( we were mother/son/aunt/uncle!!) Go check it out if you have any affinity or interest in the tiki bar world!!!
joe n
Like the vibe and their cute drinks.
Caitlin Gilleran
I have been visiting for over 15 years and definitely a lot has changed as everything does. What has remained the same is every drink prepared is lovingly crafted and in my experience the wait staff are on top of things and very nice (big shot shout out to Autumn who we've worked with for many years). I think the outdoor space is nice but the indoor space is where I feel at home. I've spent hours playing games there, enjoying the otherworldly feeling of the tiki bar, and drinks. It was for many year our perfect escape. It was the place where nothing else could bring me down. I miss it.
Austin
Expensive but they have an unrivaled rum selection
I still love that you can reserve a table - best thing from covid! I also love that there is outdoor and indoor seating. Great music not too loud fun atmosphere and friendly sporty service. The drinks of course were amazing per usual and the food has improved - had the forbidden fries and cups with guacamole. We rode our bikes there and they even allowed us to park them inside the gate which was very nice!
Forbidden Island is a wonderful tiki bar. The drinks are always good, they regularly have new ones. They have yummy bar food. The servers are both nice and knowledgeable. I'm always up for going there.
Great cocktails and finger food. Super friendly staff.
Probably the second best tiki bar in the Bay area.
The drink menu keeps evolving but the bartenders can make you a classic tiki drink as well.
Hard to beat the atmosphere, there are a few booths, a few tables, and a long bar in the dimly lit interior and a fairly large patio area out back.
Food options are limited to fryer snacks, but we're here for the drinks.
The patio closes at 9 due to neighborhood noise restrictions.
Forbidden Island has always been like a big hug for us every visit . Great staff , friendliest Ohana , corn dogs and chicken bites , and consistently stellar cocktails prepared by the best bartenders always keep us coming back. So grateful to Michael Thanos for keeping it going for 19 years and cheers to many more ! Mahalo !
We love coming to Forbidden Island and especially enjoy the Chamborada. I would say though that I really hate the debit card penalty here and the fees that get pulled out of your account immediately that then take a few days to come back into your account. My partner and I shared a duo cocktail together that had a $300 ($300!!) deposit fee for the glassware that it was served in, plus another fee since a debit card was used. We ended up totaling a $66 tab, but over $300 in deposit fees. I implore the management here to find a better system that doesn’t feel so predatory on peoples bank accounts. We just paid rent this week and wanted to go out for a drink or two, but it ended up leaving my partner with only $15 in their bank account until the deposit will come back to us after the weekend. I’m just really disappointed to deal with this each time we want to go to Forbidden Island because we truly do enjoy it here. Not everyone has credit cards or wants to use them for going out, an alternative solution to this would be so great to see.
Always a great time at Forbidden Island where the drinks are delicious and well crafted, beautiful decor, and the always friendly staff. A must visit for all tiki and tropical drink fans.
This place feels like my second home. I absolutely love it here — the atmosphere is always welcoming, the drinks are consistently great. It's the kind of spot that makes you want to keep coming back. Everyone should experience it at least once!
Absolutely love Forbidden Island! The staff makes you feel like true Ohana. Drinks are always delicious as well as the snacks that are offered. The decor is top notch and the events are always worth checking out!
Disappointing experience. We waited 20 minutes at our table without anyone checking in, and only got help after flagging down the host. After that, it took another 30 minutes just to get our drinks and we later found out our food order was never put in, so it had to be redone from scratch. The food and drinks themselves were decent, but waiting over an hour to receive them is simply unacceptable.
Restaurantji Recommends
Forbidden Island is a favorite spot for hubby and I tl come hang out. The drinks are excellent and we love the Forbidden Fries. The staff is very friendly and knowledgeable.
Excellent service, especially our server Chloe (?) who gave us great ordering-advice! All 4 of us each had 2 tiki drinks and enjoyed all of them, plus appetizers. Also, fantastic tiki bar vibe—just plain fun for any age/group mix ( we were mother/son/aunt/uncle!!) Go check it out if you have any affinity or interest in the tiki bar world!!!
Like the vibe and their cute drinks.
I have been visiting for over 15 years and definitely a lot has changed as everything does. What has remained the same is every drink prepared is lovingly crafted and in my experience the wait staff are on top of things and very nice (big shot shout out to Autumn who we've worked with for many years). I think the outdoor space is nice but the indoor space is where I feel at home. I've spent hours playing games there, enjoying the otherworldly feeling of the tiki bar, and drinks. It was for many year our perfect escape. It was the place where nothing else could bring me down. I miss it.
Expensive but they have an unrivaled rum selection
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