Toratiki, Victoria BC’s only Tiki bar, makes for a fun outing. A long, skinny bar, it is decorated to the nines and has a super-friendly, helpful staff. When we visited on a Saturday night, it was busy but our small group had no trouble getting promptly seated in a booth right across from the bar.
Tora serves mostly classic Tiki drinks, but is not itself what I think of as a traditional Tiki bar. For instance, the music playing heavily leaned into industrial and punk rock, though later in the evening they did finally slip in a few surf guitar numbers. This is no doubt because they appear to be catering to a young, clubbing crowd that seem to be using the place as a watering hole on their way to, or possibly between, other events.
Speaking of which, one event you will want to partake of before visiting Toratiki is getting some dinner in you, as you will not find a food menu at Tora’s, and, say, downing a Zombie, or Tora’s group drink Freakin’ Volcano on an empty stomach is probably not a great idea. A few restaurant/bar review sites talk about Toratiki’s food offerings or show pictures of a food menu, but this information is outdated.
What Tora’s does have a lot of, however is Dole Whip. Dole Whip by itself, or Dole Whip with a float of any of several proffered liquors. If you have a Dole Whip craving, this is definitely your stop!
As for Tora’s drinks, they were moderately priced and overall, quite tasty. Our group’s favorite was probably the Tradewinds; Tora’s presentation of this standard was very good indeed. Also quite good was one of the few non-classic Tiki drinks on the menu, the seasonal Nog Grog. Those at our table who ordered that (and after the first was ordered it was swiftly followed by another) described it as a sort of a delicious cross between a grog-style recipe and a Painkiller. Like the Tradewinds, our group gave it a resounding thumbs-up.
The Tora Zombie? It was definitely a lower-boot riff on the classic Zombie recipe, but certainly enjoyable. Could I make a better one at home? Well yes, but Tora’s was good and I didn’t have to go through the work of constructing an 8+ ingredient drink, so worth it.
The Trader Vic Grog seemed closer to the original recipe than the Zombie – and again, a competently-made, perfectly enjoyable drink.
Overall, Toratiki was a positive experience as long as one is not being too rigorous in their Tiki standards – just go in knowing that the music, for the most part, will not jive at all with the Tiki décor, so it is not an immersive experience.
