Like many, we’ve been looking forward to the opening of Munktiki’s Dead Man’s Isle now for a long time, and were delighted to finally get to spend a weekend in Astoria, and visit – not once, but twice. Consequently, our notes are a composite of those two experiences…
First of all – no matter where you sit, be it at the bar or in the loft area above, the décor in Dead Man’s Isle is absolutely fantastic and immersive, complete with stormy weather lighting effects, and a painting that periodically goes through a series of mysterious changes. It’s like drinking in a place that is somehow a combination of Disneyland’s Pirates of the Caribbean and Haunted Mansion rides, and shows all of the attention to detail you would expect from a Disney experience. I don’t even want to think about how many hundreds of hours the ceiling alone took to dress up with so much flotsam and jetsam.
There is even a vending machine that dispenses Munktiki stackable Tiki mugs. The only note here is that if you want the stackable octopus mug, you might be better off buying it next door, since it seems to routinely get caught in the machine’s works when selected. The other mugs in the vending machine are delivered to the waiting customer without issue. I suspect that the octopus will soon be swapped out for something that drops more reliably.
The soundtrack is eclectic and very fun, ranging from classic exotica numbers to 1960’s surf and beach rock, Elvis, hammond-heavy lounge numbers, and funky, even wacky riffs on what would normally be standard lounge and exotica songs. Dead Man’s Isle Tiki vibe is a party just waiting to happen – not that on Friday night it had to wait for long!
The food menu is not long, but quite good, and has plenty of vegetarian options – of the eleven standard offerings, nine are vegetarian, and two of these – the Yakisoba and Fried Rice offerings – have the option of adding either tofu or pork.
One of the house sauces is a condensed, sweet soy preparation that literally pours like molasses when served to the side in a little pitcher, and is the star flavor in the Yakisoba, which comes with a colorful array of vegetables. The Crispy Tofu Salad was composed primarily of kale and carrots, topped with fried tofu that had been, we think, doused in the sweet soy and then rolled in a tasty spice mix – I am not a big tofu fan, but enjoyed this preparation.
Likewise, the black bean sauce green beans were quite good, as were the vegetarian lumpia. Jeanie’s favorite, though, were what is called the Short Stack – three Chinese-style green onion pancakes, topped with spicy mayo, fried scallions, kim chee, and a dusting of sesame seeds … these were so good she ordered it on both of our two consecutive evenings at Dead Man’s Isle.
The drinks were also good, but a little more hit-and miss. I tried the Dead Man’s Grog; it was a blend of rum, passionfruit, peach, citrus, and what might have been the smoky version of Stiggin’s Pineapple rum, as there was a lingering touch of smoke on the finish at first. However, eventually the passionfruit-peach nexus seemed to become ever more pronounced until it eventually all but took over the drink; perhaps the pour there had been a little heavy.
Jeanie’s Mutant Skull, however, was fantastic – the drink was creamy and smooth, yet perfectly balanced, with well-amalgamated flavors among which guava was a star. Mutant Skull’s flavor continued to evolve as it was sipped down, and remained enjoyable, if subtly different, as she got near the bottom. When we compared notes from both of our visits later, we concluded that as our drink selections went, this one, for us, was Best of Show. The waitress in the loft area was also remarkably helpful and pleasant, and we picked up many tips from her that tangibly improved our overall weekend experience in Astoria … all in all, a great evening.
On our second visit I ordered a Zombie, since classic drinks are a useful yardstick when comparing one bar experience to another. Strangely, while I was sitting there at the bar the two staff members making drinks discussed in front of me whether to use the good (BG Reynold’s presumably), or not-so-good grenadine in my drink. Surprised, I let this play out, and to my further surprise they actually went with “not-so-good”, with me sitting right there for the whole conversation. Really?!?
The Zombie was better than some I’ve had, and not as good as others. I’m sure the recipe had been streamlined down from the Donn recipe; it somehow did not seem as nuanced as I might have hoped.
Jeanie ordered the drink Nelson’s Blood, a recipe that had debuted at the sadly departed Portland Trader Vic’s. Apart from being a nice tip of the hat to Vic’s, it tasted just as she hoped it would, and she was again quite pleased with her choice.
Overall, Dead Man’s Isle was a very good experience. The Munktiki folks know the Tiki community well, and for the most part they really deliver – the atmosphere is absolutely amazing, the food is unusually good, with more vegetarian options than is normal in a Tiki bar, and the drinks range from decent to stellar. If I ever used the 5-Star system, I’d probably go with four. Definitely worth checking out, and their mug shop is right next door!
Here is the Dead Man’s Isle website
And Facebook Page