Having investigated what is possibly Florida’s newest Tiki bar in St. Petersburg, Jeanie and I next checked out Florida’s oldest Tiki bar in Sarasota, the 1954 Bahi Hut …
It is not a large place, but charming both inside and out, replete with great 1950’s décor, memorabilia, and framed articles upon the walls.
The large glass doors to the outside allow in what would normally be an unacceptable amount of daylight into the bar, but look out upon a large thatched-fence enclosure with more seating, a small stage, and the impressive tangle of a mangrove tree that looks like its been growing out there for almost as long as the Bahi Hut has been around.
Inside, the collection of backlit masks accenting the walls made for a clean, simple, but atmospheric setting.
Directly across from the doors out onto the patio was the bar proper – mug shelving behind, and a single screen that actually added to the escapist feel, as all that played on it was a rather hypnotic video of pulsating jellyfish.
The tunes drifting through the lounge were a mixture of Surf Rock and vintage Exotica, completing the old-school Tiki bar vibe.
We settled down at the bar, where the helpful, chatty bartender got us going with some drinks and appetizers. For the latter, we tried their spring rolls and Crab Rangoon. The spring rolls were pretty good, and came with a dipping sauce, but the Crab Rangoon was the surprise star of our snacking. At first I was concerned; the edges of the wonton wrapper packets were dark and looked overdone, so I went for the spring rolls first.
However, noticing Jeanie’s appreciation for the Crab Rangoon, I eventually had one, and wow, was the Bahi Hut’s filling ever good – loaded with plenty of crab and great flavor. We soon ordered up another round, which also looked a bit dark, and was just as delicious.
As for the drinks, Jeanie had their Hawaiian Honey Bee – a concoction of rum, pineapple, lemon, and “sweet nectar” … whatever nectar Bahi Hut used, Jeanie enjoyed her light, refreshing drink. I, meanwhile, after glancing skeptically at the “Don the Beachcomber traditional Mai Tai”, decided to go with the much-touted ’54 Bahi Hut version of the Mai Tai … “while at the Bahi Hut”, after all.
The Bahi Hut version of the Mai Tai was served up in their signature tiki mug and seriously strong. It is worth noting that it is not remotely like the Trader Vic classic of the same name – our friend Jason Craig later described it to me as “fruity jet fuel”, and this description, in my opinion, is pretty much unimproveable.
Outside, Hurricane Elsa announced its arrival with driving wind and rain*; since we had no inclination to step outside, the next drink I tried was another house drink called the Bahi Aloha. In the menu it said that the drink contains two kinds of Siesta Key Distillery (more on them later) rum – coconut and spiced – and a 151 float. Talking with the bartender, I learned that the other ingredients include a little lime juice, a little coconut cream, apricot brandy to add a bit of fruity flavor … and little if any actual fruit juice, apart from the lime. In short, the 10-ounce Bahi Aloha glass is mostly booze with a few accent flavorings — however, it was thoroughly enjoyable, and I would cheerfully have another like it anytime. Like the Crab Rangoon for the food we sampled, we agreed the Bahi Aloha was Best of Show for the drinks we had.
I was seriously tempted at this point to try the Bahi Hut’s take on Cobra’s Fang, but though I am not what one might call a cheap date, as the first two drinks settled in I realized this would be deeply unwise, and probably make me a less than optimum travel companion for the ride back to where we were staying. The drinks at the Bahi Hut don’t mess around!
Instead, our last purchase was a ceramic mug behind the bar that caught our attention because it was cast in the likeness of none other than Medusirena, the Fire-Eating Mermaid! For some reason her image was surrounded by apes in orange jumpsuits – my speculations were running to some Dr. Zaius sort-of connection, but the bartender explained the apes around Medusirena on the mug represented a local band. Given that the back of the mug read “Tiki Fever – Bahi Hut” it seemed safe to assume that it was a cool mug created specifically for a Bahi Hut event.
After this transaction there was a break in the downpour outside, so we settled our bill and hit the road while we could see through the windshield.
To wrap up: The Bahi Hut is the real deal as Tiki bars go, with plenty of vintage charm, hospitality, tasty snacks, and – for two of the three we tried – drinks so strong they demand one’s respect. A worthwhile Tiki stop in Sarasota!
The Bahi Hut sign by the road cheerfully announced “Elsa’s Coming – $5 Hurricanes”. We decided to take a pass, but enjoyed the humor.
Here is the Bahi Hut Website
And Facebook Page
Post-Review Review: Make your outing to Bahi Hut a Two-fer!
All of ten minutes away by car from Bahi Hut is the place that provides a lot of the Hut’s rum – the Siesta Key Rum Distillery
We actually went to the distillery before visiting the Bahi Hut. Mike and Kevin were behind the counter pouring free samples of the four kinds of rum they produce: White, Coffee, Spiced, and Coconut. The rums smelled and tasted real; to us the best was their coconut rum, which, tasting as it did of real toasted coconut, would probably outshine the majority of flavored coconut rums available on the shelves. (Reviewer’s bias: Neither of us like coffee, so the Coffee Rum was handicapped for this review)
While we sampled we had a nice chat; during the conversation the Bahi Hut came up, and it turned out that Mike’s dad had been friends with one of the Bahi Hut’s longer-term bartenders “back in the day”.
The distillery had a lot of merchandise (besides rum) on hand…
Most interesting to us were the conveniently packaged slices of rum-soaked cake, and the freezer chest full of locally made ice cream to go. Hard choice, but in the end we got some Rum Raisin ice cream to eat in the car. Good stop!
