Your guide to Boston's tiki bars
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Wusong Road has a serious tiki mug game. Photo: Mike Deehan/Axios
It's nearly March and the sun has been peeking out most of the week — so it's time to fully reject winter, embrace summertime vibes and drink some tiki cocktails.
Why it matters: Boston has a trio of tiki bars with classic Polynesian-inspired decor and menus dedicated to icy rum drinks.
- Tiki bars are mostly an American invention developed after World War II veterans returned home from the South Pacific with a taste for rum and island decor.
Tiki Rock — 2 Broad St., Boston
The oldest of the bunch, Tiki Rock opened in early 2018 near the top of Broad Street downtown in the former home of The Place bar, a stone's throw from State Street and Faneuil Hall.
- It's open for lunch until and has a half-off "appy hour" Sunday-Thursday 4pm to 7pm.
What to drink: Beyond the Zombies, Mai Tais and Painkillers, Tiki Rock offers house cocktails like:
- The King's Arms — cold brew and vanilla rum with Cynar and Frangelico — $16
- Ruby Ablaze — Mezcal with pomegranate and optional tajín — $17
- Rum Rum Smash — spiced rum, cachaça with ginger beer — $15
All the cocktails can be upgraded and served in a pineapple (for 2) for $35, a fishbowl (for 4) for $62 or a flamingo (for 5) for $82.
What to eat: Tiki Rock's food menu features tuna tacos, Shanghai-style calamari, fried fish, poke and the "Nor'Easter," a shellfish sampler served on fettuccine.
Shore Leave — 11 William E. Mullins Way, Boston
Shore Leave in the South End opened later in 2018 in the basement of a mixed-use building in the Ink Block area.
What to drink: The namesake Shore Leave cocktail is a "marriage of New England & tropical flavors," according to the menu, with local white rum, Jamaican rum, madeira wine and other flavors.
- Lion's Tail — bourbon, allspice, demerara and lime for the whiskey drinkers — $16
- Frosmo — vodka, orange liqueur with citrus and cranberry flavors — $17
- Kingston Negroni — Jamaican rum, Campari and vermouth — $16
What to eat: Shore Leave has a bar menu with burgers and sandwiches, sushi and plates to share like tuna tartare, dan dan noodles and sashimi.
- The Shore Leave Roll has shrimp tempura, hamachi, pickled pineapple and chilis — $20
Wusong Road — 112 Mt Auburn St, Cambridge
Declaring itself "the land of rangoons and rum," Wusong Road opened late in 2021 in the adorably narrow former subway conductor's building in Brattle Square that recently housed Les Sablons.
What to drink: Wusong Road's menu features the classics and then some, with tiki cocktails you don't see every day like the Jungle Bird or Breath of the Dragon.
- Happy Caturday — White rum, hibiscus grenadine, guava and pineapple
- 1980's Mai Tai — Rum, plus some 151, pineapple, guava, grand marnier and almond orgeat
What to eat: Wusong Road offers what it calls New England American Chinese cuisine with a Pu Pu platter, boas, spring roll, dumplings and corn or crab rangoons.
- Ma La Tater Tots with sambal ketchup
- The Blue Ginger lunch special: braised pork belly, jasmine rice, smashed cucumber, spam and egg fried rice with an almond cookie