Hula Bula Bar

Hula Bula’s large and ever-growing selection of rum (175 varieties) is something to be admired. If you’ve had some luck at Crown, ask for the 50-year-old Appleton Estate Jamaican Independence. At the bargain price of $300 a nip, it’s the prize of the bar’s collection. Only 800 bottles were made.

While the tiki bar doesn’t have the largest collection of rum in town, it might be the most thoughtfully put together. Knowing each bottle’s story and why it’s in the collection is imperative for recommending something to fit customers’ tastes, and Hula Bula excels in this area.

The easy-going staff has cocktail making down to an art. Tropical fruit wedges, plastic green palm swizzle sticks, umbrellas and small plastic animal toys top it off. Usual tiki suspects such as Mai Tais, Hurricanes and Zombies are available in addition to house originals, and the bar staff is happy to go off menu in a quiet moment.

Groups – easily catered to with several sitting areas – are encouraged to bring in food – there’s no kitchen. A large glass cabinet proudly displays the bar’s many spirits and you can hear old-school music from the era of tiki.

DJs play vinyl most nights. Some records are so obscure they haven’t been pressed since the early ‘60s.