We’re finally getting some warm weather here in Portland and after spending a warm afternoon hanging out at the Cirque du Cycling, Sarai and I stopped by Thatch to celebrate the weather just a little more before heading home. Others will disagree, I’m sure, but tiki has always been strictly a warm weather thing for me. I’m rarely in the mood for tropical food or drinks during the cold months, but come summer, that’s nearly all I want.

It was a Saturday, so we expected to see Blair behind the bar but we were surprised to find Nathan G. there instead. We hadn’t seen Nathan since he spoke at CocktailCamp PDX back in April so we took this opportunity to catch up a bit, learning that he had recently left his position at Alu and was that day working his first shift at Thatch, where he’ll be a couple nights a week now.

While we had only stopped in for one drink — a Mai Tai for me and a Nui Nui for Sarai — Heather, another bartender on duty, was in the mood to experiment so we benefited from this in the form of a couple samples we shared alongside our own drinks. One of which you see pictured above — a daiquiri made with Blair’s own hibiscus grenadine. I didn’t care much for the sugared rim but it was only on half the glass so I was able to enjoy the drink itself without overly sweetening it.

The decor at Thatch is good, with a pretty high TiPSY factor and a little weirdness thrown in here and there. I understand it was a little sparser a couple years back but I’m happy to report that they’re not lacking in this department now.

After living in San Francisco, it’s hard to not compare every tiki bar I visit to Forbidden Island. While Thatch doesn’t come close to matching the style and ambiance there (but really, who does?), it’s definitely up to par and a great place to spend those all-too-rare hot Portland evenings. The addition of Nathan to the roster was a good move and one that’s sure to result in even better things.

Thatch Tiki bar on Critiki