If you're tired of the same old same old with your restaurants in Columbus (and let's face it, after a while even the trendy ones get old), then try out the Tropical Bistro. Be sure to start with some great tiki cocktails like their fantastic Suffering-Bastard, the best Mai Tai in town, or the Zombie. They have retained many of the drink recipes from the classic Kahiki restaurant which was recently razed by the piratical Walgreens corporation.
The Kahiki menu continues with their wonderful food menu. Dive into a pupu platter with all sorts of great appetizers. And enjoy a wonderful meal of Chinese, Polynesian, or American food (for you landlubbers). During our recent visit, I enjoyed a Malagasy New York Strip steak, with a tasty green peppercorn sauce; and my wife had the Tahitian Mermaid, a steak and crabmeat delicacy. The menu is varied and delicious all around.
The decor has many of the decorations from the Kahiki, an in many places does look like a strip mall restaurant with tikis in it... but the bar is magnificently retro-tiki and they are slowly making the place more and more tiki-fied.
The service was prompt and accurate, and they did a great job of making sure drink orders were taken care of and refills were given where necessary.
I look forward to trying out the brunch and lunches there soon!
Pros: Unique menu, wonderful cocktails, increasingly fun ambience.
Cons: It's in a strip mall.
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