Not sure what I was expecting here.. I found out about Ma’Kai by Googling around and found information about it on a Tiki Bar-themed message board..
I’m all for any and all things tiki, so I headed on out. This place seemed to me to be like another “place to be seen” LA bar, but located on Ocean Ave. in Santa Monica. I arrived just after dinner and just before it turned into a “bar.” They had a cdDJ in the corner blocking one of the exits that I wanted to use in order to sneak out and not say goodbye. I feel like I should go back and take more in so I can have a more complete review, but I’ll say that when I ordered a water, the waitress gave me a weird look and that water never found it’s way to my table.
There is a weird hologram of a nude woman under a waterfall that you can stare at if you’re desperately bored and your significant other has dragged you along for the night to hang out with her work friends.