Visiting the Rockaways in the off-season has its perks. You can hang with the locals, support businesses that stay open year-round, and, with a proper winter jacket, still enjoy the sounds of the waves crashing in with the sand beneath your feet. I recently found myself at Rockaway Tiki Bar, one of the rare neighborhood businesses that stay open all year, for a taste of summer.
Owner Amy Tichenor felt Queens’ best beach neighborhood was missing a proper tiki bar and filled that gap in April 2021. The magic is in the details at Rockaway Tiki Bar. Beyond just serving frozen cocktails, the bar is stocked with quality liquor, and the thoughtful food menu appeals to diners with all types of diets. The funky decor plastered all over the walls is carefully curated, with license plates from Hawaii and Mexico and photos from Amy’s travels to tiki bars around the world.
I showed up on a Saturday afternoon intending to try a frozen concoction or two, but I also brought a healthy appetite. Even in January, I found the bar packed, likely due to their weekend brunch program, which debuted this year on New Year’s Day. I was not in a brunch mood, though, so I ordered from the standard menu.
There’s a nice mix of plant-based and carnivorous options and even an entirely separate menu for gluten-free diners. Rockaway Tiki Bar considers dietary needs to such an extent that all of their soy is gluten-free and all of their mayo is vegan.
The first thing that caught my eye were the different options for dumplings: chicken teriyaki, pork and cabbage, pan-seared shrimp or edamame. Having never had an edamame dumpling before, I went for the latter. They have two bao bun varieties, both vegan: miso mushroom or peanut tamari tofu. I ordered the mushroom.
The poke bowls are the best sellers, so I also had to go with one of those, topped with ahi tuna, and I threw in a kimchi hotdog for good measure.
The edamame dumplings were simple, steamed dumplings, filled to the brim with buttery, nutty, al dente edamame.
They say you eat with your eyes first, and the poke bowl definitely supports that theory. Like a rainbow on a plate, the bowl was piled high with morsels of deep pink tuna, pops of green edamame, slivers of purple cabbage and orange carrots, all decorated with black sesame seeds and salmon-colored spicy mayo. The taste brought just as much flair, and I can foresee my summer days in the Rockaways being fueled by a refreshing poke bowl taken to-go to enjoy on the beach.
The miso mushroom bao buns won the gold for me. The fluffy buns are stuffed with umami-packed meaty mushrooms, and the miso gives it just enough creaminess, which contrasted well with the tang and crunch of the marinated cabbage. I could’ve only had the mushroom bao buns at Rockaway TIki Bar and it would be reason enough to come back.
That said, I sure am glad I also ordered the kimchi dog. Even in the frigid New York winter, something about being near the beach makes me a sucker for a hotdog. The kimchi dog, priced at only $9, is topped generously with pickled, spicy kimchi, cabbage slaw, shredded cheddar, and spicy mayo on a Martin’s potato roll. Just as I could foresee fueling myself with the poke bowl on my more civilized Rockaway days, I can just as easily imagine sitting at Rockaway Tiki Bar with a kimchi dog, then knocking back a few frozen cocktails to work up my appetite for another.
Speaking of the cocktails, you won’t find premixed, products full of high fructose corn syrup here. All the juices and syrups are fresh, and the liquor in stock features several women-owned tequila brands, as well as local vodkas and gins. But don’t feel pressured to stick with sugary, citrus-packed drinks just because of the environment you’re in.
“The bartenders know what they’re doing,” Amy tells me. “If you want a martini, you can get a martini.”
But if you do find yourself there on a particularly hot day — or during their weekday happy hours from noon to 6 — you simply must try their Painchiller, made with three Caribbean rums, pineapple juice, coconut cream and orange juice, topped with fresh grated nutmeg.
Address: 6720 Rockaway Beach Blvd, Queens, N.Y. 11692
Phone: (347) 619-9369
Hours: Monday to Friday noon to 10 p.m.; Saturday and Sunday 11 p.m. to 10 p.m.
Prices: Tiki Bites $7-$13; Specialties $9-$20
Takeout and delivery available; no reservations.
Have a suggestion for a great hidden dining gem in your neighborhood? Reach out to Kaitlyn with your recommendations at nomannomad.net@gmail.com.
