You walk into a poke shop on Garnet Avenue. You find a refrigerator door. You open it. That’s the entrance to The Grass Skirt, Pacific Beach’s tiki speakeasy, and it sets the tone immediately. Inside: a serious rum program (150-plus varieties), a Rum Club with annual luau access, and cocktails served in tiki mugs including the Fire and Ice—serrano-infused tequila, overproof Jamaican rum, and a flaming 151 shot inside a lime rind. The Jungle Bird arrives in a parrot-shaped mug. Happy hour runs daily and the Chi Chi frozen drink drops to six dollars. The pupu platter is legitimate. In Pacific Beach’s loud, beach-town bar scene, The Grass Skirt is doing something more considered—and hiding it behind a freezer.
