If it weren’t for the small overhanging “Kapu” sign above the sidewalk on Keller Street, one could easily bypass Petaluma’s most unique and enticing new food and drink destination. With windows shuttered from the front, only the modest signage, a plain bamboo façade and a cylindrical dark totem tucked in a corner hint at the tropical and lively atmosphere buzzing (and boozing) away within.
The stealth exterior has a method to its madness—and it’s not just to create a sense of mystery about the Bay Area’s newest tiki bar and restaurant, although it achieves that. Rather, a swath of interior darkness enables Kapu to illuminate its amazing lighting palette: a purple dining room, a red private nook, the yellow pinball room—a bar that runs the entirety of the spectrum. One’s first impression of Kapu is undoubtedly visual. It sets a mood—and it’s certainly not “suburban cafe off the 101 corridor.” Step in and let your eyes adjust; your server will accompany you to your seat. Yes, that’s a human skull embedded in the wall near the entrance. Elsewhere masks and totems dominate. If Petaluma were ever described as even remotely exotic, it would be here.
Kapu general manager Michael Richardson opened Kapu in late 2022 after cutting his teeth the last 15 years “at the forefront of the tiki movement,” as kapubar.com puts it. He’s helped launch tiki-themed venues in Las Vegas (where else?) and even coauthored Liquid Vacation, which traces Vegas’s tiki history and offers recipes for dozens of tropical drinks, some of which made the transition to Kapu’s menu of boozy classics ($16 each).
We started with a classic Mai Tai (a good gauge of a tiki room’s bar) and Kapu’s provides a stiff mix of rum with syrup and just enough lime to let you know it’s there—Kapu definitely passes the Mai Tai test. Another recommendation is the El Presidente, of Havana origin, a blend of rum, white vermouth and grenadine—a favorite of early 20th century Cuba president Mario Garcia Menocal, “a leader known to indulge in the ‘occasional’ beverage,” the menu quips.
An added treat to the cocktail menu are the brief origin stories of the drinks—from the de rigueur (Mai Tai was invented at the legendary Trader Vic’s in Oakland) to the scandalous (the bourbon-gin-ginger beer concoction Suffering Bastard was allegedly the inspiration of an accused spy in 1942 Cairo).
The Hemingway Daiquiri, meanwhile, was born in 1930s Cuba when the renowned writer/carouser requested the sugar in his daiquiri be replaced with double rum—hence it’s alternate name, Papa Doble.
The food menu–or, rather, “provisions,” “rations” and “concoctions” as the house prefers–is the brainchild of chef Mike Lutz, who trained in Oahu and has led kitchens from Hawaii to Rohnert Park’s Prelude at the Green Music Center. His zeal to bring delicious Hawaiian food to the North Bay is evident from the first taste of the poke nachos ($24), a refreshing twist on the tortilla bar-menu staple. These “nachos” are actually crispy wonton chips, which carry fresh ahi livened with a hint of soy, topped by sweet onion, radish, avocado and hot with jalapeno and a spicy mayonnaise. We could have polished off multiple plates of the nachos, but our taste buds’ attention was soon turned to the garlic chicken ($12) with its plateful of tenders basted in garlic soy sauce and accompanied by a tangy remoulade of tsukemono, or Japanese pickles. Addictively savory–it’s topped by scallions and sprinkled with salty furikake–our server George described it as a house favorite; we’re not surprised.
Under its “Ohana Style,” or family-style menu are larger shared dishes, from sweet/savory fried noodles ($20) to a seared rockfish stuffed with linguica, shitake, tomato, watercress and soy-based hollandaise ($26). We sampled the Filipino-inspired adobo fried rice ($22), a heaping helping of garlicky rice mixed with lean pork shoulder, eggplant, water spinach and topped with a large fried egg—it’s an entree big enough for two and rounded out the meal perfectly.
We polished off the provisions with a final cocktail—Kapu’s take on the legendary tiki room staple: the Zombie. A house creation at the iconic Hollywood watering hole Don the Beachcomber—credited with kicking off the tiki craze in the 1930s—the Zombie’s combo of multiple rums, grapefruit, “Don’s mix” of a cinnamon-y simple syrup and more (Kapu says it adds “spiritual chaos”!) delivers quite a kick and is probably a better note on which to end the evening, than start it.
A visit to Kapu borders on the surreal, at least by Petaluma standards. The kitschy allure of a tiki room hasn’t permeated the North Bay in long memory (if ever), despite being a stable draw with several options south of the Golden Gate—from the touristy Tonga Room in the SF Fairmont to the dive-ish Trad’r Sam’s out near the beach. Tiki certainly isn’t everyone’s cup of tea (Long Island Iced, or simply with milk); and questionable taste has always been part of the business model. But tiki rooms are about many things—dizzying lighting, fruity rum drinks, an old-Hollywood bastardization of the South Pacific is just the start. They’re also about nightlife and a certain escapist vibe—elements not readily found between the Novato Narrows and Wine Country. (Kapu is open to 10 p.m. on weeknights with last call at 12:30 a.m. Friday and Saturday.)
The name Kapu derives from a Hawaiian word for “forbidden” and, while colorful nightclubs aren’t exactly forbidden in Sonoma County, it might seem that way to those looking for a relaxing place for swizzle sticks and taste of Kona. For them, Kapu might seem a gift of the island gods in itself.
If not, just double the rum like “Papa” Hemingway, and it will soon.
