Tonga Room
Encyclopedia
The Tonga Room & Hurricane Bar is a restaurant and tiki bar
in the Fairmont San Francisco hotel in San Francisco, California
. Named after the South Pacific
nation of Tonga
, this dining and entertainment venue opened in 1945.
The Tonga Room replaced the Terrace Plunge, an indoor swimming pool that was installed in the Fairmont in 1929. The pool was transformed into the Tonga Room's lagoon. The restaurant was redesigned again in 1967.
A report by the City of San Francisco Planning Department called the Tonga Room a "historical resource." Citing the Polynesian-themed bar's artificial lagoon, rainstorms, and lava rock, the report said: "The Tonga Room exhibits exceptional importance due to its rarity and as one of the best examples of 'high-style' Tiki bar/restaurant in San Francisco."
Tiki bar
A tiki bar is an exotic–themed drinking establishment that serves elaborate cocktails, especially rum-based mixed drinks such as the "mai tai" or "Zombie cocktail". Tiki bars are aesthetically defined by their Tiki culture décor which is based upon a romanticized conception of primitive tropical...
in the Fairmont San Francisco hotel in San Francisco, California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
. Named after the South Pacific
Oceania
Oceania is a region centered on the islands of the tropical Pacific Ocean. Conceptions of what constitutes Oceania range from the coral atolls and volcanic islands of the South Pacific to the entire insular region between Asia and the Americas, including Australasia and the Malay Archipelago...
nation of Tonga
Tonga
Tonga, officially the Kingdom of Tonga , is a state and an archipelago in the South Pacific Ocean, comprising 176 islands scattered over of ocean in the South Pacific...
, this dining and entertainment venue opened in 1945.
The Tonga Room replaced the Terrace Plunge, an indoor swimming pool that was installed in the Fairmont in 1929. The pool was transformed into the Tonga Room's lagoon. The restaurant was redesigned again in 1967.
A report by the City of San Francisco Planning Department called the Tonga Room a "historical resource." Citing the Polynesian-themed bar's artificial lagoon, rainstorms, and lava rock, the report said: "The Tonga Room exhibits exceptional importance due to its rarity and as one of the best examples of 'high-style' Tiki bar/restaurant in San Francisco."