Tuesday, August 17th, 2010—Bar 219
Day 219—Monday, August 16th, 2010
Réunion Surf Bar
With summer rapidly coming to a close (where the fuck did it go?), I thought we should go check out the Réunion Surf Bar while it’s still in season. This bar just recently opened and has gotten some good reviews. And, according to their website, Big Wave Dave approves. Now, I don’t know who the fuck Big Dave Wave is, but if he approves it’s good enough for me. Let’s go surfin’ now, everybody’s learning how. Come on a safari with me.
Here we are at the brightly lit Réunion Surf Bar.
The sign points down to the basement, so we'll follow that.
Follow the yellow flags to the door...
And a surf board points the way down the stairs.
Very nice and laid back inside and Iggy and the Stooges are on the sound system. Perfect!
Friendly bartender Doug serves up a frozen Corona, a perfect drink on a hot summer night.
Okole maluna!
Behind the bar, the infused rums and vodkas are at the top.
There's a long cadle-lit table behind the bar.
And another off to the side of it.
A long marble bar and stools line the perimeter of the wall.
Two screens show surf movies in tandem.
Eugene, one of the owners of Réunion was relaxing at the bar.
Adjacent to the bar is the candle-lit, blue aquarium room.
I love the aquarium in here.
To complete the ambiance there's a surf board in the corner.
Meanwhile back at the bar, Doug rings up a drink.
Some of the signature cocktails are listed on a board behind the bar.
There's a small lounge area in the back.
A shot of the bar from the other end.
Lights hang from the corrugated metal ceiling and swimsuits dry on the line on the back wall.
And the surf boards above can mean only one thing...
Surf's up! Goodnight, everybody!
Review
An underground surf bar has started to grow in Hell’s Kitchen. Réunion Surf Bar has only been open a few weeks, but has established itself as a little slice of Hawaii just a block away from Rudy’s infamous dive bar. The bar is in the basement of an office building and has a laid back and ultra casual atmosphere. The bar is wooden and surf boards are strewn here and there along with swim suits drying on a line in the corner of the bar. There’s wooden tables opposite the bar and a small lounge area in the back. Another candle-lit room is adjacent to the bar and has an aquarium at the end of it. Two flat screen TV’s show surfing movies at one end of the bar and the music is ‘60’s garage and surf rock played at a conversational level.
The drink menu is short on beers, there’s just four brands of bottles for six bucks apiece, but they make up for that with their cocktail offerings. It’s an island joint, so of course there are frozen drinks including: a Frozen Corona, which is a beer slush and the coldest Corona you’ll ever have, a Coco Loco, which mixes rum, lime juice, coconut cream, pineapple, cherry heering and amaretto and the Reunion Sunrise which is a frozen drink made of, tequila, mango puree, fresh lime, grand marnier and raspberry puree. There’s a large selection of rum and an Acid Drop Shot which is, house-infused grapefruit vodka, fresh pink grapefruit juice and a vanilla scented sugar rim.
There’s island ifluenced eats here too. Some of the unique selections from the food menu include: Shark Fry Tacos, Hanboa Sliders, Shortboard Ribs and the signature dish, the Le Americain which is a traditional surf sandwich consisting of french fries, wonton meatballs and melted cheese on a baguette. You should wait at least an hour after eating one of these to hang 10.
Réunion Surf Bar
630 Ninth Ave. (@44th St.)
212-582-3200
108 References
Reader Comments (28)
Cool place, the aquarium room is amazing. And the cocktails and food do sound like a little slice of island party central. Book 'em Danno! Great Dick Dale clip too!
Annette Funicello and Frankie Avalon would definitely approve! Beach Blanket Bingo anyone? Ha!
Really cool ambiance and the aquarium is out of sight, really bitchin colors. For sure this place is a lot different than most bars, and Daddy-o you switchin lately from old dependable Bud to Corona? I like that Surfer Girl drink, but I wish for Caroline, no? I grew up with surfers in Hermosa Bch and Manhattan Bch Ca., back then you also had the Low Riders (chicano's) and the Stoner Hippies, lots of choices.
@Al: Every now and again I stray from the Budweiser and a frozen Corona beer slush could not be passed by!
Hey 365 Man did you know there was at one time "Bartender Etiquette," which stated every time a bartender passes by the cash register with a 'Hat on his Head," he was supposed to buy a round of drinks... ...Looks like Doug owes a lot of drinks
@Pedro: I did not know that and it is invaluable information! Thanks! I'm going to keep my eyes peeled for hat-headed bartenders from here on in!
At first I was going to say that this place looks dingy, but, after careful examination of the photos, I'm going to say that it has a cool retro vibe. I'd totally drink there. The long marble bars with stools is my favourite part, in additiona to the aquarium room. I'm a sucker for fishies.
Cool place! Especially that aquarium room. I could feel very James Bondish in there. Nice seating arrangements and umbrella drinks rock. The only thing that freaks me out a little is there's a bottle next to the house cocktails list that appears as though it may be infused with swollen hand parts. Sooooo, I'm just glad they don't have a menu section titled "finger food."
"there's a bottle next to the house cocktails list that appears as though it may be infused with swollen hand parts. Sooooo, I'm just glad they don't have a menu section titled "finger food."
@Biff: Ha ha ha! You still gots it, Bifferoonie!
C'est drôle que vous mis en place Dick Dale vidéo puisque nous parlons que la nuit dernière!
une belle apparence, mais ils devraient avait du sable sur le sol où se trouve l'aquarium.
Bob l'éponge serait d'aimé ici.
cute place and a cute bartender! love it! the only thing missing is sand and a hula girl. LOL!
This place looks fun- I was also going to mention that it looks rather empty- but if just opened, I'll give it some time. I would like to go to the beach!
Nice little piece of the under world there.
But we all know there was something missing......No Fire Jokes!! Opportunity knocked but there was no body home!
This place could have easily passed as an Aussie bar. Plenty of good waves between my place and Fitzy's (Plenty of Sharks too....so we don't really need the aquarium)
@365: You mentioned this place is around the corner from a place called Rudy's.
Are we talking the same Rudy's that gets a slick little mention in Steely Dan's 1977 super laid back romp Black Cow from their Aja masterpiece?
(In the corner...of my eye....I saw you in Rudy's...you were very high.....yoooou were high).
Fuck I love that album....makes me wanna roll a big fat doob and call in sick for work.
Also Marty, Frozen Corona? I need more information.
I love the Aquarium ! but I hate the beach so I don't know if I would like this kind of place, I should try someday! maybe I can change my mind!
@Jason: very well chouchou! good progress but there's some (grammatical) mistakes and I couldn't sleep tonight if I don't blue-pencil !!!!!!
Ok, now you can drink 6 beers, eat some cocaïne and if you feel discouraged, try to learn some chinese 5 minutes then have 2 LSD !! see? not complicated to be french!!! :D And now I can go to sleep without to feel "OCD mood" !!!!! Ha Ha! cheeese! I missed my vocatin in teacher !!!
@Zioum Zioum: Sometimes you just make too much sense. If I ate some cocaine and LSD and 6 beers I could learn Chinese and french in 4 minutes and then do a 4 minute mile on foot.
Keep up the silliness. Take it easy.
@tim...such an inquisitive mind...not really sure 365 will give it up....did he do it when i called danielle's t-shirt...wow i read that a shark tore up some surfer down that way...next you are will want to know what hand 365 really uses...
enough babble...
looks like very interesting spot...hope they catch on and stay afloat in these here times...nice tune to dig up and make some of us (i'm sure) reflect and say "(where the fuck did it go?)" ....KOC
rr
@Tim Clack: It is the same Rudy's, but I had no idea, check it out here:
http://www.steelydandictionary.com/
Nice discovery! And the frozen Corona is just that, a slushy frozen Corona, it was great!
@raginrr: As far as handing it to myself, that information (as I think you know), is found in the archives over at The Half Empty Glass, but you have to do a little digging through their archives.
http://therightprofile.wordpress.com/
@Zioum Zioum: I'm no snitch, so I'm just going to throw these two words out there: "Online translator."
I like it. Not really a beach person but its got a nice vibe there. And like everyone else, the aquarium is very cool and gives a nice glow.
@marty, yeah mate you were spot on!!! fuckin' awesome bar, would feel right at home there....only drawback is i would'nt be able to, rather should'nt smoke a joint before going to Reunion, i wouldnt be able to stop stairing at those littl' Nemo's runnin'amok in the tanks.....bring on summer!!!!
@raginrr, i heard about that poor bastard who got killed by the shark yesterday...think it was near Margaret River Western Australia,thats over the other side of the country....they dunno what species it was, but if it was a great white we'll be in for another bumper shark season.....think it was summer 2yrs ago we were averaging nearly one attack per week in Australia.....even a navy diver working on a frigate at Garden Island (which is part of Sydney Harbour) lost his leg & part of his arm to a bull shark attack....scary deadly fuckers......
@ Fitzy: When isn't our summer a bumper shark season? That same summer 2yrs ago, I lived in W.A and spent xmas down near margaret river. I was getting dragged behind a boat in a rubber tube in the same waters where a man was taken the next day by a Great White. It's pot luck for us. Wasn't until a day or so later when I realised how lucky i was.
The guy who got taken yesterday was bit further south. Perfect temperature for great whites.
And the Navy diver in Sydney harbour got his hand bitten off.
They maybe scary deadly fuckers but I reckon Bazz could take one!
It's the same in SA.
We're's Brooksy?
@Tim Clack: I was wondering about Brooksy too, I'll send him an email tomorrow and see where he's been hiding!
@365: I figured it had to be a real place in NY being that Steely Dan are the quintessential New York band.
For the Aja album they got tired of living in and writing about New York so the packed up and moved to LA to create and produce the album. It was to have LA themes and generally be about LA.
They wrote the majority of the songs there which turned out to have New York themes any way. It wasn't until they moved back east the wrote 'Home at last' which was about LA.
There's some useless trivia for ya.
Here's to Donald and Walter!
@clacky, too true mate....funny it was only yesterday ran into an old mate who is right into spear fishing...he was telling me he was spear fishing off Bird Rock which is bout 200m off Flynnies (my beach) on mon & spied a 3m Tiger shark....fuck that!!!!....this bloke has balls of steel & is slightly fucked in the head.... they dont worry him....for me i love the surf, but i'm more at home out back of Bourke near Louth Razorback hunting, least i have a dirty big arse rifle on me out there...bit hard to surf & shoot at the same time....but thats Downunder!