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