Tonga Room
The Verdict
"Mai Tais by the lagoon while a band plays on a floating barge. It "rains" every 20 minutes."
What you need to know
The Room
Every thirty minutes or so, the lights dim, thunder rumbles through hidden speakers, and rain falls from the ceiling onto the indoor lagoon. The band keeps playing on a floating barge.
The décor is tiki maximalist: thatched roofs, bamboo, carved masks, fishing nets strung with glass floats. The Fairmont built the room as the Tonga Room in 1945 and has maintained it through decades of tiki coming in and out of fashion.
What to Drink
The cocktail menu covers tiki classics. Mai tais, zombies, scorpion bowls for groups, and various house drinks served in ceramic vessels. The Tonga Iced Tea is one of the stronger items on the menu.
The food menu is Pacific Rim: pot stickers, coconut shrimp, pupu platters for sharing.
When to Go
The band plays Wednesday through Sunday evenings starting around 8 PM. Weekend nights fill with bachelorette parties, birthday celebrations, and groups. Weeknight early evenings are calmer. Happy hour runs 5 to 7 PM on weekdays with reduced drink prices.
The dress code is resort casual; in practice, anything except gym clothes.
Filmed here
Productions the city recorded shooting at or beside Tonga Room.
- Fairmont Hotel29m awayVertigo 1958/The Towering Inferno 1974/The Rock 1996/The OA Part II 2019/Sudden Impact 1983
- 950 Mason Street, Fairmont Hotel29m awayNash Bridges 2021
- Tonga Room, Fairmont Hotel, 950 Mason Street29m awayLooking Season 2 ep 209 2015
- 950 Mason Street29m awayLooking Season 2 ep 208 2015
From the San Francisco Film Commission permit record.
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What to drink
Mai tais, Tonga Iced Tea, scorpion bowls for groups, tiki classics in ceramic vessels
