After 11 years at Mahiki, tiki comes easy to Georgi Radev, co-owner of this tropical fantasy. Laki Kane is garishly done up in junk-loads of crazy kitsch, creating a passable rendition of a Polynesian beach bar. ‘No sandals’ was its perverse summer dress code, but far more appealing were the complimentary welcome drinks.
Robust premium rums are the primary fuel here, appearing in punches and Coladas and served in various voodoo-ritual vessels and quaint sharing quaichs; a flaming Zombie, arriving in a maiden’s head, is a particularly tasty temptress. Pimped-up Sours and Slings also find room on the list, though the non-rum recipes are a mixed bag: Banana Republic (rye, Cognac, Muscat, chinotto, sun-dried bananas) is rightly labelled ‘a sophisticated Old Fashioned’; but Rita Hayworth (a mezcal, Tequila, grapefruit and blood-orange ‘savoury twist on the Margarita’) seemed tart yet tame. Fill up on tofu rolls, crab balls, and pork buns.