Haiti - Tiki Bar Restaurant

 

Restaurant: Tiki Bar Restaurant

Address: 15 The Vale, London, W3 7SH

Date of visit: Sunday 15 December 2024

Time of visit:  8pm

I should probably reference the fact this review is being written almost two years after we visited. I can't really explain that. Life getting in the way. But the project can't continue onto the next country until this review is written and published! So here we go... let's find out how good my notes / memories are...

I was quite excited about visit this venue. Reviews online were rather glowing, and it had recently been featured on the hugely popular "eatingwithtod" social media accounts. As London's only Haitian restaurant this outlet seemed to be particularly well known. This was reflected in how busy it was on a cold Sunday night. We arrived to a very full restaurant, and initially it didn't look promising that we were going to be able to eat there at all.

We were offered a table at the back of the restaurant, in what was clearly an extension to the main building. It did feel like a bit of an annex, and was a little colder than the main restaurant. Menus came very quickly, and it was immediately clear that the service here was excellent. The waiter was very friendly and attentive, and went to great lengths to explain the menu options.

There's a good bit of variety on the menu, with a few starter options, and a selection of combo choices, chicken, goat, pork and fish dishes. Fairly pricey, but every dish seemed quite exotic, authentic and very tempting! A good selection of side dishes too, including rice, vegetables and salad. As for the drinks menu, it leads with cocktails and rum, with a good selection of both.

We passed on the starters and went straight to ordering mains. I opted for the tasso - marinated fried goat - and Elle chlose the griot - marinated fried pork. Both served with pikliz - a traditional picked vegetable condiment - and we ordered rice and peas (Steve) and tiki fries (Elle) as sides.

For drinks Elle opted for a glass of white wine, and I chose a bottle of Carib lager (from Trinidad & Tobago, a mere 900+ miles from Haiti...)

This seemed like somewhere people came often, and where the clientele were familiar to the staff. Customers were asking the barman for music requests, which were being played on Spotify (with adverts). The music was a little stop-start therefore, but it wasn't too distracting.

The interior décor did a good job of brightening up a pretty dreary Sunday night in Acton. It was all very busy to the eye, with Caribbean vibes by way of colour, flora & fauna, and painted on blue skies and seas.

The food came within 15 minutes, although without cutlery which Elle had to request from the bar.

Let's just say now. The food was amazing.

It was presented in small dishes, which made it look quite small to begin with. But you just had to look again at the sheer amount of meat in the bowl. And any portion of rice is always far bigger than it looks. The goat pieces in the tasso were quiet crispy, which suggested to me it had been deep fried. Still a little fatty with it. It was really tasty, but an extreme bone hazard. You really had to proceed with caution. 

The coconut flavour of the rice was really prominent, and all the better for it. This was the night I discovered pikliz, and discovered how much I loved pikliz. It had a serious kick to it and therefore ticked a number of  boxes for me.

Elle's griot pork pieces were larger than my goat chunks, so a little more tender, and perhaps fattier. Still fried, potentially deep fried again. The unexpected star of the show for her was the sauce. It was a tomato-based watery Bolognese-esque sauce, but packed with flavour. Cloves, chopped onion, chopped peppers. A little oily. But bloody addictive. So much so that Elle requested more (which we were later charged for). The sauce was such a hit that I don't believe she made any comments on the chips, as I have no notes about them! But they were seasoned with what I assume was paprika or similar spice.

We spent a little time letting the food settle and taking in the vibes before we realised we weren't getting the bill paid, almost "out of sight, out of mind" being outside the back of the venue. Back to the bar Elle went to get the bill.

A waiter did eventually come to the table to ask how things were, and to invite us into the main restaurant, which was now a little less busy, for a drink. We would have done so if we weren't already late for karaoke at a local pub across the road...

But this was an excellent experience. A really quirky little venue that's clearly well loved by many. If this is how busy it is on a Sunday night in December, then it's clearly going to be around for a while.

(N.B: As I write this in October 2026, it still very much appears to be thriving, judging by their social media presence, which is great to see)