Strong Water Bar — Restcoaster

Strong Water, Anaheim, CA

When we reinvented Westcoaster a few years ago, expanding from a pure theme park driven site, we wanted to venture into a broader realm of immersive entertainment, places of interest, and specialty events. And as we’ve refined what that exactly entails, the result has generally fallen under the umbrella of “themed attractions.” Today’s update falls under that category, as we take you to a new tiki bar that recently opened in Anaheim, just a stone’s throw away from Disneyland.

Strong Water is an intimate, tropical themed bar and distillation of a dream from husband-and-wife founders Robert Adamson and Ying Chang, the founders and owners of the lavishly praised Blind Rabbit speakeasy just down the street. For over half a decade, the Blind Rabbit has offered a rotating, seasonal menu of high quality craft cocktails and a excellent gourmet New American cuisine to guests within an intimate, Prohibition-themed setting tucked inside the hipster food court that is the Anaheim Packing House. An escape from the hustle and bustle of touristy Anaheim, the Blind Rabbit has gained a reputation as one of the best bars in Southern California, and even today, reservations are frequently in high demand.

A look at the main bar inside Strong Water.

After years of honing Blind Rabbit, Robert and his wife, Ying, gained an expertise to launch their next venture, and when looking for inspiration, they came back to an idea that Robert and Ying had even before the genesis of a secluded, 1920’s style speakeasy. A tiki bar has always struck a vibe that has appealed to the couple. Inspired by modern venues such as Trader Sam’s Enchanted Tiki Bar just a few minutes away at the Disneyland Resort and by the classic tiki bars that used to dot the Orange County landscape, Robert and Ying sought to create their own “love letter to tiki” by taking tropical elements and combining them with cozy and elegant intimacy of the Blind Rabbit—not to mention the high levels of immersion and theming. The result is a tiki bar that isn’t as flashy and stereotypical as a traditional Polynesian-themed watering hole, but instead retains a more subtle and polished ambiance—all tucked behind a somewhat understated exterior.

Guests arriving at Strong Water will find it next door to another highly themed dining establishment— Requiem: Coffee, Tea, and Fantasy, an RPG/fantasy inspired cafe open day and night for geeks and appreciators of games and whimsy and magical worlds. On the Strong Water side, however, there is much less opulence in terms of brand identification. There is no signage above the door—only the address letters on the wall beside the entrance. A barrel with colorful Christmas lights hints at a tropical presence, but if the host is inside helping seat guests, one might even question what exactly this facade harbors.

Little details make for a charming experience. Photos don’t do this space justice!

Inside is another story, however. Similar to Blind Rabbit’s procession of concealing a hidden domain behind a seemingly-ordinary cover, Strong Water welcomes guests inside to a lush but dignified hideaway, accented by excavation site-style hanging lamps, draping foliage, sumptuous woodwork, regal avian portraits, and even a waterfall. A long bar gives guests a view at a charming display of drinkware, plus tropical artifacts and sculptures that harken a Tahitian getaway. There are beautiful touches in the details, from old style oil-lit table lamps to exotic tiki mask wood carvings to the rustic, curving slat ceiling that forms a canopy over the space. Everything feels like a luxurious tribute to the tiki theme, executed to a level that would impress even Disney Imagineers. Even the water closet and restroom wash area have lavish theming, including rows of tiki masks and jungle foliage that feels like something out of a Disney Adventureland!

The drink menu features over a dozen tiki style drinks—not all of them containing rum—plus a few off menu favorites migrated from the Blind Rabbit. In craft bar style, some feature creative takes on tropical drinks using alternate spirits such as whiskey and gin. The Lucky Monkey, for example, combines the smokiness of Scotch with a mix of rum, banana liqueur, falernum, cinnamon, Angostura and Cardamom bitters, to elicit a fusion of layered flavors well beyond a typical Mai Tai. Of course, if it’s classic tropical drinks you crave, Strong Water offers that too. The Zombie King is a fitting zombie with three different types of rum mixed with an assortment of citruses and bitters to offer a rich concoction of sweet and tangy and botanicals. 3 Dots and a Dash combines two rums, an allspice dram, falernum, honey syrup, lime, and bitters into a potent Mai Tai style with a complex flavor texture that uses the competing sweet, bitter, and sour tastes to accentuate each other. Both are among the bar’s stiffest potables and come with a 2 order maximum per person.

The Miehana (Anaheim backwards) is a rum drink transplant from the Blind Rabbit.

Accompanying this is a compact food menu offering Asian fusion fare—appropriate, given that cuisines like Hawaiian food already incorporate a mix of different Pacific cultural flavors. The Hawaiian Shrimp Scampi is a can’t miss—a delectable burst of heat and tanginess accompanying a healthy helping of garlic mixed into some sizeable, juicy prawns and lovely buttered toast. The Loco Moco Burger is an offering that has made its way over from past Bind Rabbit Menus and gives a rich, deliciously heavy taste of umami from the wagyu beef patty, bone marrow gravy, and crispy bacon and a sweet, piquant palette of Maui onions and Polynesian spread. The Togarashi Frites offer fantastically seasoned and perfectly crispy steak fries with a creamy aioli type dipping sauce. Looking for dessert? The Banana Bread Cake is moist, still relatively light, and paired with an exquisitely glazed rum sauce that will remind Blind Rabbit fans of its famous Bananas Foster dish.

In addition to the high quality and attention to detail, Strong Water bears a distinction of having speakeasy almost within its main speakeasy-ish setting. Head straight down the main bar, and if you have a reservation, a relatively non-descrip door will gain access to the Juniper Merchant, a hidden gin bar specializing in the aromatic spirit. Though the setting within this charming chamber remains decidedly tropical—even housing its own display cabinet of various rare and collectible tiki mugs from venues all around the country—the Juniper Merchant features exclusively gin cocktails and offers an even more intimate space than the main bar’s Rum Experience.

Strong Water kicked off its run last November with a soft open and an immediate pop-up collaboration with Miracle’s Sippin’ Santa promotion that also ran at the Blind Rabbit. Since the start of this month (and year), however, Strong Water has shifted to its regular operations, with its Rum Experience for most guests and the Gin Experience inside the Juniper Merchant room for more fancying individuals. Both menus are fantastic, bringing the same creative energy and high quality ingredients that the Blind Rabbit has become known for. Furthermore, service at Strong Water is superb, with bartenders frequently checking on guests and going out of their way to resolve or compensate if there does happen to be something wrong. As word of mouth continues to spread—similar to how the Blind Rabbit grew in popularity—we’re confident that Strong Water will find similar success among imbibing afficcionados!

The Juniper Merchant room offers its own, special tropical hideaway space.

Strong Water is located at 270 S Clementine St, Anaheim, CA 92805. Parking validated for two hours is available at the parking structure one block away, on the northeast corner of S Clementine Street and W Center Street. Alternatively, metered street parking is available in the area for up to 90 minutes.

Although the main bar does have a section of first-come-first-serve seating, reservations are highly recommended prior to visiting. They can be made online at Strong Water’s web site, linked above. As mentioned already, the Rum Experience constitutes the main bar, while the Gin Experience invites guests into the Juniper Merchant hidden back room. If this sort of intoxicatingly atmospheric beverage experience seems appetizing to you, book yourself a spot today and make a visit soon!