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Keko Moku

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Liam Hetherington
Liam Hetherington
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4 out of 5
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32) Keko Moku - Fire Coming Out The Monkey's Head

32) Keko Moku - Fire Coming Out The Monkey's Head

Fiji – 29/05/09

If it’s tacky and cheeky, it must be tiki…

Yes, the tiki bar craze has hit Manchester. Keko Moku is a big garish bundle of fun in the sometimes too-cool-for-school Northern Quarter. It sits at the bar-crawl hub of the area, where its nearby rivals include Bluu, Trof, Odd, TV21, Walrus, The Bay Horse and Common. Its nearest anologue however would be its neighbour, Socio Rehab. However, the two cocktail bars could not be too different. Where Socio Rehab is discrete and understated, Keko Moku is ADHD-bright. Music in Socio Rehab tends towards chilled beats; in Keko Moku they had bouncing reggae. What little decoration there is in Socio is ‘urban’; in Keko it is tacky South-Sea-Island charm. In Socio the staff are black-clad with killer cheekbones; in Keko we were served by piratical-looking mixologists, tattooed and bearded, wearing garish Hawaiian shirts. They are too sides of the same coin. Sometimes you want a cool chilled evening and you would head for Socio Rehab. Sometimes you just want a laugh, and it is here that Keko Moku delivers.

Keko Moku (the name means ‘Monkey island’) attempts to transport you to a more naïve and innocent time, to the technicolour exuberance of South Pacific. The store-front is bamboo-faced, as is the bar area inside. The bar is more of a thatched cabana. The walls are faced with maps of Fiji and Hawaii and ‘70s ‘erotic art’ prints (I’m really not sure a panda would do that!). Tables and seats are barrels. And there is the odd Easter Island head around the place too.

The bar is well stocked with endless bottles of booze. A look at the menu gives enticing ideas for cocktails. I was going to order a mai tai, but the barman suggested the classic tiki drink – the zombie. This is a killer cocktail of three different rums and fruit juices – notably pineapple and orange. There may be other stuff in there; frankly I was too busy watching the bartender shake it up. It was decanted into a tiki mug, a ceramic mug of probably about a pint in volume decorated with ‘tiki god’ faces. (There are a number of different mugs depicting Easter Island heads, skulls, or monkeys). Topped up with crushed ice, a slice of orange was placed on top, and then a sugar cube. A splash of over-proof rum and then the whole thing was set alight. A sprinkle of cinnamon and the flames went whoof!. My drink was literally on fire, blazing away like a volcano god.

At £6.50 this cocktail was not cheap, but you get one heck of a drink for it. It’s not just the volume, but also the fact that it is deceptively strong. It tasted mainly of pineapple with just a slight rum edge. I dread to think just how much booze was in it.

Bryan and Paul went for a wiser option in the form of bottled beer. To go with the bar’s laissez-faire atmosphere the beer was the punningly named Phuket, after the Thai resort.

Keko Moku is maybe not as sophisticated a night out as you might be able to find elsewhere in Manchester. But for a fun and boozy experience I can certainly recommend a flaming tiki cocktail down at Monkey Island.

From journal Around the World in 80 Meals! (part 4)

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