Review of Tiki's At 51st

Great things : by the beach, cute atmosphere (I think there is a parrot- but not when I was there), dog friendly, options for gluten free buns and wraps

Bad: Extremely overpriced for what you get, food was lacking in flavor and cooking skill

I found this restaurant on a gluten free registry online- my husband and I were starving from a day at the beach and just decided to dive in. I do regret not reading the Yelp! Reviews for it first. I am also at fault in assuming that they had a grill- I should have looked in the kitchen and noticed that it is more snack shack style microwave and stove deal.

I ordered the chicken sandwich on a gluten free bun- it was $14.95 and came with a baggy of chips. The chicken was shredded and either boiled or precooked then microwaved. It had a special sauce that was interesting. I have eaten at island style places before and this sauce was throwing me off- it appeared to be miracle whip with citrus, sweetener, and maybe chili? It was very sweet with no spice and a strange tang to it. It was just an oddly executed combo that after I ate it my mouth felt slimy for about an hour :( the GF bun was better than I expected it to be but did get spongey fast due to the sauce.

My husband got the ahi tacos, 2 for $11.95? The fish was "pan seared" and raw in parts, the taco shells tasted store bought and microwaved. Being on the ocean you just expect fresher.

We bought the handmade chips and salsa appetizer and it was very disappointing for $4.95. The salsa was excellent- I loved the peppers used and the cilantro flavor but there was just a small cup of it. We were also given only a handful of chips (seriously) and most of the "chips" looked like they were broken bits from the bottom of the bag- you couldn't even use most of them to scoop the salsa.

I really don't understand the 5 star reviews. To me Tiki's food is more of an island bowling alley snack shack than a restaurant. That being said I would probley not have been as upset about my meal if I had only paid "snack shack" prices.

Overall the food is edible but overpriced and not executed well. I struggled over giving Tiki's 1 star but I just couldn't justify giving it more. If a grill was added it would make for a better dining experience. Sadly I don't ever plan on going back :(

if you need to eat GF for health reasons I would be careful- there is not a separate menu and while most of the meat is gluten free they do serve a garden burger which I believe are still not gluten free. I would also be concerned about the kitchen and cross contamination based on what I saw

Celiac friendly?

Yes