Take a tiki break
High Roller Tiki Lounge (433 Alisal Road in Solvang) is open Sundays from noon to 7 p.m., Wednesday to Thursday from 1 to 8 p.m., and Friday to Saturday from 11 a.m. to midnight. Reserve a table at highrollertiki.com.
Pony Cocktails + Kitchen is open daily. Breakfast and lunch hours are from 8 a.m. to 2:30 p.m., and dinner is served from 4 p.m. to 10 p.m. Find the restaurant at 3558 Sagunto St. in Santa Ynez. Visit ponycocktailskitchen.com for more.
Most descriptions of northern Santa Barbara County include grapes and vines, but that’s not all you’ll find in this slice of paradise. Joining breweries, distilleries, cafés, and juice bars are a couple of tropical havens serving a different kind of escapism to beat the heat.
Solvang’s High Roller Tiki Lounge is no stranger to blending pineapple and coconut with rum. During the pandemic, Michael Cobb moved his wine tasting room to Alisal Road and rebranded, becoming a fully fledged island-inspired gem.
He’s now focused on turning High Roller into a critical part of the Solvang nightlife scene. Customers order liquor-alternative cocktails, craft beers, and micheladas.
“It’s really the coolest place in town, in my opinion—my humble opinion,” Cobb told the Sun. “We do tropical drinks. We have probably the cheapest beer in town, … and live music every Friday and Saturday.”
Cobb’s house special, This Drink Will Get You Lei’d, fills a glass with white wine, passion fruit, ginger syrup, and lemon juice. The Painkilla mixes white wine, rum, pineapple and orange juices, cream of coconut, and nutmeg.
Guests have long been able to sip such libations in one of the special tiki mugs that High Roller sells, but the bar’s latest souvenir cup has a special backstory.
The ceramic California Bob tiki mug was designed by artist Bobby Doran, a customer who’s frequented High Roller since the era of patio dining and social distancing.
“He did some artist renderings of our building, which was really cool. And he sent them to me,” Cobb remembered. “I didn’t even know he had done those while he was sitting there, but he’s a very giving person, just a warm, genuine human being. I love to be working with him. … He’s the embodiment of what ohana is.”
Last year at a weekend event for tiki enthusiasts, the artist showed Cobb a sketch of what would become the California Bob mug. The idea borrowed the face of a statue at a well-known San Francisco bar called Tiki Bob’s. That Bay Area bar was open from 1955 to 1983, Cobb explained, but the tiki mascot still stands outside. Many people have made their own versions, and High Roller’s take highlights the Danish town.
On the back of the brown mug, which is shaped like the Golden State, there’s a tribute to High Roller and a “Welcome to California” message. Cobb had 500 mugs produced, and there are around 125 left for purchase online or at the lounge. The community celebrated with a release party in June.
Unlike Cobb’s year-round tiki concept, Alberto Battaglini introduced tiki Thursdays to Pony Cocktails + Kitchen in June. The Santa Ynez coffee shop started selling lunch and dinner in late 2024, and Battaglini’s been searching for ways to keep locals engaged.
Pony is now open seven days a week for all three meals. The owner and his team offer a fine dining experience without tacking on that label. Battaglini wants to be approachable, so he’s been searching for ways to draw guests in during the week.
“For the longest time, I wanted to have the restaurant create a series of events where I was able to connect with the community more,” Battaglini said. “It all started with a locals’ night.”
Pony’s current lineup is paloma Mondays (with a signature tagline, ‘Trading wine for lime”), locals’ night on Tuesdays, and fried chicken and waffle Wednesdays. Thursday night was always the thorn in Battaglini’s side because no themes stuck. Then, he thought of a tiki tribute.
On Thursday nights guests are encouraged to wear Hawaiian shirts and enjoy $12 happy hour tiki cocktails all night. Drinks are named with Central Coast nods, like the Mai Tai 101, equipped with “funky” rum, lime, orange liqueur and syrup, and guava.
“The piña colada became the Pony Colada,” Battaglini said. “That one is fantastic. People are literally losing their mind over it.”
With coconut-washed rum, coconut crema, pineapple, and walnut bitters, it’s not hard to imagine why. Pony’s tiki drink menu rounds out with a painkiller and a zombie, but neither are too sweet.
With three kinds of rum, the Channel Islands Zombie has a higher alcohol content that shines through the pineapple and guava juices. The cocktail also has a combination of cinnamon, Falernum (a spiced liqueur out of Barbados), and absinthe, which is what Battaglini believes prevents it from tasting too sugary.
“I’m having fun creating all of this, to be honest, and just adjusting them to the modern palate,” the owner said.
On top of regular dinner items, Thursday nights also come with options of a pork sandwich, fried fish, lumpia-style crab rangoons, and tostones, or fried plantain chips.
Pony staff members join the fun too by dressing for the occasion. Battaglini said everyone wants to work Thursday nights now.
“It’s really fun, and I think it gives the valley a different point of view because everybody’s so serious around here,” Battaglini said. “Everybody’s tasting wines all day.”
Battaglini knows he’s got a good thing going and is excited to see it evolve. On the tiki Thursday menu, Pony leaves an invitation-slash-challenge to everyone: Hawaiian shirts encouraged. Dignity optional.
Staff Writer Madison White will be rushing to the valley for tropical beverages as soon as she gets the chance. In the meantime, reach her at mwhite@santamariasun.com.
This article appears in July 9 – July 16, 2026.
