Tropicale Restaurant & Coral Seas Lounge

If you’re looking to have a cocktail somewhere relaxing and fun, as well as a place that’s filled with friendly locals, you’ll love the perennially popular Tropicale Restaurant & Coral Seas Lounge. It’s the kind of hangout where the charming bartenders will immediately make you feel like you’re a regular.

Mid-Century Inspired

Indoors, there’s a long midcentury-inspired bar area that overlooks the lively dining room. You can also enjoy a drink at an outside bar that spills into a beautiful, tropical-like 2,000-square-foot dining patio that’s open year round (Heat lamps are set up in the winter and misters provide relief from the heat in the summer).

The restaurant opened in November 2007 and has been packed ever since. Wednesday’s all-night Happy Hour is always especially busy. (The regular Happy Hour is from 4:00 – 7:00 pm the other six nights.)

Try The Leomongrass Basil Mojito

For first-time visitors, Ranz Wienert, one of Tropicale’s co-owners, recommends their Lemongrass Basil Mojito. “It’s the drink that is ordered the most and is refreshing while drinking in our tropical environment,” he says. The cocktail is made with fresh citrus and fresh lemongrass, as well as the restaurant’s homemade organic mojito mix.

“We muddle fresh basil, lime, lemon, and lemongrass,” adds Wienert. “And we garnish it with a lemon wheel and a lime wedge so you can add more of a citrus flavor if desired.”

As an accompaniment to the drink, Wienert suggests a Pupu Platter because it provides diners with an exotic combination of many of the chef’s small plates all in one dish. “You can experience Coconut Shrimp, Vietnamese Spring Rolls, Korean Beef Skewers, Thai Chicken Satay, and Shanghai Ribs, which are all our top-selling appetizers,” says Wienert.

Tropicale Restaurant & Coral Seas Lounge, 330 East Amado Road Palm Springs, 760-866-1952

A Conversation with Tropicale’s Celebrity Chef, Tony Di Lembo