Tiki Bar: And Now, the Hula Hut Hits Montauk

   Montauk’s first Polynesian tiki bar opened in June and the people — locals, vacationers, fishermen, and even kids — have found it. Lynn’s Hula Hut, owned by Lynn Calvo, is located in a sandy “island” in the Montauk Marine Basin’s parking area.

    Before opening the Hut, Ms. Calvo was hired to serve Polynesian-style drinks at South Fork parties from her small pickup truck, which has fringed palapa leaves (dried palm leaves) hanging from its bed.

    It took her two and half years to weed through East Hampton Town’s permit process; during that time she worked winters in Florida. She has worked her whole adult life in restaurants, and found the experience handy when she started designing restaurants and bars, the latest of which is a restaurant in Key West. Her father was a fisherman out of Montauk and she has spent most summers in the hamlet since she was a child.

    Unless you consider a Bloody Mary a meal, there are limited food items available at the Hula Hut. Ms. Calvo orders food daily from the Atlantic Terrace Cafe: three types of wraps, sandwiches, shrimp cocktail, and a smoked fish platter that comes with crackers, carrot sticks, and other crudites for dipping. “I’m not allowed to cook on the site,” she said.

    Drinks are the specialty, with Bloody Marys daily and, on Saturdays and Sundays from noon to 4 p.m., “epic” bloodies, with a choice of 20 hot sauces and tomato juices, jumbo shrimp, and a variety of vodkas.

    “You can get very creative,” Ms. Calvo said, sitting in the hammock garden, a shady section with a double lounge, a hammock, and other seats that surround a smiling Buddha. Wind chimes gently flutter at its entrance. “This is where people can come to relax from the downtown area. It’s very peaceful here,” she said. It’s also a spot where games are played, such as horsehoes, corn hole, and hook and ring.

    A patch of sand in front of the bar area offers all kinds of seating and a few tables, with tiki-type umbrellas for shade. There is always music, but it gets even better when live bands play, Thursdays through Sundays from 4 to 8 p.m.

    On Thursday mornings, you can find Ms. Calvo shopping at the farmer’s market in downtown Montauk. It’s where she buys fresh fruit and herbs for the infusions she makes and later mixes with alcoholic blends, such as her signature rum punch, hot pink drink, shark bite, and margaritas. Herbs are pureed for other exotic concoctions.

    Surrounding the site, which is perched on a small sandy dune just to the right of the marina’s entrance, are potted herbs and plants, blooming daylilies, beach grasses, and faux palm trees. The Hula Hut is open daily from noon to 10 p.m. The attire is casual, which is reinforced on a sign at the entrance that reads “You are now entering a flip-flop zone.”