Tacoma’s tiki bar experts have opened a new destination on the Washington coast

Devil’s Reef in Tacoma is regarded by many reputable drinkers and tiki loyalists as one of the best bars in the country to drink through this rum-centric genre of cocktails, where the ambiance is as integral to the journey as the sips that send you sailing. Now the owners have found their way to the coast with a new bar that just opened in Long Beach, Washington.

Dark Harbour Tiki Bar serves as another extension of the H.P. Lovecraft-inspired concepts designed and executed by Jason Alexander and Robyn Murphy. It’s on the north end of the Chautauqua Resort and Conference Center, 300 14th St., in the coastal town, just off the main drag of Route 103.

The bar soft-opened Friday, May 22, just in time for Memorial Day.

“Just minutes after final City sign-off, Jason Alexander and Robyn Murphy opened the doors to an incredible Night One crowd, unveiling a space filled with next-level craftsmanship, creativity, and atmosphere,” the resort posted on Facebook and Instagram. “If you’ve visited Devil’s Reef in Tacoma, you already know the magic they bring — and Dark Harbour delivers that same unforgettable energy right here on the Washington coast.”

For now, Dark Harbour will operate Friday and Saturday nights, 4-10 p.m., but additional hours are likely as the summer heats up.

Bringing the bar to Long Beach

Alexander and Murphy have been making the drive from two-and-a-half-hour drive from Tacoma to Long Beach most weeks since last June. They had just closed Gilman House Room 428, their gin-leaning cocktail bar and restaurant in the Stadium District after a five-year run that included a move into a smaller galley space next door (shown in 2024 in the video above). But another adventure was already in formation.

“We basically packed that up and moved it down there,” Alexander said in a phone call this week. Some of the pieces from Room 428 form a “little coffee bar” in the front lobby. (The Gilman House hotel is found in the town of Innsmouth in one of Lovecraft’s novellas.) Guests wander down a “sneaky little maze-gauntlet” to reach the bar itself.

Regulars at Devil’s Reef and committed tiki cocktail fans the couple has amassed through more than 15 years of operating unique, themed bars in Tacoma awaited the debut of Dark Harbour. In-the-know commenters hinted at a hopeful early-2026 opening, and Alexander confirmed they had hoped to start in February but were delayed by city-required updates to the building’s fire suppression system.

Already coastal residents and Devil’s Reef followers have visited, said Alexander, and “it’s about to be visitor season.”

The resort, which offers hotel stays and condos, gained new ownership in 2021, according to its website, and has been undergoing renovations “to restore the resort to its status as a premier destination on the Long Beach Peninsula.” Upgrades include refreshed rooms and condos, two pickleball courts and firepit hangouts.

The property, a series of buildings, is situated right on the water, explained Alexander, with trees on both sides and “unobstructed views of the water” from the second and third floors. The building now home to Dark Harbour has long been a bar and restaurant, but Alexander said it’s been vacant since around 2018.

He and Murphy met the resort owner, Chester Trabucco, after casually exploring bar properties around Astoria and Seaside, Oregon.

Alexander told The Chinook Observer last year that they “immediately fell in love” with Chautauqua Resort and the opportunity.

“Our vision is to create a unique space where you can take a vacation from your vacation in dark nautical setting while sipping on some original exotic cocktails as well as classics from a well-rounded and diverse back bar that is approachable, yet esoteric,” Alexander wrote in a statement to the paper.

Like all of their bars, Dark Harbour features a custom build with design elements that whisk you away to another world — or at least another corner of it. The menu of “liquid victuals” ($15-$18) offers many of Devil’s Reef mainstays, including the namesake with Fijian rum, citrus, copious spices and sarsaparilla. Other cocktails range from the GunPoudre Douce Grogg with tea and dark rums to the Angler’s Fang with lime, grapefruit, passionfruit, grenadine and “an ocean’s worth of rum.”

There are classic tiki tails, too, including a mai tai, zombie and Planter’s Punch.

From the kitchen — or “galley” as Alexander usually terms it — soak up the spirits with pork-belly Brussels sprouts, coconut-curry tofu skewers and creamy mushrooms. Larger plates offer a “Tiki Cobb” with shrimp; a poke bowl with purple cabbage, avocado, pickled ginger and mango; and two burgers. (Look for an expanded menu in the coming weeks). For dessert: chocolate chip cookies with Tillamook ice cream, a chocolate pudding pot, crème brûlée, affogato and a root beer float.

Together, it reads as a blend of Devil’s Reef and Gilman House.

“There’s a little crossover,” said Alexander. “We are who we are and we like what we like!”

While the drinks are the name of the game, Murphy, who has led the food programs at the couple’s bars, never sleeps on the snacks. They tend to be fresh and fun and meant to complement the cocktails.

The couple reaffirmed their commitment to Devil’s Reef and Tacoma, but physically speaking, most weekends this summer you’ll find them steering the ship in Long Beach.

Dark Harbour Tiki Bar

• The Chautauqua Resort, 300 14th Ave. NW, Long Beach, instagram.com/darkharbourbar
• Friday-Saturday 4-10 p.m. ish
• Details: new tiki bar and restaurant from the owners of Tacoma’s Devil’s Reef, now open on the Washington coast