AO Hawaiian Hideout

Chicago, Illinois, United States

It appears that Asian Outpost was established here in 2013 but that the Hawaiian Hideout remodel and change happened in 2020.

AO Hawaiian Hideout describes themselves as "A hidden tropical gem, serving onolicious homestyle cuisines from East Asia, Southeast Asia & Polynesia."

They don't call their restaurant a tiki bar, but it has all the hallmarks of one. Some of those details include tikis, tropical wahine paintings, Witco carvings on the walls, Orchids of Hawaii lamps, an outrigger canoe on the dining area's ceiling, a life-sized shark hanging over the bar, and tapa-cloth-patterned booths.

The owner, Betty, is extremely passionate about her menu and taking care of their guests, and her husband, Duane, has done most of the island-themed buildout himself. Keeping with their tradition of supporting the local tiki community when they ran Chef Shangri-La, they built a stage to host the area’s surf, exotica, and rockabilly bands, as well as their popular Elvis tribute show.

The bar uses and sells a wide variety of Geeki Tiki mugs.