Hala Kahiki
River Grove, Illinois, United States
Hala Kahiki was opened in 1964 by Stanley and Rose Sacharski when they decided they wanted to get out of the funeral home business, and is still run by their family. Tucked away in a quiet suburb, Hala Kahiki is a beautiful classic tiki bar. The layout is sprawling but feels subdued and intimate. Witco carvings are featured heavily throughout the dimly-lit bar. The extensive drink menu tends toward the sweet and low-octane... consider bringing a flask to perk your drinks up a bit. The gift shop is large and includes a section of vintage clothing. Hala Kahiki was one of the stops during Exotica 2003, where Sven Kirsten gave a presentation on the art of Witco. The bar is currently run by Rose & Stanley's grandson, James, and his wife, Kerrie.
Details
- Type
- Bar & Store
- Phone
- +1 708-456-3222
- Address
- River Grove, Illinois, United States
- Closed?
- No
- Links
Gallery
11 Tiki Mugs
11 Swizzle Sticks
34 Visits
Samantha – Date: Unknown
TikiDeathMetal – Date: Unknown
Cape FM – 30 Mar 2019
Went early afternoon on a Saturday with 6 people and had to wait for about an hour for a table. Atmosphere is amazing, vintage decor everywhere you look and you can walk around the place for a while - it is bigger than it looks from the outside.
Drinks were not my favorite, but still had a great time because of the living museum feel and music.
Drink notes: 1) Zombie: more like fruit punch 2) Navy grog: don't know what this but it's horrible 3) Pieces of 8 - (favorite drink of the day) 4) Rum flights were good
Stop by Gene and Judd's after for a snappy dog and greasy fries.
Trader Tom – 26 Apr 2015
I visited several bars for the CATT (Chicago Area Tiki Tour) in 2015. This was one of them.
Captain Coconuts – 1 June 2017
Visited in 2016; Definitely the most retro Tiki Bar I've been to. It's nice to see a south-seas style gift shop in the Midwest!
BrewCityTikiGuy – 7 Dec 2025
Lowbrow Aloha Art Show & Sippin’ Santa
James Heyward – 18 June 2024
went with Sebastian & Colin Skinner, had a Missionarys Downfall and a Cobras Fang.
Cactus32 – Date: Unknown
Kristine and I stopped before going to Quebec. Zombie 1934, jet pilot, rum old fashioned and the Saturn. Great time 2 swizzle sticks obtained
Thomas Insel – Date: Unknown
Pooch and Star – Date: Unknown
Tomcat – 5 Aug 2023
Melissa – 2 Apr 2022
PinTiki – 15 Oct 2022
BrewCityTikiGuy – 2 Apr 2023
BrewCityTikiGuy – 3 Dec 2023
BrewCityTikiGuy – 28 July 2024
BrewCityTikiGuy – 24 Nov 2024
Dave and Sue Wright – Date: Unknown
midcentury markitect – 31 Jan 2018
Tiki Wachee – Date: Unknown
Andrew Smith – Date: Unknown
hodgeko – Date: Unknown
TikiDeathMetal – Date: Unknown
Old Captain Taylor – Date: Unknown
swizzle – Date: Unknown
TikiCarl – Date: Unknown
vinniebarone7 – Date: Unknown
Sarah – Date: Unknown
Sarah – Date: Unknown
leftuvcenter – Date: Unknown
DrThundr – Date: Unknown
Tikihellcat – Date: Unknown
Chuck P – Date: Unknown