Da Big Kahuna was open from @2006 - 2015.

Not to be confused with Big Kahuna's Pizza (since 1994 and still running).

Da Big Kahuna was known for its fish bowl cocktail and for its large handled Tiki Farm mug.

The owners decided to expand and opened two locations in Florida (Fort Lauderdale in 2010-2016 and Jacksonville in 2012-2014) but eventually all three businesses closed.

Then this Waikiki location was renamed as Lava Tube, and opened @2018 under new ownership with less emphasis on being a nightclub and with a revamped food menu.

Around May of 2025, the name changed to Tikis Meeting Spot, although the decor and drink menu appear to be the same, so it appears to be yet another light re-branding or ownership change but not a complete overhaul.

Open from 2010-2016.

Located on the third floor of a building with an ocean view outdoor patio.

This was part of a small chain that began with the original in Waikiki (@2006-2015) and concluded with a location in Jacksonville, Florida (2012-2014) before going out of business.

There is little evidence left of the two Florida locations today (2026) but the original Waikiki location still thrives and looks much the same although it has changed names and owners (now called the Tikis Meeting Spot).

This chain was known for encouraging a club atmosphere in the evenings and providing inexpensive tropical drinks without trying too hard to replicate the classic Trader Vics/Don the Beachcomber experience.

Opened in late 2024.

Shipwrecked Paradise Island was launched by the same team that operates the Shipwrecked Tiki Bar in Davis, California -- Nate and Melissa Yungvanitsait.

This downtown Sacramento bar is deeply immersive but tilts away from the usual Polynesian beachcomber aesthetic of most classic tiki bars and instead embraces a tropical Balinese jungle island atmosphere that looks like it could easily accommodate the next film installment of Tomb Raider. After entering past huge Balinese temple guardian statues, visitors will find themselves confronted with a tiger, a giant man-eating plant, and with a huge anaconda hanging from the ceiling. If they can make their way past these obstacles to the bar, they will find a long menu of tropical and tiki cocktails waiting.

The Steak Island building, located at 600 E. Riverside Dr., originally housed the Lahala House restaurant, which had a thatched roof, and was built in the early 1960s.

Lahala House was a partnership between Corpus Christi restaurateur Harry Porter and G. Jim Hasslocher of Jim’s Restaurants fame. Porter eventually sold his interest to Hasslocher, who renamed the restaurant Steak Island around 1965/1966.

The round hut-like structure had its thatching removed around 1965.

The establishment billed itself as “Austin’s Most Exotic Restaurant,” and was built on the shores of Town Lake (now Lady Bird Lake) at a time when there weren’t many businesses on the water. Though the Steak Island menu was more steak and seafood than pupu platter, the decor and sarong-wrapped waitresses were definitively tiki. It was considered fine dining by Austin standards of the time and was a favorite haunt of President Johnson when he visited Austin.

In 1973, Steak Island became a Magic Time Machine, later it was a Landry's, then a Joe's Crab Shack, and is now a Cidercade.

No Polynesian-themed details remain, but the structure still stands.

Opened in mid November of 2020.

The Hello Hi is a bartender-owned cocktail lounge, located in the old Half-Baked space at 120 S. Phillips Ave., across the street from the Phillips Avenue Diner.

Owners Patrick Nelson and Sara Benson describe the Hello Hi as a "classic-style bar". The two University of South Dakota grads bring years of experience in the Sioux Falls bar and restaurant scene to their venture.

So what is a "classic style bar", you might ask? The answer seems to be one that is steeped in nostalgia for mid-century and 70s decor. With a tilt toward the tropical (lots of plants and rattan furniture). And a menu that is mostly tiki or tropical-based cocktails.

It's not a tiki bar but overlaps with tiki bars on the Venn Diagram of tiki adjacent or tiki-friendly places to explore. It is an immersive space that transports you back a few decades while you sip your tropical beverage of choice.

This circular 9-story Quality Inn Hawaiki was Destin's first high-rise building when it debuted in 1972.

The most impressive feature the tower once boasted was the revolving floor in the restaurant, Hawaiki. While the restaurant itself didn’t rotate, a large ring of tables on a track gave diners a 360 degree view of an area that had more beach than condos. It took about an hour to come full circle, and the concept, which was hailed as “ahead of its time” took some time getting used to.

The restaurant closed in 1987 due to high operating costs.

The tower was demolitioned in 2013.

This resort started out with much more of a Polynesian flair originally in 1950. However, the main A-frame bungalow had its thatching and decor removed and the Castaways Restaurant became the Mad Hatter Restaurant in the 1980s.

Castaways Cottages on Sanibel Island was severely damaged and closed beyond repair by Hurricane Ian in September 2022, with plans from the resort company to eventually create a new beach resort experience.

The restaurant is now completely gone as of 2025 and the A-frame bungalow is boarded up and damaged, but still standing.

This location opened around 1960 and advertised steaks, burgers, and seafood, as well as Cantonese Cuisine and tropical drinks.

The inside featured a nice courtyard with palm trees, lava rocks, and a waterfall using giant clamshells. Beside this was a large unique standing tiki also replicated on their napkins.

Closed some time prior to 1970.

This location later became the site of a Hungry Tiger Restaurant, a Bobby Mcgee's (circa late 70s-early 80s), Ellis Island Restaurant, and then Lucy's Bayside Bar & Grill (circa 1992).

Today the entire site has been developed and no traces of the old restaurant are left.

This location was opened in the 1970s by Kim Moon, singer & restauranteur, who also owned the Luau Huts in Washington D.C. and Silver Spring, Maryland.

This Polynesian restaurant was short-lived, however, and soon became "Island Lobster House".

Opened May 8th, 2025.

The Red Lei Lounge is a permanent speakeasy located within The Red Gill Bistro.

Located inside the Wyndham Garden Hotel, right off Interstate 95 and JTB (202).

They have a limited food menu (appetizers), but serve tiki cocktails in tiki mugs and feature live music.

You can make reservations with them through resy.com

Opened June 23rd, 2025.

This 298-seat indoor-outdoor restaurant and bar was operated by Tampa-based 23 Restaurant Services.

Previously home to the short-lived Don the Beachcomber (owned by the same mother company) which occupied this space for less than a year from February of 2024 to September of 2024 when Hurricane Helene hit and caused extensive damage.

It was then decided to re-envision this space as a Tiki Docks. Much of the build out and decor was still recognizable from the old Don's bar/restaurant, but with some fresh paint, freshening up, and repairs.

This location closed September 9, 2025, abruptly, and less than three months after its June 23 grand opening.

Tiki Docks Bar and Grill has three locations currently: Riverview, Port Orange, and St. Petersburg, FL.

This was actually the second Tahitian Hut opened in San Francisco.

It was open around 1947, soon after the original location on Broadway closed that same year.

Opened at least through 1966 and the outside mural and sign are still visible today as of 2025.