Tiki Bars
Kanaloa - Glasgow
Glasgow, United Kingdom (Closed)
Kanaloa opened in 2011 as one of several themed bars within the Mansion House nightclub in Glasgow. It was a sister location to the original Kanaloa in London. There was a small mezzanine with seating overlooking the main bar below. Decor was by CheekyTiki, with no shortage of tapa and bamboo. Drinks were similar to those served at the London location, and came in tiki mugs. Kanaloa closed, along with the rest of Mansion House, in January 2016.
The Breakers
Crystal Lake, Illinois, United States
The Breakers (sometimes called "Lenny's The Breakers") is a classic Tiki-Cantonese restaurant and bar in Crystal Lake, outside of Chicago. It opened in 1949, and has plenty of old school tiki-in-a-Chinese-restaurant touches, with a landscaped garden, bamboo and beachcomber lamps, tikis, and dim lighting, amidst newer layers of rope lights and Party City-style tropical bric-a-brac.
The food menu is typical midwest Cantonese fare, and a "Po-Po Platter" is on the appetizers menu. The cocktail list includes a Mai-Tai ("It's a secret") and a Navy Grog ("It's a stronger secret"), and other classic and less-classic tropicals. There are some Dynasty mugs and bowls in use, but you may have to ask nicely to get your drink in one.
On the weekends, you may find some live music, which often includes some Hawaiian standards.
Le Tiki Lounge
Paris, France (Closed)
Le Tiki Lounge opened in 2012 in the Folie-Mricourt neighborhood in the 11th arrondisement, south of Belleville.
The decor, while a bit spare, included bamboo, pufferfish, glass floats, tiki carvings, and touched on all the important bits of a classic, quality tiki bar.
Bai also sculpted some wonderful versions of the Suffering Bastard for their house mug.
Closed November 2022.
Brass Monkey Tiki Bar
København V, København, Denmark (Closed)
Brass Monkey Tiki Bar opened at the end of 2009.
The bar had a rockabilly-tinged flavor to it, but was solidly tiki, too. Carefully-constructed cocktails were served in tiki mugs. The decor was relatively spare for a tiki bar, but there were a few pufferfish lamps, and a bamboo-covered ceiling. There was also frequent live music.
In 2018, a new sister location, Brass Monkey Esbjerg, opened its doors, but appears to have closed some time at the end of 2021 and then re-opened in August 2022 under a new name as The Tiki Hut.
The Brass Monkey Tiki bar in København (Copenhagen) appears to have closed @2023.
Surf N Shack
Capitola, California, United States (Closed)
Opened around 2007.
Surf N Shack mostly specialized in surf and skate apparel, but they also had a good selection of tiki mugs from Tiki Farm.
In 2009, Surf N Shack's owner, Ray Apolskis, donated a tiki carved by local carver Jason Rimmer to replace one that had been stolen from nearby Capitola Beach.
Closed around November 2020.
The Hut - Tucson
Tucson, Arizona, United States
The Hut has been open since 2001, but in 2009 they embraced tiki in a big way when they saved a landmark 3-story moai from destruction. Stairs inside the moai lead to a railed observation platform on top of the moai's head. The 40,000 pound structure came from Magic Carpet Golf, and moving it to the courtyard at The Hut was no small feat. The moai now looks out across Tucson once more.
The Hut is a music venue with both indoor and outdoor stages.
They are more of a beer bar, and their limited list of cocktails are more like what you would find in a college bar with punches served in fish bowls and drinks with names like "The Pineapple Express" or "The Grateful Dead".
Mai Tai Restaurant
Indianapolis, Indiana, United States (Closed)
Built in 1968.
Mai Tai Restaurant also went by the names Kahuna, and Knobby's Mai Tai -- the chronology is not clear. During the time it was Mai Tai, the name Kahuna Lounge seems to have been used for the bar area within the restaurant.
The restaurant is perhaps most notable as an excellent example of the sort of design theft that happened during the height of Polynesian restaurants: all of the graphics for the restaurant, including Mai Tai's logo tikis, menu design, even the lettering used for the Mai Tai logo, where lifted completely from the Tahitian.
The Mai Tai's building has a tall, peaked A-frame roof in front. The building still stands today (as of 2021) , and for a time housed a karate school, but is currently vacant.
Revolucion
Indianapolis, Indiana, United States
Opened in 2011. Revolucion is a Mexican restaurant, but it does have a small, lightly-themed tiki bar in the back. There is also an outdoor beer garden.
Aloha - Decatur
Decatur, Illinois, United States (Closed)
Aloha was a Hawaiian-Chinese restaurant that looked fairly old-school with some tiki masks and some lauhala matting.
Closed to dining permanently in mid May 2022.
South Pacific Polynesian Restaurant
Hallandale Beach, Florida, United States (Closed)
South Pacific Polynesian Restaurant operated on a grand scale, and sought to compete with the nearby (and still operating) Mai-Kai. It had a few different A-frame, thatched-roof buildings, scattered around lushly landscaped gardens. It opened December 24th, 1959, and appears to have closed in May 1975. It then briefly operated as Sun Wah Imperial Polynesian Restaurant.
City Beverage
Durham, North Carolina, United States (Closed)
City Beverage was a kitsch fantasia of a bar & restaurant, with a smattering of retro & vintage decor, including a good dose of tiki. Silk flower garlands hung from the ceiling, and a few tikis could be found in corners. City Beverage opened in 2004, and later expanded; the original area of the restaurant was called the Lava Lounge. A few tropical drinks were served, including a Volcano Bowl.
City Beverage closed in February 2016.
Adrift
Denver, Colorado, United States
Opened in 2012.
Adrift is a modern-era tiki bar and restaurant. The primary focus is quality, classic tiki cocktails. The bar is covered in plenty of bamboo, the walls are lined with bamboo, and murals of elegant vintage-feel scenes of Polynesia are framed in bamboo, as well. Light comes from pufferfish lamps, glass floats, and a bit of fire for good measure. Carved tikis are found inside, and outside the building is flanked with metal tiki wall sconces and two large carved tikis.