Tiki Bars
Hula's Modern Tiki - Uptown - Phoenix
Phoenix, Arizona, United States
From the Hula's Modern Tiki website:
"In 2018, after 10 amazing years on Central Avenue, HULA’S surfed into an all-new location in uptown Phoenix. Led by partner Chris Delaney (who is the design soul of HULA’S) we stripped the old, dark space back to its mid-century modern bones, added a soaring central bar, the top embedded with tumbled sea glass, and built out a spacious indoor-outdoor dining patio replete with HULA’S signature fire pit. Plus, we added HULA’S first-ever private dining space (The Tiki Room) and a nautical-themed craft cocktail bar/lounge called The Captain’s Cabin."
Hula's modern re-located here in 2018 from their original location on Central Avenue (2009-2018) and then opened a location on High Street as well, making a grand total of three Hula's locations in Arizona if you include the Scottsdale location as well.
The main area is pretty sparse, going with the modern aesthetic/theme but there are a couple of tikis outside flanking the door and there are some tiki plaques at the back of the room close to the restrooms. Inside there is colored mood lighting but also bar televisions set to sports channels.
For tikiphiles, you may want to call ahead if you have a large group and reserve the more lavish Tiki Room area in back which is preceded by a large tiki and mug shelf display -- and upon entering reveals a more traditionally tiki atmosphere with lauhala matting on the walls, a large swag lamp in the center, more tiki plaques, and padded benches covered in tropical barkcloth print fabric. This room is served just as another portion of the main Hula's restaurant with the same food and cocktail menu.
However, outside and from an unmarked door separate from the rest of Hula's is a speakeasy style bar called The Captain's Cabin, which has its own cocktail menu and is housed inside a room meant to resemble its namesake with rough planking and nautical furnishings. It does not have its own bathroom so you may have to go next door to Hulas. See separate listing for this Captain's Cabin bar...
Hula's Modern Tiki - High Street - Phoenix
Phoenix, Arizona, United States
This location opened in 2020.
From the Hula's Modern Tiki website:
"Kick back and enjoy a tropical beach ‘staycation’ anytime of the year at our all-new HULA’S High Street in North Phoenix. Seating up to 130 inside, plus another 60 outside on the wraparound outdoor dining deck, warm up with our cozy fire-pits or soak in the tropical breeze with our state-of-the-art mister fan system. Plus, you can plan your own private beach party in our palm-tree-topped Tiki Room, available for events up to 36 people."
In addition to this newest 2020 location on High Street, two other Hula's Modern locations are currently open in Arizona: a Scottsdale location opened in early 2014 and a location in uptown Phoenix where the first Hula's Modern re-located to in 2018.
The Honu & Ka Pakele Rum Bar
Dunedin, Florida, United States
Opened in February of 2016.
This bar and restaurant is located within a converted house and has a beach cottage feel with lots of open air seating. Pets are welcome.
The Ka Pakele Rum Bar (opened September 27th, 2022) is a full service craft cocktail and rum bar located inside The Honu. Their Rum Captains provide a journey in rum tastings and high-end exclusive cocktails paired with small plates of culinary delights. The Ka Pakele Rum Bar is for guests 21+ and requires reservations. Each seating is limited to two hours and requires a credit card to be held on file to reserve your spot. If you fail to arrive for your reservation and don’t call within 72 hours to cancel or reschedule your reservation the card on file is charged $50 per person and is non-refundable. The Ka Pakele Rum Bar is open Friday and Saturday night from 6pm to 11:30pm and has two seatings nightly. Each seating is at 6pm or 8:30pm.
The Ka Pakele Rum Bar has a KaPakele Killdevil Rum Club with customer incentives, including custom mugs!
Skull & Crown Trading Company
Honolulu, Hawaii, United States
Skull & Crown Trading Company opened in downtown Honolulu's Chinatown in June of 2019. They occupy the spot formerly occupied by Grondin French-Latin Kitchen. Noa Laporga and Angelina Khan run Skull & Crown Trading Co., which is the latest in the duo’s history of mysterious, haunting and enchanting ventures. You might know them from Haunted Plantation, which takes over Hawai‘i Plantation Village every Halloween; they also ran the Unlocked escape room at Ward Warehouse in 2016 and Ala Moana’s Ghost Bar in October 2018, as well as a special effects company, Black Box FX. In keeping with this background, the bar has a bit of a "dark tiki" theme with a creepy mermaid over the bar and lots of skulls.
Their craft cocktail menu is chosen with care, regularly switched up with new items, and has received rave reviews.
There is also a back patio area.
Hades Hula House - Semaphore
Semaphore, South Australia, Australia (Closed)
Opened in February of 2018.
From their website:
"Hades Hula House is Adelaide's Premier tiki bar and restaurant. Exotic flavours and liquid libations await those who dare!
Owned by entrepreneur and powerhouse Abby Roennfeldt 'Just Abby', Hades Hula House was birthed to life from her love of tiki culture and good drinks. Never one to shy away from the limelight Abby and her team of hospitality guns have been pushing this small bar from strength to strength. This beachside hideout boasts impressive breakfast and dinner menus, as well as an in-house cocktail list featuring over 20 boutique classic and modern takes on tiki, with some Hades exclusives thrown in.
From the decor to the drinks, meals, music, and service, this slice of new-built history has something for everyone. People come to Hades to get away. If only for a few hours they can be anywhere their Polynesian dreams desire. The bar is warm and littered with palm trees, carvings, bamboo and vintage trinkets."
*NOTE: This location for Hades Hula House closed its doors for good on Saturday May 28th, 2022. They re-opened on Friday, August 12, 2022 with an opening luau at their new home at 128 Hindley Street, Adelaide 5000.
Coco Palms Resort Hotel
Kapa'a, Wailuā, Kauaʻi, Hawaii, United States (Closed)
Coco Palms Resort was a resort hotel in Wailuā, Kauaʻi, Hawaiʻi, that was noted for its Hollywood connections, Hawaiian-themed weddings, torch lightings, destruction by a hurricane, and long-standing land disputes. The resort includes or is near to culturally significant spots and the sites of some of most important legends and historical events for Native Hawaiians.
The land is ancient Hawaiian royal property that has been in dispute since 1866.
Lyle Guslander leased the site of Coco Palms from the Territory of Hawaii in 1952; the resort opened in early 1953 with 24 rooms. The hotel manager, Grace Buscher, took control of marketing the hotel as a Hawaiian-style getaway for tourists.
Coco Palms was the location of the famous outrigger canoe wedding scene from Elvis Presley's Blue Hawaii, released in 1961, the resort was also used in many other films, such as South Pacific, Pagan Love Song, and the TV series "Fantasy Island”.
The hotel made a big business out of Hawaiian-style weddings for decades. Buscher started a tradition, still in use at hotels throughout the islands, known at the hotel as the torch-lighting ceremony. Buscher also initiated a tree-planting ceremony to replenish the old coconut grove and honor individuals of note.
It was the world's most famous Polynesian resort until Hurricane Iniki struck Kauai on September 11, 1992. The Coco Palms was severely damaged by Iniki and the resort was left to decay for decades. The costly repairs and insurance issues left the Coco Palms officially closed with no announced plans to reopen.
In 2016, Honolulu developers GreeneWaters LLC formed a partnership, Coco Palms Hui LLC, to restore the resort. Their intent was to reopen Coco Palms "as part of Hyatt's Unbound Collection." However, in 2019 the project collapsed.
Swizzle Dallas
Dallas, Texas, United States
Dallas's newest Tiki bar had their grand opening November 4th, 2020.
From their website:
"Swizzle has been bringing Tiki cocktails and a welcomed escape from the ordinary since 2016.
We're proud to be the producers of Dallas Tiki Week, the artist showcase The Waipuna Tiki Flea, and other Pop-Ups around DFW.
Now with our own establishment on Greenville Ave, we are ready to serve up unique culinary offerings and complex libations.
Why can't we live in a world where mermaids exist and volcanos have rum at the bottom of them?
At Swizzle, you can."
Suffering Bastard
Sanford, Florida, United States
Opened in Spring 2019.
They describe themselves on their Facebook page as "An intimate Tiki experience located inside Tuffy's Bottle Shop & Lounge."
Typhoon Tommy has crafted pieces throughout the space. Handmade or hand-painted weapons hang on the walls, which are covered in different textiles and woods.
It has a max capacity of about 30 people and requires a reservation unless you’re extremely lucky with party sizes of 6 or less. If you have larger parties they do accommodate but require you to rent out the entire bar.
*NOTE: On April 10th, 2025, the bar made an announcement that they will be packing their bags and moving to Orlando in 2026! So enjoy this location while you still can...
The Bamboo Room - Savannah
Savannah, Georgia, United States
Attempted to open March 13, 2020 just as the COVID shutdowns started sweeping the country. The grand opening was scuttled until late May 27, 2020, but the wait was worth it when tikiphiles began flocking to this immaculate space.
Website Description:
"For those who are seeking a tropical escape in Historic Savannah, look no further than The Bamboo Room Tiki Bar above Sorry Charlie's. Your worries melt away as you enter. When visiting our little oasis, expect to be transported to a den of exotica where you will enjoy delicious tiki cocktails, frozen drinks, island-inspired snacks, friendly people and funky vibes.
The Bamboo Room is an immersive, exotic tropical hideaway nestled in the heart of Downtown Savannah. The design of The Bamboo Room features a collection of artifacts sourced from around the globe, personal collections, and hand-carved one of a kind items and trim. The interior construction, custom carvings, hand painting and fit and finish was headed up by Dave “Basement Kahuna” Wolfe and Jim “Woodland Giant” Stacey. Additional carvings in the bar are from the talented Dave Hansen, Leroy Schmaltz and Glen Barefoot.
Our tiki drink menu shines with classic tiki drinks, modern tropical cocktails, and an extensive rum selection from around the world. Our cocktails are made to order, using fresh juices, premium spirits and house made syrups. The creation of our drink menu was overseen by mixologist Scott Marshall. Scott is well-known around Savannah as having been instrumental in the launch of the Alley Cat Lounge.
You’ll feel your worries slip away as you sit back and sip one of our handcrafted tiki or tiki-inspired cocktails or frozen drinks, while you enjoy the carefree and authentic tiki vibes."
The Atomic Tiki
Memphis, Tennessee, United States (Closed)
The Atomic Tiki opened in January 2018 in Memphis, Tennessee's Evergreen neighborhood. The owners were Brian "Skinny" McCabe and Jeff Johnson. The space was dim and minimally decorated. The drink menu included a mix of classic and original tiki drinks, and the food menu was casual with Polynesian restaurant-inspired offerings. Jeff Johnson announced in September 2019 that Atomic Tiki would morph into Parish Grocery and that concluded the chapter for this former tiki location. As of 2024, the Parish Grocery concept, serving Po Boy sandwiches, is still going strong.
Pau Hana Lounge - Seattle
Seattle, Washington, United States (Closed)
Pau Hana Lounge was a tiki bar, part of On the Hiyu, a rental facility from Seattle, Washington, based on a previously retired ferry. The 165-foot ferry, called the Hiyu, was converted into an arts space, which was available for special event rental, and which hosted some public arts events including music and cabaret acts. The ferry had two interior passenger compartments, and one contained the Pau Hana Lounge which was created by Aleks Petrovitch, a longtime member of the tiki revival scene who used to own Aqua Surf Shop in San Francisco, and Tiki Bosko of San Diego. The work started in summer 2017, and the bar opened in late 2017 or early 2018. The Hiyu was moored on the east side of Lake Union.
In May 2022, after having been temporarily closed for a time, On The Hiyu posted in social media that they moved to Cabo. As of December 2022, their boat is still posted for sale.
Tiki Tap House
Centralia, Washington, United States
Tiki Tap House was opened by Cindy and Jordan Peabody in Centralia, Washington in July 2013. It is an "island inspired" pizza restaurant -- not a tiki bar. There's only beer and wine available, so no tiki cocktails. The decor is spare, but there's a clear love for tiki here. There is a wall with tiki mugs, tikis adorn the thatch-topped bar (which has 18 rotating beers on tap), and some tiki art is on display -- including impressive tikis carved by Cindy's son, restaurant manager Anthony Dijos. The pizzas incorporate lots of unusual island flavors, going beyond the expected Hawaiian pizza, with Spam, mango, macadamia nuts and coconut.