Tiki Bars
Rockaway Tiki Bar
New York, United States
Owner Amy Tichenor felt that Queens' best beach neighborhood was missing a proper tiki bar and filled that gap in April 2021 with the Rockaway Tiki Bar.
Rockaway Tiki Bar joins the other offerings of Arverne of the Sea, including Locals Cafe, Super Burrito, Cuisine by Claudettes, Vino by the Sea, Bar Marseille, Breakwater Surf Shop, Boardwalk Pizza, and Batesy’s BBQ.
The bar is located one block from the Atlantic Ocean and one of the best surf breaks in the Rockaways.
The food menu features poke bowls and dumplings. The cocktail menu is limited to a top 12, including a couple of chiller slushie drinks served from their machine.
Though small, there is some great tiki and vintage decor, including some carvings by Tiki tOny and a 70s velvet painting of a topless girl behind the bar (exposed nipple tastefully covered by a dried-out starfish).
There is also outdoor seating.
Trade Winds - Newburgh
Newburgh, New York, United States (Closed)
This restaurant thrived from the 50s and into the late 60s.
Located on Little Britain Road (Rt. 207) at Washington Lake, in Newburgh, New York.
In the 1950s it was primarily a dining establishment known for its great views of the lake.
In the mid to late 60s it re-invented itself as more of a live music venue.
Hula Hula Room - Torrance
Torrance, California, United States
Soft opening on March 9th and official opening on March 13th, 2024.
Occupies the site formerly inhabited by the Zebra Room.
The Hula Hula Room decor is dark and cozy, walls lined with tropical wallpaper framed by lots of lauhala matting and bamboo. Well-lit with colored lighting and aiming for a classic tiki bar feel and look.
The Tiki Easy Bar
Asheville, North Carolina, United States
Opened in July 2023. The Tiki Easy Bar is a speakeasy hidden behind Hi-Wire’s South Slope Specialty Brewery in Asheville, North Carolina.
The bar occupies a 2500-square-foot space through the back door of Hi-Wire’s South Slope Specialty Brewery, an area of the building that had not been previously open to the public.
Trader Vic's - Toronto
Toronto, Ontario, Canada (Closed)
This Trader Vic's was opened in 1975, along with the opening of the Hotel Toronto (later the Hilton Toronto).
Closed in 1991.
Now occupied by a Ruth's Chris Steak House.
Steve Romer's Surf Rider - Pasadena
Pasadena, California, United States (Closed)
Opened in 1954, this short-lived establishment was technically at the very beginning of the tiki era, but from all accounts was still very much a pre-tiki Hawaiiana bamboo and surf bar/restaurant.
The interior was decorated with bamboo, rattan, and natural materials, with some large sheets of tapa on the walls as well. However, no actual carved tikis or tiki mugs.
The cocktail menu, shown below, is basically lifted from Don the Beachcomber's, including some of the graphics.
An advert from 1955 describes Steve Romer's Surf Rider as “Tops in Hawaiian entertainment featuring George Kainapau, the Golden Voice of Hawaii." Customers could also dance to the music of the in-house band called The Surf Riders.
The restaurant served Cantonese and American food, had private banquet rooms and a fashion show luncheon was held every Wednesday.
According to newspaper reports, the restaurant went into receivership in 1957.
This location is not to be confused with the Bakersfield Surf Rider, opened a few years later, which epitomizes the over-the-top decoration in the Golden Era of Tiki.
There were many unrelated restaurants that used this name over the years, and it is worthwhile to note that the name and what it evoked reaches back to the pre-tiki era.
*NOTE: This location at 137 S. Lake Avenue would eventually become home, four years later, to The Tahitian, which fully embraced the Golden Era vision of Tiki.
Today, with the area having gone through several construction remodelings, there is no sign of the original building. As of 2024, it appears to have been in what is now a parking lot area adjacent to Fidelity Investments.
Oriental Loa
Hawthorne, New York, United States (Closed)
This restaurant thrived in the 70s as a Chinese/Polynesian smorgasboard based in Hawthorne, New York.
More recently, this site was home to Victor's Bar & Grille, which is now closed as well.
Don the Beachcomber - Madeira Beach
Madeira Beach, Florida, United States (Closed)
This location had its grand opening February 22nd, 2024.
The 298-seat indoor-outdoor restaurant and bar was operated by Tampa-based 23 Restaurant Services, which purchased the rights to Don the Beachcomber in 2022. The hospitality group also operates Ford’s Garage, Yeoman’s, and Tiki Docks.
The Madeira Beach location was the first of many, according to 23 Restaurant Services, and they hope to re-launch this iconic brand with 10-15 of the tiki-themed restaurants across the Southeastern United States over the next several years.
Hurricane Helene caused extensive flooding damage to the property in September of 2024 and it shut its doors, presumably temporarily.
However, in January 0f 2025 it was announced that they would not reopen and instead will be converted into parent company 23 Restaurant Group’s Tiki Docks concept. Creative director Justin Peterson and beverage director Marie King said that all efforts (and much of the decor) will be directed toward the planned flagship Don the Beachcomber in Hamlin, near Orlando, estimated to be opening in mid- to late 2026.
Bernard's Tiki Room - at the Arvada Tavern
Arvada, Colorado, United States
Opened in 2023, Bernard’s Tiki Room is located in the upstairs room of the historic Arvada Tavern in downtown Arvada, Colorado. You can enter Bernard's through the phone booth downstairs in the Tavern, hipster prohibition style.
Bernard's is generally open evenings after 6pm Thur-Sat competently serving classic tiki drinks, and is known to host various tiki themed events and live bands.
Bernard's features a somewhat less visually impactful tiki bar setting than many, all in one large, square room - but it is cozy nonetheless.
Oriental Luau
Old Tappan, New Jersey, United States (Closed)
The Oriental Luau was originally opened in 1965 as “Tiki” by none other than Bob Gaudio, part of the famous group “The Four Seasons”.
Soon after, in the late 1960s or early 70s, “Tiki” became “The Oriental Luau”, most likely with a new owner, and it lasted until almost 1995. It retained much of its previous decor but with the addition of a floor to ceiling waterfall feature in one room.
Polynesian Cultural Center
Laie, Hawaii, United States
Opened on October 12th, 1963.
The Polynesian Cultural Center (PCC) is a family-centered cultural tourist attraction and living museum located in Laie, on the northern shore of Oahu, Hawaii. The PCC is owned by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church) and occupies 42 acres (17 hectares) of land belonging to nearby Brigham Young University–Hawaii (BYU-Hawaii).
The PCC encompasses eight simulated tropical villages, in which performers demonstrate various arts and crafts from throughout Polynesia. Visitors may also take a free shuttle tour of the university and see the LDS Church's Laie Hawaii Temple and its associated visitors' center.
Seventy percent of the PCC's approximately 1,300 employees are students at BYU-Hawaii. Since it has opened, the PCC has provided financial assistance to more than 12,000 BYU-Hawaii students. Students may work up to 20 hours per week during school terms and 40 hours during breaks. As a non-profit organization, PCC's revenue are used for daily operations and to support education.
The PCC is one of the most frequently visited tourist destinations in Hawaii, attracting 700,000 visitors annually. The PCC is the venue for the annual World Fire Knife Dance Competition, in which contestants display their skill with blazing swords. Since it opened its doors in 1963, over 32 million people have visited the center.
*As this is a LDS-run institution, there are no cocktails, nor have there been, historically, on any of their menus. However, interestingly, despite LDS prohibitions agains "Hot Drinks" and caffeinated beverages, these are offered to guests. This prohibition against cocktails has not stopped them from issuing souvenir tiki mugs in the past to tourists, either.
Disney's Aulani Resort & Spa
Kapolei, Hawaii, United States
Aulani, a Disney Resort & Spa, is a beachside resort hotel at the Ko Olina Resort in Kapolei, Hawaii, on the island of Oahu. Alongside Disney's Hilton Head Island Resort and Disney's Vero Beach Resort, Aulani is Disney's third "stand-alone" hotel located in an area without any adjacent theme parks.
Aulani was opened to the public on August 29, 2011, with 359 hotel rooms and 460 time-share villas on 21 acres. A November 2018 report stated that, at that time, there were 351 rooms (in two 15-story towers), including 16 suites and 481 villas, most being "2-bedroom-equivalent." In an October 2018 review, it was noted that there were three restaurants with seating (Makahiki, Ulu Cafe, and 'AMA'AMA) as well as smaller outlets providing snacks, including the 'Off the Hook' poolside lounge. The bars (including The ‘Ōlelo Room adjacent to the Makahiki, Off The Hook, and the Wailana Pool Bar) offer a small selection of a dozen or so tropical cocktails. See menus below for Off The Hook and Wailana poolside dining/cocktails.
*NOTE: In 2011, when Aulani opened, Critiki chose not to include it in their directory and, indeed, mytiki.life held off from including it for some time as well. This is not because it isn't a wonderful resort, but because its very concept was outspokenly anti-Tiki in concept design. It was conceived as a love-letter to the Hawaiian people and they wanted to be as respectful of local culture as possible by downplaying Disney and tiki concepts and elevating Hawaii's historical and cultural aspects (lowercase "d" and upper case "H" as some designers put it). They did not want to overwhelm visitors with conflicting themes from other Disney IPs or draw criticism for including Enchanted Tiki Room/Rolly Crump style fantastical elements that were more of an Imagineer's dream than anything rooted in Polynesian culture.
Of course, being Disney, and a corporation with a need to synchronize properties and merchandise, they immediately began breaking their own rules, but even at that they were studiously rigorous about keeping things contained. A tiki-like Stitch statue from the film Lilo and Stitch, was placed prominently. Character actors portraying Mickey, Minnie, Goofy, Stitch, and Moana interacted with visitors. Tiki-like menehune statues dotted the grounds, especially in child-friendly areas. These seemed like fairly unobtrusive and tasteful inclusions.
But no tiki mugs to be found...until Fall of 2023 when some elegant and restrained pieces showed up as part of a large set in their gift shop -- and not labeled as tiki mugs, but as "serveware".
So, with these "serveware" pieces in circulation, we've finally decided to add this resort to the listings. It may not embrace the Tiki Aesthetic as much as Disney's Polynesian Resort in Florida or other locations, and may remain more "tiki adjacent" than truly "poly pop tiki" but Aulani has definitely set foot into the mug collectors realm with their 2023 gift shop offerings.