Tiki Bars
Otto's Shrunken Head
Manhattan, New York, New York, United States
Otto's Shrunken Head opened in 2002 and is a tiki-meets-punk bar on Manhattan's Lower East Side. Live music acts play regularly in the back room. The music styles range from rock to metal to exotica, and it's often loud. The front entry of the bar has cases filled with tiki mugs and knick-knacks. Over the bar is a row of pufferfish lamps. There are carvings by Wayne Coombs and Crazy Al. Drinks are served in mugs that are available for sale, including a custom shrunken head mug.
In late 2010 a fire damaged the back room of Otto's, but repairs were able to be made swiftly.
Trader Vic's - Munich
Munich, Germany
The Munich Trader Vic's is located in the Hotel Bayerischer Hof. It opened in time for Munich's 1972 Olympic Games. It remains a great example of the golden days of Trader Vic's design.
Waikiki - Munich
Maxvorstadt, München, Germany (Closed)
Opened in the early 2000s and closed by 2016.
Waikiki was a small Thai/Indonesian restaurant located in a quiet neighborhood near the Schwabing district of Munich. By foot, it could be reached via a short (5 minute) walk from the Josephsplatz U-bahn station.
The decor was tropical, featuring tapa cloth wall coverings and large, carved wooden tiki masks. A backlit bookcase filled with carvings and knick-knacks also figured prominently, along with fan-backed wicker chairs. Traditional Hawaiian music was played, at a reasonable volume, and the lighting was muted.
The drink menu was extensive and the drinks themselves were clearly modeled after Trader Vic's. The bartender could mix a very reasonable fascimile of a Mai Tai and an excellent Zombie and both were priced far lower than the Munich Vic's.
The menu was reasonably priced and featured Thai staples such as spring rolls, along with curries and noodle dishes.
Kon-Tiki - Montréal
Montréal, Quebec, Canada (Closed)
This restaurant, the first of the Kon-Tiki chain owned by Steve Crane and his second restaurant after the Luau in Beverly Hills, opened in 1958 and was in the Sheraton-Mt. Royal. It closed in 1981. Some of the decor from here went to the Jardin Tiki.
Jardin Tiki
Mercier-Hochelaga-Maisonneuve, Montréal, Quebec, Canada (Closed)
Jardin Tiki opened on February 14, 1985, and was founded by Douglas Chan. Chan had worked at the Montreal Kon-Tiki, and had also opened the nearby Tiki Dor.
Jardin Tiki was a large, open, and extravagant space -- a mid-century building that had been a car dealership. It was filled with many large hanging lamps and other decor that came from the Kon-Tiki (which had closed in 1981). There were water pools complete with turtles, and bridges to cross them. Large cane chairs provided glamorous seating for all. As grand as this all sounds, its most distinctive feature was the natural light: while most classic tiki bars are dark, windowless caverns, Jardin Tiki was full of natural sunlight from the windowed ceiling, giving a bright airy feel usually avoided in Polynesian restaurants.
Jardin Tiki closed on Saturday, March 28th, 2015, and was later demolished for new development.
Mark Thomas Outrigger
Monterey, California, United States (Closed)
Mark Thomas' Outrigger was located in picturesque Monterey CA, overlooking the Pacific Ocean on Cannery Row. Opened in 1959, The Outrigger was a local favorite where families would celebrate 21st birthdays, anniversaries and wedding receptions. The menu featured an array of Polynesian items and an extensive tiki cocktail menu. Guests enjoyed The Outrigger for $1.50 which was “fuel for the gods only…or for the devils who do not fear the outcome.” In 1978, a fire swept through the restaurant/bar, and it was rebuilt as Mark Thomas’ Outrigger. In 1994 it became a Fish Hopper which has kept a few original Outrigger tiki drinks on their menu, including the popular Bucket of Fire which used to cost $7.75 and served 4 guests and today sets you back $27.50 and serves 1 or 2.
Minnie's Restaurant
Modesto, California, United States (Closed)
Opened in 1954 and closed in 2020.
Minnie's was a Polynesian restaurant with immense charm, and was deservedly beloved by many. The Chinese food was typically dressed-up (for instance, the appetizers were labelled "tidbits of delight"), but the shocker here was that the food was actually fairly good. The restaurant featured carvings and artwork throughout, most notably a large number of beautiful oil and black velvet paintings by the Leeteg-esque artist Tyree.
There were two bars at Minnie's: a vast outdoor patio bar, and a dimly lit indoor bar encrusted with dollar bills and business cards all over the walls and ceiling, left by patrons over the years. The tropical cocktails at Minnie's left something to be desired, but it was about as good as you were likely to find in Modesto anyhow.
Parking was free in the lot at the rear of the restaurant. After dinner service closed, the front door to Minnie's was locked, and you entered the bar using the rear parking lot entrance (there was no sign at the front to let you know this, unfortunately).
Minnie's was just down the road from the Tropics Motel and Tiki Lounge.
The following is according to the Modesto Bee:
Sacramento-based owner TJ Bruce and his Splash Bar, Inc., took over from Stuart Mah at the start of 2018. Mah’s family had run Minnie’s as a Chinese restaurant and tiki bar since 1962, when they bought the business from original owners Hop Louie and his wife Minnie Woo — the spot’s namesake. Bruce ran Minnie's basically as it was for a year before closing the restaurant portion in 2019. In January 2020 he decided to close Minnie's and transform it into another of his Splash Bar dance club locations.
However, according to Bruce, the site’s tiki look will not be changing. Bruce said much of its existing theme fits in with the Splash Bar concept.
“We like that it’s kitschy, and tiki is a fun thing for bars,” he said.
So expect the large wooden tiki-head totems outside to remain in place, as will much of the interior and exterior look — save for some painting and needed updating. They plan to install a dedicated dance floor in the half-partitioned space in front of the bar area, as well as more video screens throughout.
The bar’s signature velvet paintings of nude Polynesian women were taken down after it was sold, as were its large fish tanks. But Bruce said he still has them and they may make a reappearance in the new Splash Bar.
But all those old dollar bills that have lined the bar’s walls for decades are coming down.
The new Splash Bar will have drag shows every Friday night as well as themed nights for karaoke, throwback nights and more. The weekends will have video DJs spinning music.
Tiki Cocktail Lounge
Modesto, California, United States
The Tiki Cocktail Lounge is situated essentially in the parking lot for the Tropics Motel (now re-named Tiki Lodge), the Modesto entry in the midcentury Kimes Tropics Motels chain. The Tiki Cocktail Lounge has fared a bit better than the barely-operational motel--and while it's more of a beer joint (despite its full bar), it has managed to retain some of its tiki charm.
They did a remodel in recent years and removed the bamboo and thatched roofed booths inside. Probably to open the space up -- it's often packed-out for dancing.
There still appears to be some bamboo behind the back bar, a sometimes-lit pit fireplace and a small outdoor patio with a smattering of tikis.
The old velvet paintings may or may not have made it through the remodel and there was talk of a tiki mural in back...
In recent years, the Tiki Lounge has become a LGBTQ focused site, and they state on their Facebook page that: "We feature an open lifestyle environment where people of all sexualities and genders can feel free to get together, have a few good cocktails and have a great time. Gay, Straight, Lesbian, Bisexual or Transgendered all are welcomed at the Tiki!"
The Tiki Lounge is just down the road from Minnie's Restaurant (not walking distance, unfortunately).
Pago-Pago Restaurant - Milford, Massachusetts
Milford, Massachusetts, United States (Closed)
Opened in 1972 and closed in 2011.
This Chinese restaurant with a Polynesian theme and cocktail menu was family run for 39 years by Paul Soo Hoo, alongside brother Chester and business partner Florence Lee.
Now home to Hickey's Wine and Spirits.