This Trader Vic's location was in the Radisson SAS Hotel. It opened in 1990, and closed in 2013.

Opened in 1978.

Whatever tiki elements may have once been at Pandora's are now gone. The restaurant continued to operate for many years with more of a nautical, odds-and-ends look.

In 2016 the name changed to AJ's. That restaurant still lives on, but from the point of view of a traveling tikiphile, the Polynesian Pop here is history.

Large family restaurant in Glendale, with a bar in the rear. This is Damon's second location; the original was opened in 1937, and this location opened in 1980. A short list of tropical drinks is offered, and food sticks to old-school, meaty classics. The food quality improved a bit with the arrival of a new owner and chef in 2004. The decor is more on the elegant end of Polynesian Pop, with lots of bamboo and beautiful painted murals (painted in 1987 by Bettina Rakita Byrne in the style of Eugene Savage), and lighting comes from a number of different styles of traditional Poly-Pop light fixtures. In 2014, Bamboo Ben was brought in to do a "tune-up" of the decor, with some fresh thatch, tapa cloth, and bamboo and rope repair work. In the past, it has been targeted by the city of Glendale for an "update" of its facade, but that danger seems to have passed.

Created by Eric Schwaiger, Smorgy's was a chain that was started in the mid 1980s, expanded in the 1990s with more elaborate build-outs, and closed in the early 2000s. The food was all-you-can-eat buffet style and the decor featured some animatronics and many had Disney-esque style volcano entrances or waterfalls surrounded by jungle style shrubbery.

This location was more nautical than the other locations.

One of the most remembered attractions at this location was Salty, a talking animatronic seal whose head moved left and right and could talk and sing. When the show wasn’t playing, it was covered by a boat sail tarp, which revealed the seal when it was time for the show. King Neptune, another animatronic, was like a living statue that also woke up for the show. They had a lot of banter back and forth referencing whether AFL football legend Gary Ablett senior was a god and other things people in Geelong liked. During the show, there were lots of effects including rain that went down the windows, thunder and flashing lightning.

The Tiki Bar And Grill (formerly "Tiki Restaurant Lounge and Marina") has great views and has been a fixture for many years although it has had periodic shut-downs and changes of ownership.

It opened in 1969, and while it may have had great theming back then, the theming now is minimal, with bamboo lining the bar and a few inexpensive Indonesian style tiki masks hanging outside at the entrance.

Not much to interest the seasoned tikiphile here anymore...

The site was left in ruins after Katrina in August 2005 and re-built on a much smaller scale, re-opening in 2011.

Then, closed again in March 25th, 2020, because of the Covid crisis.

Re-opened in September of 2024 with new owners.

It doesn't appear that anything tiki, other than a new logo, has been added for the re-opening although the interior looks refreshed and re-painted.

The restaurant specialized in casual seafood, particularly gumbo, for many years. These are still available. However, they have an extensive new food menu on their website which offers many more options as well.

Family dining on main floor and a second floor for more refined dining or private parties.

But no cocktail menu, so they may not even have cocktails...although they appear to have beer and wine.

Known for live music on the weekends.

This classic Southern California tiki apartment building has an unusual amount of its Polynesian elements intact. The dramatic A-frame entryway shelters a collection of waterfalls and waterways, lined with nautical chain, and guarded by tiki rail posts. There is one very large old tiki still standing out front, and there are lush, tropical plantings and a cluster of tall palm trees.

Inside, there is a tiki-themed recreation room for tenants to use, which although not a vintage feature, is nonetheless cool.

Featured on page 280 of Sven Kirsten's Tiki Pop book with an early photo of owners admiring the front tiki. The front looks very similar except the early photo shows several fish floats hanging from the front entrance as well.

This Trader Vic's location opened in 1999, and had closed by 2007. Its signature drink was a Singapore Sling variation, called the "Hakata Sling," named for an area of Fukuoka. Its garnish was one of two special Hakata doll toppers, a figurine associated with the region. After this location closed, the remaining doll toppers went to the Trader Vic's in Tokyo, where you may be able to order a Hakata Sling off-menu and perhaps get a Hakata doll topper as garnish.

The Mai-Kai is perhaps the last of the grand Polynesian palaces still operating from when tiki was at its peak in the late '50s and early '60s. That the Mai-Kai not only still exists today, but is vibrant and thriving, is something we should all be very grateful for but not take for granted.

The Mai-Kai was opened December 28th, 1956 by two brothers from Chicago, Bob and Jack Thornton, in an age when roadside attractions were springing up all over Florida; eventually Bob took over the business. Like many of these attractions, the Mai-Kai grew over time to be quite a spectacle -- it includes eight dining rooms, a bar that on its own would stand as perhaps the best tiki bar in the world, tropical gardens with walking paths and waterfalls, a stage in the center to showcase the Polynesian floor show, and of course, a gift shop.

Today, experiencing the Mai-Kai is much as it was in the '60s. The experience begins as you listen to the wooden slat bridge you drive over to reach the porte cochere and valets. As you enter the restaurant, you are greeted by an elegant maitre'd. Be sure to bring some singles when you visit the restroom, as the bathroom has attendants on hand to assist you. The Mai-Kai's manager is Kern Mattei, who took over the position from his father.

When you're drinking at the Mai-Kai, you're drinking tiki history. The bar program here was created by legendary bartender Mariano Licudine, who came from the Don the Beachcomber in Chicago, and brought Don the Beachcomber drinks with him.

Bob and Jack have passed away, and the restaurant is now run by Bob's wife Mirielle. Bob met Mirielle when she joined the Mai-Kai as a Tahitian dancer, and still today she runs the Mai-Kai's Polynesian revue. As new dances are added to the show, Mirielle first visits the island where the dance originates to ensure it will be performed properly and will be blessed by its people. All dining rooms overlook the popular show, and dinner reservations are recommended.

The enchanting nature of the female form is something that is celebrated throughout Polynesian pop, but perhaps nowhere quite so extensively as the Mai-Kai. The beautiful waitresses to this day are attired in bikini tops and wraparound sarongs. For many years, a Mai-Kai calendar was offered featuring the many beautiful women of the Mai-Kai. This worship reaches its zenith with the Mystery Drink, delivered by the Mystery Girl, an experience that must be witnessed to be fully appreciated, so I will not describe it here, but rather urge you to visit the Mai-Kai yourself and order one.

In February 2015, the Mai-Kai was added to the National Register of Historic Places.

At the end of October 2020, the Mai-Kai announced what was hoped to be a temporary closure because of flooding and damage caused by heavy rains. This damage proved to be more extensive and the costs of repair more prohibitive than expected. Eventually, on January 21st, 2020, the Mai-Kai announced that it was making the business available for acquisition or joint-venture development.

On September 28th, 2021, the Mai-Kai made public that after considering numerous interested parties, the Thornton family agreed to a new joint venture with the Barlington Group, a South Florida-based real estate investment and development company focused on growing unique and eclectic legacy businesses that give their communities character, and Mad Room Hospitality, the proprietors of iconic establishments such as Ball and Chain, Los Altos and Taquerias El Mexicano.

The long close since 2020 ended with the Mai-Kai having an exclusive "Preview Opening" for select groups on November 15th, 2024. November 21st, 2024 marked the general opening and reinstatement of their dinner show performances.

During the four years the restaurant was closed due to water damage, it underwent a $20 plus million remake and re-imagination.

Perhaps the flashiest addition is a glowing 20-foot-high caldera fashioned from cement that has lights to replicate the lava glow and water jets to make the lava flow.

It also has a new Bora Bora bar, located under the port cochere, which was lovingly refurbished to look like the original. A faux bamboo finish was applied to metal supports and Marquesan-style artwork was added to the beams.

And the service bar, where all the hidden magic happened, is now visible through a window in the gift shop!

Additionally, they have re-vamped the menu (see below) with some new additions. They are also introducing some new mug designs to celebrate the opening.

The Leilani opened in 1951, and for many years was most famous for its beautiful palm tree neon sign, almost identical to the one that stood in front of the Lanai restaurant in San Mateo. The Leilani was owned by the brothers Jimmy, Roy and Stanley Dunn, who also owned Luau across town; they ran the two restaurants for 35 years. The Leilani used to serve drinks in tiki mugs with both its name and Luau inscribed on the back (and used at both restaurants): a black moai, and a three-face bucket mug. In its final years, it no longer had any tiki whatsoever, and was just an all-you-can-eat Chinese buffet; sister restaurant Luau met a similar fate. The restaurant closed in 2005, and the building and sign were demolished around 2014.

Luau, along with its sister restaurant just across town, The Leilani, opened in 1951 and was owned and operated by the Dunn brothers, Jimmy, Roy and Stanley. Luau used to have a tiki bar, and drinks were served out of tiki mugs. The Leilani and Luau both had the same mugs printed up, with both names on each: a black moai mug, and a three-face bucket mug. In later years, Luau didn't have much to offer to a tikiphileit had devolved into an inexpensive all-you-can-eat Chinese buffet, with no tiki at all to be seen inside (not even a bar!). For many years, however, its sign remained as a fabulous example of classic midcentury graphic design. In 2013 the restaurant closed, and the sign is gone.

Since about 2012, this location at 689 Cochituate Road has been home to Speen Family Dental.

Ren Clark's Polynesian Village was in the Western Hills Hotel, and was richly decorated with bamboo, tapacloth, floats, lights, thatch and peacock chairs. It had several rooms: the Tahitian Room, the Hawaiian Room, the Samoan Hut, and the Cannibal Cocktail Lounge. Its signature tiki was carved by Milan Guanko.

Ren Clark was a magician, and held several posts in magician groups in the 1950s. For entertainment at his Polynesian Village restaurant he performed a magic act; as a souvenir, patrons could purchase a grotesque mug of a severed head -- this mug has become one of the more sought-after tiki mug collectibles, despite it not being really all that "tiki."

The Polynesian Village opened on June 20th, 1960. The hotel was open from 1951 until it burned down in 1969.

The location is currently a Winn-Dixie Marketplace.