Tiki Bars
Zombie Hut - Brooklyn
Brooklyn, New York, United States
Zombie Hut opened in Brooklyn in 2002.
It is a small neighborhood bar with tiki-lite decor, very dim lighting and an outdoor patio.
Among other decorations, they have an interior mural of the menu cover art from the now long-closed Zombie Village in Oakland, California.
They also have a selection of board games.
The bar is particularly well-known for serving strong, cheap tropical drinks. Lots of frozen slushy drinks, but they also do flaming scorpion bowls and other cocktails as well. Cash only.
Tropics Motor Hotel - Blythe
Blythe, California, United States (Closed)
The Tropics Motel in Blythe was built by Ken Kimes, and was a sister property to what is now the Caliente Tropics Resort in Palm Springs. This location had 60 units and a Sambo's restaurant adjacent to it.
Today, the hotel has been stripped of anything even remotely tiki, and became part of the bland Vagabond Inn chain, and was then re-branded several more times.
Jade Tiki
Bloomfield Township, Michigan, United States (Closed)
Jade Tiki opened in August 1977, in Bloomfield Hills, Michigan.
By the 2000s, it had only a few tikis out front, and some tropical drinks served in tiki mugs.
This location closed in October 2011; the restaurant moved to another location in Utica, MI, but any traces of tiki (beyond the name) are now gone.
Trader Vic's - Beverly Hills
Beverly Hills, California, United States (Closed)
Opened August 11th, 1955.
This Trader Vic's was located in the Beverly Hilton and until 2004 was owned by Merv Griffin -- the hallway between the hotel and the restaurant was lined with blown-up black & white photos of Griffin with various celebrities from the 70s and 80s. It was originally called The Traders. Its location at the edge of Beverly Hills attracted some of the vintage set of celebrities.
The Beverly Hills Trader Vic's last day of business was on April 29, 2007. After 50-plus years of operation, this Los Angeles institution was closed, to make way for the development of a tower of condos or hotel rooms.
A few bits of the restaurant were moved to a bar near the pool area, which was called Trader Vic's Lounge, and served Trader Vic's drinks. However, Trader Vic's Lounge closed at the end of January 2017.
Trader Vic's - Beirut
Beirut, Lebanon (Closed)
This Trader Vic's location operated from 2000 to 2006. It was located in the Gefinor Rotana Hotel.
PortAventura World - Polynesia
Spain
Opened in 1995, PortAventura World is the most visited theme park in Spain and the sixth most visited theme park in Europe.
The park features five theme areas based on civilizations (Mediterrània, Far West, México, China and Polynesia), and one theme area based on Sesame Street. Mediterrània is the main entrance area of the park.
The Polynesia area of the park is populated with many tiki statues, a Kon-Tiki wave ride, and features live shows with large Polynesian dance groups.
Kahala
Barcelona, Spain
Kahala opened on April 21, 1971 and was the first tiki bar in Spain. There were once 14 tiki bars in Barcelona, and Kahala has survived these many years because it has much to offer.
It still has all the original decor. You cross a waterfall to a long bar space, with various private seating areas, including King chairs. Staff wears Hawaiian shirts and the mugs are all original with a massive selection.
The cocktails and music may not always endear themselves to tiki purists, but if you are in the area, you owe it to yourself to check out one of the elder tiki temples still in existence.
Aloha Polinesian Bar
Barcelona, Spain
Opened in 1976, this is a very large bar with a 250 person capacity and bills itself as the largest tiki bar in Barcelona.
It still has all of its original decor, including an amazing front bar area with a bundled rattan/bamboo bar railing, several Gaugin inspired nude Tahitian girl murals, and tikis throughout. There are several small rooms and alcove areas for more intimate smaller groups.
There is an anachronistic large television at the end of the front bar-- probably as an obligatory nod to sports fans. There is also a large table soccer game (foosball to North Americans) by the emergency exit.
Porcelain style signature Spanish tiki mugs are used, although many show signs of chipping or cold paint loss and have been in rotation a number of years.
Tiki purists may not always approve of the music or cocktail authenticity, but this is common with many of the Spanish tiki bars. Despite this, the ability to experience such an early time capsule of a tiki temple should not be missed.
Kahiki - Barcelona
Barcelona, Spain
Opened in 1977, this location is not as richly decorated as some of the other Barcelona tiki bars, but it is centrally located.
The mural figures in this bar have an unusual Indonesian themed quality to them.
As with the other Barcelona tiki bars, they serve their drinks in classic Spanish style porcelain tiki mugs.
Some tiki purists may be disappointed at times by the music selection or cocktail offerings, but as with other Barcelona tiki spots, this is an amazing time capsule worth checking out if you are in the area.
Trader Vic's - Bangkok
Khet Khlong San, Bangkok, Thailand
Opened in 1992.
Located in the Anantara Riverside Bangkok Resort (formerly the Marriott Royal Gardens Riverside).
Ocean's 11
Austin, Texas, United States (Closed)
This tiki bar opened to much fanfare in 2001, but it reportedly closed for "renovations" in November of 2002. In reality, it shut down after running into some governmental crankiness over unpaid back taxes.
Their theme was Rat Pack meets Tiki. They also had a number of early Tiki Farm mugs branded with their location.
In 2006, the space finally reopened as Headhunters, a punk dive bar renowned as a live music venue.
Headhunters fell on hard times and was cleaned up and re-branded in 2012 as Metal and Lace: Steampunk Lounge by Host Jon Taffer of the Bar Rescue television show.
However, the changes didn't stick and the bar went back to its old name and ways and closed in 2014.
Hula Hut - Austin
Austin, Texas, United States
Opened in 1993.
Hula Hut was for many years known as Chuy's Hula Hut, but Chuy's owners Mike Young and John Zapp sold their interest sometime around 2009.
Hula Hut describes their food as "Tiki-Mex," and the location has more of a focus on general tropicalia than classic Polynesian Pop.
The restaurant is located right on Lake Austin and has a pier going out over the water.
Down below is a giant fish sculpture whose head pivots and spews water and bubbles (designed and manufactured in 1995 by Bob Daddy-O Wade).
There is also a newer sister location Hula Hut which started in 2015 at Little Elm on Lake Lewisville.
Both Hula Huts were sold independently @ January 2023 and are now operating as independent family-owned businesses with no association between one another.
The Hula Hut in Little Elm "closed temporarily" in September of 2024 for "renovations".