Tiki Bars
Mahiki - Dubai
Dubai, United Arab Emirates (Closed)
This sister location to the famous London Mahiki opened in the Jumeirah Beach Hotel in December, 2011. Like the London location, it became a destination for celebrities, and wannabe celebrities. A vast cocktail menu was served, and food as well. The attractive decor was upscale tiki, and had a nightclub feel. This location closed in 2018, due to “unforeseen circumstances during the renovation” of the hotel, as stated by the owners at the time.
There have been several other Mahiki locations. In 2017, Mahiki's owners further expanded and franchised the brand. In the course of that year, Mahiki Clubs have opened in Marbella, Spain (Mahiki Beach/open), in the Forte Village Resort in Sardinia (now closed), in Manchester in collaboration with Gary Neville's company GG Hospitality Management Ltd. (closed in 2018, re-opened in 2019, but closed again in 2020) and at a second London location (Mahiki Kensington, closed in 2019). There was also a Mahiki club in Gothenburg, Sweden (closed).
Surf N Shack
Capitola, California, United States (Closed)
Opened around 2007.
Surf N Shack mostly specialized in surf and skate apparel, but they also had a good selection of tiki mugs from Tiki Farm.
In 2009, Surf N Shack's owner, Ray Apolskis, donated a tiki carved by local carver Jason Rimmer to replace one that had been stolen from nearby Capitola Beach.
Closed around November 2020.
Brass Monkey Tiki Bar
København V, København, Denmark (Closed)
Brass Monkey Tiki Bar opened at the end of 2009.
The bar had a rockabilly-tinged flavor to it, but was solidly tiki, too. Carefully-constructed cocktails were served in tiki mugs. The decor was relatively spare for a tiki bar, but there were a few pufferfish lamps, and a bamboo-covered ceiling. There was also frequent live music.
In 2018, a new sister location, Brass Monkey Esbjerg, opened its doors, but appears to have closed some time at the end of 2021 and then re-opened in August 2022 under a new name as The Tiki Hut.
The Brass Monkey Tiki bar in København (Copenhagen) appears to have closed @2023.
Le Tiki Lounge
Paris, France (Closed)
Le Tiki Lounge opened in 2012 in the Folie-Mricourt neighborhood in the 11th arrondisement, south of Belleville.
The decor, while a bit spare, included bamboo, pufferfish, glass floats, tiki carvings, and touched on all the important bits of a classic, quality tiki bar.
Bai also sculpted some wonderful versions of the Suffering Bastard for their house mug.
Closed November 2022.
The Breakers
Crystal Lake, Illinois, United States
The Breakers (sometimes called "Lenny's The Breakers") is a classic Tiki-Cantonese restaurant and bar in Crystal Lake, outside of Chicago. It opened in 1949, and has plenty of old school tiki-in-a-Chinese-restaurant touches, with a landscaped garden, bamboo and beachcomber lamps, tikis, and dim lighting, amidst newer layers of rope lights and Party City-style tropical bric-a-brac.
The food menu is typical midwest Cantonese fare, and a "Po-Po Platter" is on the appetizers menu. The cocktail list includes a Mai-Tai ("It's a secret") and a Navy Grog ("It's a stronger secret"), and other classic and less-classic tropicals. There are some Dynasty mugs and bowls in use, but you may have to ask nicely to get your drink in one.
On the weekends, you may find some live music, which often includes some Hawaiian standards.
Kanaloa - London
London, United Kingdom (Closed)
Kanaloa was a tiki-themed restaurant, bar & nightclub, owned by the same folks behind Mahiki, along with Girls Aloud member Sarah Harding. It opened in London's Blackfriars neighborhood in 2009. Much effort went into creating a welcome space for women at Kanaloa: going beyond free entry and discounts for women, house rules discouraged men from treating women like prey. The main bar had lots of sleek bamboo and shell lamps. The ceiling in one room was densely encrusted with many different colors of glass floats. An elevated "treetop" room had some artificial palms. The club had a large and varied rum menu.
This was the original location in what became a chain across the UK, with locations in Glasgow (closed), Croydon (closed), Cardiff (closed), Newcastle (closed), Portsmouth (closed), and Leeds (closed).
This original location closed its doors in January 2020. The space is currently home to a new bar/nightclub named Be At One.
Tony's on the Pier
Redondo Beach, California, United States
Tony's on the Pier (also sometimes called "Old Tony's") was opened by Anthony A. Trutanich, a World War II veteran and former San Pedro fisherman, on Redondo Beach's Fisherman's Wharf in 1952. Tony's started out as a simple shack, expanding the dining room in 1961, and adding a crow's nest-like bar on top of the building in 1965.
The restaurant has open-air sliding windows opening out to waterside views, and the bar in particular has stunning 360-degree views around Palos Verdes and out over the Pacific Ocean.
Tony's decor is nautical rather than tiki, but the preserved midcentury furnishings, fishnet-covered ceilings and large fish floats will make Polynesian Pop lovers feel right at home. They serve a Mai Tai that comes in a souvenir glass.
Page's Paradise Island
Depew, New York, United States (Closed)
Page's Paradise Island was a 28,000 square foot family entertainment complex. It was opened in May 2006 by Bryan Page, in a former gymnasium. There was a restaurant, a tiki bar, rental spaces for parties, an arcade, pools, rock climbing, mini golf... all indoors, and all tropically themed. At night, Page's became 21+, and hosted live music.
The complex closed @ 2016 but the restaurant/bar portion is still open as The Cove Seafood and Banquets (more tropical beach bar than tiki themed) and they have a couple of large wedding halls (one underwater grotto themed and one rustic/barn themed) to host wedding groups and other parties.
Tong's Tiki Hut
Villa Park, Illinois, United States
Tong's Tiki Hut in Villa Park is the last remaining location of a small Chicago-area chain of Chinese/Polynesian restaurants. Open since at least 1982. This location still has plenty of old-school tiki charm, with rock walls, tapa cloth lamps, and some nice big tikis. Food is the tiki-traditional "Polynesian" Chinese including a flaming pupu platter, and there is a full bar with drinks served in mugs.
Aku Aku Tiki Bar - Oslo
Grünerløkka, Oslo, Norway (Closed)
Aku Aku Tiki Bar opened in May 2007, in the Grnerlkka neighborhood of Oslo. Some of the decor was on loan from the Kon-Tiki Museum, including a large canoe hanging from the ceiling. The walls were lined with straw matting. Classic tiki drinks were served in tiki mugs, and the music was a mix of Hawaiian and Exotica tunes.
Closed April 6th, 2024.
Cocteleria Tahiti
Barcelona, Spain (Closed)
Cocteleria Tahiti was a tiki bar very near the Barcelona Museum of Contemporary Art. Cocteleria Tahiti's mission was to bring the quality of Barcelona tiki cocktails back to the '40s and '50s, and to be a departure from the '70s tiki bars found in the city. The decor was minimal (red upholstered booths and counter seating with more of a diner or lunch counter vibe), unlike the lavish vintage decor seen in some of the other Barcelona tiki bars, but they were serving classic drink recipes from Don the Beachcomber and Trader Vic's -- an area where other Barcelona tiki bars tend to be weak. Cocteleria Tahiti opened in March 2010, and closed in mid-2016.
The Downtown Tiki Lounge
San Mateo, California, United States (Closed)
The Downtown Tiki Lounge was opened by two friends, Jim Wilkinson and Dennis Romero, in 2010.
The decor in the bar was a mix of beach, Caribbean and Polynesian (many of the carvings appeared to be Indonesian imports), and the music was typically reggae. The place was full of surfboards provided by Seven Tiki Rum (who also provided the glassware). There was a comfortable seating area near the front, and the rear had a small raised seating area.
The drink menu appeared at first glance to have a few classics, including a Sidewinder's Fang from the long-gone San Mateo power palace, The Lanai. The tribute was a wonderful gesture, but sadly anyone who was excited to have that great drink would be disappointed: what they served had the same name, but not at all the same recipe. The drinks tended strongly to the sweet and chemical side, and could perhaps have used an upgrade in ingredients.
Closed permanently in 2020-2021.