Tiki Bars
South Shore Tiki Lounge
Kihei, Hawaii, United States
Opened @ 2006.
A tiki bar & restaurant, tucked into a shopping center in Kihei. The decor is a mix of Polynesian Pop and surfing, with plenty of bamboo and some tikis. The inside portion is nice and dark, and there is a spacious outdoor patio. They have other things on their menu but are primarily known for their pizza. Beach Bumz is in the same shopping center.
Hula Hula Tiki Bar - Orange Beach
Orange Beach, Alabama, United States (Closed)
Opened in the late 2000s, Hula Hula Tiki Bar was part of North Shore Grill & Deli, owned by Joey Ward. There were tikis and bamboo, and the grill served burgers and more. It closed in 2012.
Bloody Mary's
French Polynesia
Opened in 1979.
A somewhat Polynesian Pop tiki bar and restaurant right on the main island of Bora Bora in French Polynesia.
It features a thatched roof, open sides, white sand floor, wooden slab tables and stools made of coconut stumps. Some carved tikis are on site that look like they could have come out of Oceanic Arts in Whittier, CA. Mary's has been visited by many celebrities over the years and the bar is proud to showcase their carved "walls of fame" with each celebrity's name -- some of whom have performed impromptu shows for the bar.
They also serve as a venue for traditional dance groups.
Westgate Cocoa Beach Resort
Cocoa Beach, Florida, United States
Westgate Cocoa Beach Resort began as the Wakulla Apartments, until the location was sold to the Mishler family in 1972 and converted to a motel. From then, until 2018 the site was known as the Wakulla Suites. The name was Native American, but the decor was Pop Polynesian. With 2018's extensive renovation and re-branding, the discrepancy is no longer a concern.
In addition to the previous tikis and tiki decor on the grounds, the Pop Polynesian theme has been further expanded with even more tiki decor and a lazy river in the pool area. There is now a poolside Tiki Bar for hotel guests only. The bar has two mugs for sale, a plastic tiki mug with the hotel name on the back and the other mug is a hollowed-out lidded coconut monkey.
Bora-Bora - Madrid
Madrid, Spain
Opened in 1975.
As is typical in tiki bars throughout Spain, tropical cocktails of dubious quality are served in beautiful tiki mugs. The decor is perhaps less elaborate than other Spanish tiki bars, but dark wooden wall panels dotted with tiki masks still set a decent mood.
Jolly Rogers
सेक्टर २८, गुरुग्राम, Haryana, India (Closed)
Jolly Rogers was a short-lived Polynesian restaurant just outside of New Delhi, on the 10th floor of the Time Tower. The theme for the restaurant was pirate-meets-tiki, but the decor was very bright, sleek and airy, with white walls and lots of windows. There were many tiki masks decorating the restaurant, though, and tropical cocktails and Polynesian food were served. Jolly Rogers opened in 2009 and closed in 2012.
Top Notch Kustoms
San Jose, California, United States
Top Notch Kustoms is the auto shop of Ignacio "Notch" Gonzalez. Notch is famous for several things in the tiki world: for building the famous towering Ku and Moai tiki bars seen at Viva Las Vegas, Tiki Oasis and Forbidden Island; for creating the jaw-dropping decor at Smuggler's Cove; and creating original and replica tiki mugs.
Notch's many talents manifest in many different ways, but here at his shop, it's mostly about carsNotch's specialty is hot rod customization. His shop holds a completely immersive tiki bar as a break room. It's a small space, but some ingenious interior design work gives it the feel of a full-size, full-featured tiki bar. Particularly notable: Notch's shop houses the neon sign for the fabled Cosmo Place Trader Vic's in San Francisco.
Painkiller
Manhattan, New York, New York, United States (Closed)
Painkiller was opened by Giuseppe Gonzalez and Richard Boccato on Manhattan's Lower East Side in May 2010. The small space dictated a streamlined decor approach, with heavy use of bamboo and flat artwork on the walls. The decor was a mix of simple tiki (in the form of untreated bamboo and flat Indonesian import masks), and graffiti artwork inspired both by the local neighborhood and tiki history.
The bar itself was a bit high, and the immovable stools were also high and close to the bar; sitting at the bar could be a challenge for the large or the small. The seating in the back rooms was comfy, though, and standing at the bar worked, too.
The emphasis at Painkiller was on the cocktails, with lots of modern variations inspired by old classics. The menu did not list specific drinks, rather it was a list of drink categories, intended to spark conversation with your bartender to help you find a drink you'll love. Drinks were well-crafted, and served in tiki mugs, with pina coladas served in frozen pineapples.
After a legal dispute with Pusser's Rum, owners of the "Painkiller" trademark, the bar changed its name to PKNY.
Painkiller closed in July 2013 after losing their lease.
Smuggler's Cove
San Francisco, California, United States
Smuggler's Cove was opened December 8th, 2009 by Martin Cate, a renowned rum expert and longtime tikiphile who was one of the founders of Forbidden Island in Alameda. Smuggler's Cove specializes in all varieties of rum and rum drinks, with a particular emphasis on historic and exotic cocktails. Cate has attracted some of the top bartender talent in the talent-rich city of San Francisco. Smuggler's Cove regularly appears on the lists of the best bars in the world. It has proven incredibly popular: if you go on a weekend, be prepared to possibly wait in a line for entry.
The decor is a blend of nautical and tiki. The dimly-lit bar spans three floors: the main and lower levels each have their own bars, and an upper half-level is a tiki hut that overlooks the main floor. There is a waterfall between the main floor and the lower floor, with a small pool at the bottom. The construction was led by Ignacio "Notch" Gonzalez, of San Jose's Top Notch Kustoms.
The offerings can be overwhelming in scope: over 500 rums, and more than 75 cocktails. If you're intent on trying as many as possible, consider entering the Rumbustion Society; those who complete the list are rewarded for their efforts.
Kona Inn and Kona Kai Club
San Diego, California, United States (Closed)
Kona Kai Club opened in 1953, and along with the nearby Bali Hai Restaurant, was one of the first developments on the predominantly Polynesian-themed Shelter Island. The Kona Kai Club was a marina, intended from the start to serve high-end yachts, and it developed into the premiere marina in San Diego. The catalog of celebrities mooring pleasure boats there is impressive: Clark Gable, Burt Lancaster, Jack Lemmon, Gregory Peck, Jimmy Durante, Dick Van Dyke, Liberace, and many more.
The Kon-Tiki bar & lounge adjoined the club's main dining room and came complete with a Kon-Tiki sail waving from the bar itself.
In 1959, the Kona Inn hotel was opened next door (at 1901 Shelter Island Drive). Later in the year, the entire property was purchased by Jack Wrather, a Hollywood producer who was the original owner of the Disneyland Hotel. Wrather expanded the marina, and in 1963 sold the club to John Alessio, owner of the famous Hotel del Coronado. Alessio started to add Mediterranean touches, including an octagonal structure echoing the one at the Coronado.
The Kona Inn and Kona Kai Club underwent their final renovation from 1995-1997, which completed the conversion from Polynesian to Mediterranean. The name was removed in 1998, and it became Shelter Pointe Hotel & Marina.
Today, the name is back (well, nearly: it is called Kona Kai Resort & Spa) but the theming is entirely Mediterranean.
Rock-a-Tiki - Berlin
Berlin, Germany (Closed)
Rock-a-Tiki was a clothes store carrying both vintage and rockabilly-label items in the Prenzlauer berg of Berlin. It was once in another location on Eberswalderstrasse.
This and several other stores were reportedly folded into a store called Class of Berlin.
Aloha-Luau Lounge
Berlin, Germany (Closed)
Aloha-Luau Lounge was a short-lived pop-up in the Kreuzberg area of Berlin in early 2007. There was a small bar in the back of the space, with an art gallery in the front. Aloha-Luau offered classic tiki drinks like Zombies, Navy Grogs and Mai Tais.