Tiki Bars
Aloha Jhoe's
Palm Springs, California, United States (Closed)
Opened November 18th-19th, 1961. Aloha Jhoe's was created by Lyle R. Wheeler, a prolific Hollywood Art Director who won Oscars for his work on Gone with the Wind, Anna and the King of Siam, The Robe, The King and I and The Diary of Anne Frank, and was nominated another 24 times (many years, against himself). Wheeler was an Art Director on South Pacific four years before the opening of Aloha Jhoe's.
Featured on pages 28-29 of Sven Kirsten's The Book of Tiki.
The Tiki House
San Diego, California, United States (Closed)
Opened in 1980 and closed in 2013.
This location did have a bamboo trimmed bar and some tiki decor but it had more of a roadhouse atmosphere and was known for being a live music venue.
They closed due to rising rent.
Trader Vic's Final Resting Place
Oakland, California, United States
The founder of the Trader Vic's chain, Victor Jules Bergeron, is interred with his wife Helen in the Mausoleum at Mountain View Cemetery. You will find them on the bottom floor at about eye level, near the west-facing end entrance. If you visit, be sure to bring some menehunes to leave in remembrance.
On the second floor of the same Mausoleum, Henry J. Kaiser is interred. Henry J. Kaiser's connection to tiki is that he built the Kaiser Aluminum Dome, where Arthur Lyman's albums were recorded, and the Hawaiian Village, which was later purchased by the Hilton chain.
The Aloha Club - Martinez
Martinez, California, United States (Closed)
This 1940s pre-tiki establishment featured "Drinks From The Romantic Tropics".
Now home to Aurora Environmental Services in a newer brick building as of 2021.
Tiki Lounge - Los Angeles
Los Angeles, California, United States (Closed)
Opened in 1999.
Connected to the Tahiti Restaurant (same address).
Tahiti Restaurant
Los Angeles, California, United States (Closed)
Opened in 1999 by owner-chef Tony Di Lembo.
The interior featured leopard skin patterned booths, a map of the Pacific Ocean on the dining room floor, and there was one small tiki at the entrance.
This location is currently (as of 2021) home to Mercado Mexican Restaurant.
Lava Lounge - Long Beach
Long Beach, California, United States (Closed)
The "East Indies Room" was the original name of this space at the Java Lanes bowling alley when it was built in 1958. Over the years, business at Java Lanes cooled somewhat, but enjoyed a revitalization in the ’90s when the East Indies Room with its space-tropical vibe was re-branded as the "Lava Lounge". Mark DiPiazza reactivated Java Lanes’ long-dormant entertainment license and put together years of high-energy music shows in the Lava Lounge, nurturing tons of local bands and playing host to touring acts like Weezer, Rocket From The Crypt and Lit, who filmed the video for their hit “My Own Worst Enemy” at Java Lanes.
The Java Lanes and Lava Lounge were demolished in 2004 to make way for new development.
The Tikis - Lake Elsinore
Lake Elsinore, California, United States (Closed)
Built @1979-1980.
After the original The Tikis in Monterey Park closed, owner Danny Balsz attempted to reopen at this new location in Lake Elsinore with some of his old set pieces and tikis at the newly built-out location, but it never happened. It is now a paintball park, Jungle Island; all the landscaping and (now paint-splattered) rock formations remain, but the tikis are long gone.
The Luau - Beverly Hills
Beverly Hills, California, United States (Closed)
The Tropics was purchased by Stephen Crane and renamed The Luau for its opening on July 25th, 1953. This was Crane's original restaurant; after the success of the Luau, he eventually went on to open the popular Kon-Tiki chain of Polynesian restaurants.
Steve Crane's Luau was one of the Hollywood/Beverly Hills restaurants (along with Don the Beachcomber and Trader Vic's) that established Polynesian cuisine (and more importantly drinks) as de rigueur in the 1950s and '60s. The Luau produced some of the most beautiful and highly desired serveware objects (designed by Gabe Florian) to come out of midcentury Polynesian restaurants.
The Luau was demolished in 1979 to make space for a Rodeo Drive shopping complex.
There is no connection between this historic restaurant and a newer restaurant that briefly operated with the same name in Beverly Hills.
Lava Lounge - Los Angeles
Los Angeles, California, United States (Closed)
Lava Lounge opened in December 1993. This non-traditional tiki bar in a tiny strip mall in Hollywood attracted a steady flow of hipsters. Appropriate to the name, the interior had lava-dark walls, with a smoke-heaving, water-dripping wall in the rear, and pin-point lights across the ceiling. The design was sleek, with a heavy use of bamboo and Oceanic Arts lighting. There were a few tikis near the front. Live music was often featured here, almost always of the non-tiki-friendly variety. Tropical drinks were served, but not in tiki mugs. Lava Lounge closed in February 2007.
Damon's
Glendale, California, United States
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.
Tahitian Village
Downey, California, United States (Closed)
Opened July 11th, 1961.
Tahitian Village was a large, upscale motel complex designed by Armet and Davis, with decor provided by Oceanic Arts. The complex included a large restaurant and bar with music, dancing and a Polynesian floor show. The Apollo spacecraft development and construction happened nearby, and the Tahitian Village was a frequent destination for those working the project; Apollo astronauts were housed there.
After Tahitian Village closed, it became La Zona Rosa, a Mexican nightclub.
The building fell into extreme disrepair and was so squalid by 1995, that they were writing news articles about how something needed to be done about the location. It was finally razed in 2000 to make way for a strip mall.