Tiki Bars
Luau (North Bedford Drive) - Beverly Hills
Beverly Hills, California, United States (Closed)
This short-lived restaurant opened in October 2008 and closed just a year later. There is no connection between this restaurant and Beverly Hills' famous The Luau, created by Steve Crane in the 1950s although the Steve Crane signature tiki was represented in a framed painting and a small carved version was prominent in the front of the restaurant.
Bamboo Ben was hired to do the decor, particularly the pufferfish lights, but they restrained him from going all-out.
Rather than the nod to historic Polynesian Pop that the name choice might suggest, this upscale restaurant was sleek and more Asian than Polynesian in design (with carved Gyan Mudra Yogic Buddha's Hands all over the restaurant and as their logo).
However, the drink menu had some classic tiki drinks, and was developed with input from Beachbum Berry.
The Beachcomber - Malibu
Malibu, California, United States (Closed)
The Beachcomber was a restaurant on the historic Malibu Pier. The restaurant itself was not tiki but rather was designed to look like a 1930s restaurant. However the restaurant's bar, the Malibu Pier Club, had a special nook with a round table that seated about ten available for special reservations. This nook was called the Tonga Lei Room, and it was decked out as a tribute to the Tonga Lei restaurant, which was located across the street.
The bar and restaurant opened in 2008, and for the Tonga Lei Room the owners enlisted the assistance of Bamboo Ben, Tiki Farm and Tiki-Ray to help deck the place out. The Beachcomber closed in 2012.
Voodoo Tiki Bar & Lounge
Charleston, South Carolina, United States (Closed)
Voodoo Tiki Bar & Lounge was a funky, modern tiki/exotic/lounge bar and restaurant in the Avondale neighborhood of Charleston. It opened in early 2005. Tropical drinks were served in tiki mugs, and food was served late, until 1 a.m.
Caroline Smith-Adams, the face of Voodoo Tiki Bar for 15 years, passed away, so the team at Voodoo decided to rebrand the restaurant to honor her life.
From 10/22/2020 onward, the bar was re-branded as Caroline's Aloha Bar and given a new makeover along with a new website and Facebook page, until it closed on November 12th, 2022.
Joe's Sneaky Tiki
San Leandro, California, United States (Closed)
The Sneaky Tiki, or Joe's Sneaky Tiki, was a Hawaiian bar in San Leandro that operated in the 1970s and until at least the '80s. At some point it was run by Joe Denton and Don Groom; Don was a bartender. After it closed, the space later became Tabou Lounge, and Club Caliente.
Mar Vista Lanes
Los Angeles, California, United States
Mar Vista Lanes was built in 1961, and was designed by famed Googie-riffic architects Armet & Davis. It once housed a bar called the Makai Cocktail Lounge, which had a spare, modernistic take on tiki. The Makai Cocktail Lounge closed some time during the 70s.
One lone tiki stood outside for many years until July 5, 2014 when it was reported stolen outside the Pepy's Galley Diner (which was the attached eatery until later in 2014).
Soon after, Bowlero purchased the property when AMF went bankrupt.
The new Bowlero version opened in April 2015 and is still current as of 2020. They have a long mural along the side of the building which touts its history since 1961 and sports a couple of tikis. They have also added at least one new carved tiki outside as well.
Trader Vic's Lounge - Beverly Hills
Beverly Hills, California, United States (Closed)
This bar was pieced together from remainders of the legendary Beverly Hills Trader Vic's, which closed in 2007 after more than 50 years. A few items from the restaurant were saved and relocated to this new lounge near the hotel's pool. The space was sleek, modern and airy - a sharp contrast to the intimate feel of the old restaurant. Tropical drinks and a few pupus were served in this small, casual space with an outdoor patio. Trader Vic's Lounge closed at the end of January 2017.
Xanadu Gallery
Menlo Park, California, United States (Closed)
Xanadu Gallery was owned by one of the owners of the nearby Palo Alto Trader Vic's; he was responsible for many of the Papua New Guinea artifacts on display there. This gallery, on the southwestern end of Santa Cruz Avenue, had a wide array of different Oceanic artifacts, including tikis, masks, drums, war clubs and canoes. Most were from Papua New Guinea, but there were a few other pieces from other islands. After the passing of the owner, much of the Oceanic art was sold, and this location was closed. There was also a remaining second Xanadu location in San Francisco at 140 Maiden Lane, but it closed later in 2015.
The Outrigger - Long Beach
Long Beach, California, United States (Closed)
The Outrigger was a Polynesian-themed restaurant in the Lafayette Hotel. The Lafayette is a historic building dating back to the '20s; it was operated by Hilton when the restaurant opened in 1958.
The Outrigger was one of four themed restaurants in the hotel that were opened at the same time: The Ivanhoe Room with the medieval splendor of King Arthur's court with tunnels, torture chambers, fireplaces, shields and lances; steaks, seafood, cocktails and piano bar. Outrigger Room off Broadway entrance has South Seas tropical decor, exotic drinks, "Polynesian" waitresses, Cantonese appetizers and dinners. The Gaslight Room on corner of First and Linden has Roaring 20s theme with banjo and piano music by TV personality Jad Paul. Fife & Drum has Revolutionary War period decor, lunch buffet.
It's not known exactly when the Outrigger restaurant closed, but probably around 1967.
The building was converted to condominiums in 1968.
Trader Island
San Bernardino, California, United States (Closed)
Trader Island was opened by Lula Herrera in 1965. It was originally graced with large tikis around the exterior that were carved by Tahitian native and ex-pat Al Kalani (age 28). Al was also a featured dancer in the Trader Island dance ensembles that entertained there regularly.
By 1970, the site had become Edwin Tan's Chinese Gardens. Later, it became the Imperial Palace Inn. In the mid 80s, the location operated as Mandarin Garden. In 2008, the building housed the Scorpions Sports Bar & Grill. By 2013, the building was vacant and has remained so through 2020.
These photos below show the roof support beams when they still retained their irregular edges and before they had been planed smooth in later versions. Other than this and successive painting on the exterior, the building has remained remarkably the same over the years.
The Reef - Long Beach
Long Beach, California, United States (Closed)
The Reef opened on August 8th, 1958, and was co-owned by George Millay, creator of Sea World. The original restaurant had interior designs by Bobby Mavis, and had "Hula Grounds" with many tikis.
The Reef burned down in 1974, and was later re-built in 1980 by David Tallichet, one of the original partners in the old restaurant.
Tallichet and his company have run over 100 restaurants around the country over the years. The other Polynesian project he is well-known for is the Ports O' Call Restaurant at the Ports O' Call Village.
However, Tallichet re-built the new Reef building in a mining theme, that was popular around the country at the time, with lots of raw wood beams. He was later heard to voice regret that he didn't stick to the original Polynesian theme so many area residents fondly remembered. It's since been remodeled several times and the mining theme has been erased as well. The current restaurant isn't really tiki or Polynesian at all but it is almost 3 times as large as its predecessor and is still run by Tallichet's family-owned company, Specialty Restaurants Corporation, which currently owns 18 other restaurants, including The Castaway in Burbank, Castaway in San Bernardino, the aviation-themed Proud Bird ear LAX and 94th Aero Squadron in Van Nuys as well as Orange Hill in Orange.
Hula's Island Grill & Tiki Room - Santa Cruz
Santa Cruz, California, United States
This is the second location of Hula's Island Grill & Tiki Room, the first being down the coast in nearby Monterey. This newer location, which opened in late 2006, goes even further with the tiki theme than the original spot. The owners got assistance with the decor from Bosko, 'Onatiki, Tiki Tony, Polynesiac, Oceanic Arts and Munktiki, and consulted with Forbidden Island's Martin Cate in developing the bar. The space is warm, lined with lauhala matting and filled with carvings, floats and tapa lamps.
Then, Hula's Modern Tiki opened in Phoenix (2009-2018) followed by Hula's Modern locations in Scottsdale (2014) and High Street (2020). The first Hula's Modern Tiki in Phoenix re-located on Saturday, Sept. 15, 2018 to a new location on Seventh Street north of Camelback Road, less than a mile away from the original.
Pago Pago - Tucson
Tucson, Arizona, United States (Closed)
Pago Pago was named for and inspired by the capital city of Pago Pago on the South Pacific Ocean island of American Samoa.
It should have been pronounced "pango pango" but locals called it "paygo paygo".
The restaurant featured decor from Oceanic Arts and from Eli Hedley.
Pago Pago opened on May 5th, 1949. The name was later changed to Aku Aku in the early 60s and stayed that way until 1964-65 when a fire broke out and caused much damage. When they reopened after repairs, the name was changed to Ports O' Call and then it became a restaurant called Bali Hai Indonesian & Cantonese Cuisine sometime prior to 1980.
Exterior scenes for the 1956 film "A Kiss Before Dying" were filmed at the Pago Pago (and interior bar scenes were most likely on a studio set elsewhere). However, the lower budget "Crime Against Joe" (1956) was shot entirely on location interior and exterior at the Pago Pago (see below).
The site now houses Starbuck Design, a promotional products company.