The Royal Hawaiian opened in 1947. It was owned by the Cabang family. The Cabangs were originally from the Phillipines and were friends with both of the Fillipino Tiki carvers in L.A. at the time, Milan Guanko and Andres Bumatay. These talented artists both supplied Tikis for the restaurant. The prominent Andres Bumatay tikis outside the restaurant became weathered and destroyed and were later replaced by modern carvings.

The Royal Hawaiian also had a sister location located in Anaheim in the 1950s.

The Royal Hawaiian has been through several iterations. It originally had several small dining rooms with glass-walled dioramas filled with tikis and plants, great lamps, bamboo, thatch and sea grass matting, and a bar with a fireplace and pufferfish. There were lovely oil paintings throughout, including a large piece hung directly above the hostess stand.

In spring 2006, the restaurant was sold to a new owner, who gutted it. The newer, tiki-stripped version closed for good in 2012. In 2016, the space reopened, again with the name Royal Hawaiian, this time by people who wanted to bring back its rich tiki history. The new owners, Mo Honarkar and daughters Hasty and Nikisa, worked to bring back a fully-decorated Royal Hawaiian with the help of Bamboo Ben.

However in January-February 2019, the restaurant was closed for yet another remodel and then re-opened under the auspices of chef Mariano “Maro” Molteni. Honarkar’s company remained as landlords, while Molteni owned and operated the restaurant which he rebranded as the "Royal Hawaiian Fire Grill". Molteni's remodel (which came as a surprise to the landlords) removed much of Bamboo Ben's decor, especially natural materials like lauhala matting and thatching in favor of dark blue painted walls and a "cleaner" and "less cluttered" look. There were still tikis and accent pieces, but the interior was much reduced from its former full tiki glory.

On July 15th, 2022, Royal Hawaiian Fire Grill announced its closure for the end of that same month, on July 31st, 2022 .

This current version of the Royal Hawaiian opened May 27th, 2023.

Following the 2022 closure of the last iteration of the Royal Hawaiian, the space was turned over to Boulevard Hospitality for a complete transformation. The new build-out was completed by Ignacio “Notch” Gonzales, famous for building spaces like Smuggler’s Cove in San Francisco and Inside Passage in Seattle.

The exterior tikis were replaced with brand new reproductions of the Andres Bumatay tikis that originally graced the restaurant.

A huge clam shell was added for people to sit in for photo ops (similar to the one used at the Golden Tiki in Las Vegas).

The display case was filled with a number of headhunter skulls which were fabricated by Reesenik.

The bathroom was wallpapered with large overlapping versions of the botanical drink recipe prints that Eric October has been making for several years.

To round out the new experience, the Royal Hawaiian’s owners have brought on famed barman Dushan Zaric of Employees Only to build a bespoke cocktail menu that riffs, weaves, and rethinks the rum-forward staples of tiki lore.

*NOTE: For the 1947-2006 version or for the 2006-2022 version see separate listings.

Built in 1969.

50 yards from the boardwalk and beach in Ocean City (self-styled as "America's Greatest Family Resort"), the Tahiti Inn is a fun place to stay while visiting the Jersey Shore.

They offer both apartments with fully-equipped kitchens (one and two bedroom) and individual rooms. There are 57 total units in this 3-story structure.

The Tiki feel is prominent in the Inn's exterior along Ocean Avenue, in the pool area, and in the front office, but unfortunately does not extend to the rooms' interiors, which are more "beachy".

When visiting, be forewarned that Ocean City is one of the few remaining "dry" towns in the region - i.e., the sale of alcohol is prohibited - so if you want to enjoy a cocktail, you'll have to make & enjoy it within the confines of your room from your own stock, or travel to the mainland to drink or to purchase your own supplies.

The Gallelli family has owned and operated the Tahiti Inn since 1989.

Opened in 1968.

This location looks to have undergone a major "renovation" in the 80s or 90s that stripped it of much of its Tiki/Pop Polynesian flavor.

While the rattan chairs, some masks in one room, and at least a couple standing tikis remained, the white and pastel paint job along with the glass block host entrance and other touches transformed this into a bland and generic Chinese restaurant for the most part.

Despite this, they continued using their original branded ceramic OMC drink ware right up to the very end, with coconuts, rum barrels, and surfer girl mugs that they refused to sell to collectors, but kept in steady rotation.

Closed on Sunday, January 31st, 2016.

This space is now home to a Maggie's Town Tavern location.

Opened Friday, March 8th, 2019.

Long Beach’s only 7 days a week Tiki bar! Interior design by Bamboo Ben. Fantastic wall murals by Big Toe and Ken Ruzic. In addition to the outstanding cocktails, they also have a very good in-house menu. Last but not least, they occasionally play host to the Hardcore Tiki Marketplace on the weekend, with tons of great tiki vendors.

Happy Hour Monday-Friday 3PM - 7PM.

The Aloha Bar at the House of Foong Lin is a great example of a "community" tiki bar. Chef Fu generously allowed the local VA/MD/DC Tiki community to transform his strip-mall style chinese restaurant into a complete tiki bar (Summer of 2018). With a new custom tiki drink menu lead and curated by Jeff Westlake, and combined with the outstanding chinese food that Mr. Fu has always served, Tiki Thirstdays are an excellent weekly gathering of local Ohana in a home they built for themselves. Not required, but if you show up without an Aloha shirt, there's a whole wall of clean loaners available to join in the fun.

The Royal Hawaiian opened in 1947. It was owned by the Cabang family. The Cabangs were originally from the Phillipines and were friends with both of the Fillipino Tiki carvers in L.A. at the time, Milan Guanko and Andres Bumatay. These talented artists both supplied Tikis for the restaurant. The prominent Andres Bumatay tikis outside the restaurant became weathered and destroyed and were later replaced by modern carvings.

The Royal Hawaiian also had a sister location located in Anaheim in the 1950s.

The Royal Hawaiian has been through several iterations. It originally had several small dining rooms with glass-walled dioramas filled with tikis and plants, great lamps, bamboo, thatch and sea grass matting, and a bar with a fireplace and pufferfish. There were lovely oil paintings throughout, including a large piece hung directly above the hostess stand.

In spring 2006, the restaurant was sold to a new owner, who gutted it. The newer, tiki-stripped version closed for good in 2012. In 2016, the space reopened, again with the name Royal Hawaiian, this time by people who wanted to bring back its rich tiki history. The new owners, Mo Honarkar and daughters Hasty and Nikisa, worked to bring back a fully-decorated Royal Hawaiian with the help of Bamboo Ben.

However in January-February 2019, the restaurant was closed for yet another remodel and then re-opened on April 3rd, 2019 under the auspices of chef Mariano Maro Molteni. Honarkars company remained as landlords, while Molteni owned and operated the restaurant which he rebranded as the "Royal Hawaiian Fire Grill". Molteni's remodel (which came as a surprise to the landlords) removed much of Bamboo Ben's decor, especially natural materials like lauhala matting and thatching in favor of dark blue painted walls and a "cleaner" and "less cluttered" look. There were still tikis and accent pieces, but the interior was much reduced from its former full tiki glory.

On July 15th, 2022, Royal Hawaiian Fire Grill announced its closure for the end of that same month, on July 31st, 2022.

Following the 2022 closure of the last iteration of the Royal Hawaiian, the space was turned over to Boulevard Hospitality for a complete transformation and a grand re-opening in May 2023. The new build-out was completed by Ignacio “Notch” Gonzales, famous for building spaces like Smuggler’s Cove in San Francisco and Inside Passage in Seattle.

To round out the new experience, the Royal Hawaiian’s owners have brought on famed barman Dushan Zaric of Employees Only to build a bespoke cocktail menu that riffs, weaves, and rethinks the rum-forward staples of tiki lore.

*NOTE: For photos of original location prior to 2006, or newly opened version from 2023 onward, see separate listings.

Established in 1957, this bar on the north side of Wichita was originally a liquor store.

When converted over, the interior once had quite a bit more tiki decor.

Now, the bar has some tiki masks on the exterior of the building but that's about it, and some of these are missing in the latest remodel.

These tiki mask paintings were also used at Del Webb's Ocean House in San Diego -- shown in the Jerry Lewis film, The Big Mouth (1967) -- and at the Kon-Tiki Hotel in Phoenix, Arizona.

It's really a beer bar, not a tiki bar. They do have a few cocktails on their menu, but their Mai Tai is made with Malibu rum, so you might want to stick to Bud Light.

This restaurant and bar opened in early 2006, with drinks served in tiki mugs, and tiki decor provided by Bosko. Signature sign by Tiki Al. The Voodoo Room didn't last long, closing in September 2006 after a dispute between the restaurant's owners and management.

Opened in the late 1960s.

The Beachcomber was a Canadian chain of elaborate Polynesian restaurants in the same vein as other popular chains like Kon-Tiki, Don the Beachcomber and Trader Vic's. Other restaurants in the chain were located in Calgary, Edmonton, Vancouver and Winnipeg.

This location was demolished to make way for the Broughton Tower in the 1980s, the ground floor of which housed a Fogg & Suds location.

This listing is describing a physical location for the Munktiki business.

Munktiki is a father-son outfit that started in early 2000, and their specialty is crafting beautiful, high-quality tiki mugs. Paul Nielsen (the Dad) has been selling his ceramic crafts since he was in high school in the '60s; his son Miles "Stuckie" Nielsen has similarly been dabbling in clay since he was a child. Paul made his first tiki mug in 1997.

Most Munktiki mugs are of their own design; each mug has a character name on the back, and a number and date on the bottom. Many Munktiki mugs are fiercely collected limited editions, notably the "Shecky" mug based on the Tiki Central mascot designed by Tikifish.

There is also a Munktiki Imports line with their designs crafted in China and then imported to the United States. These are more commonly used with large wholesale orders. These are marked as such on the bottom and are less expensive than the pieces crafted in-house.

Additionally, there are non-tiki lines affiliated with Munktiki, including Münkstein and Yakimon.

Munktiki's original location was in Pacific Grove, California (near Monterey), at 561 Junipero Ave. In 2009, Munktiki moved to Portland, Oregon. In 2017, the business again moved to Astoria, Oregon.

Munktiki also owns and operates Dead Man's Isle, a tiki/nautical bar in Astoria that opened July 14th, 2022.

Munktiki items can be purchased through the Munktiki website, eBay, and a limited number of retailers.

This Polynesian paradise consisted of the Kapu-Kai Coffee Shop with an attached bowling alley. The bowling alley also boasted an Outrigger cocktail lounge and Tahitian Fire Room. The complex stood on the corner of Foothill and Vineyard and was active from 1962 to 1969.

What shut the Kapu-Kai down was the Great Inland Empire Storm & Flood of 1969, which by the storm's end had caused over $500 million in damage, killed 60 people, and damaged and destroyed hundreds of homes and businesses.

The ruined buildings of the Kapu-Kai held on until 1994, after which they were bulldozed, according to Charles Phoenix’s “Cruising the Pomona Valley.”

Nobody could figure out an economical way to salvage the unique structure.

The name "Kapu-Kai", Phoenix says, translates to "Forbidden Sea" which is appropriate when one considers the flood of water that brought its demise.

That corner is now famous for having two Starbucks outlets, one at the edge of the parking lot and a small one inside the Albertsons.

Years later, Bosko was able to trade for one of the salvaged interior tiki support poles from the Kapu-Kai which he installed at his home bar (The Kapu Tiki Room) and was actually married beneath in a ceremony conducted by noted mixologist Beachbum Berry.

One of five Polynesian-themed Tropics motels owned by Ken Kimes. The most elaborate of the chain was in Palm Springs, now called the Caliente Tropics Resort.

The motel is still here as of 2024, but stripped of all Tiki influences, re-named "America's Best Value Inn".