Mai Tai, Excelsior's thatch-roofed Polynesian restaurant and bar, opened in 1978 and quickly became a hot spot around Lake Minnetonka.

The Mai Tai was founded by John Logan, former head chef at the Ambassador Hotel in St. Louis Park.

Fun was the main concern at Mai Tai, and the bartenders were able to mix about 30 different Polynesian drinks. The décor was decidedly tropical and included an outrigger canoe and a 200-foot waterfall. In a May 1984 interview, some of the restaurant's founders said they had 12 varieties of seafood flown in daily along with fresh orchids from Hawaii that were placed on the tables.

Live music was part of the appeal, as was the varied menu. Dinner specials one night included a dish of beef, shrimp and scallops, veal cordon bleu and chicken kiev. Fashion shows and classic boat shows also brought in customers. With the popularity came parking problems and in 1986 a trolley service was started so customers who had to park far away could easily get to the restaurant.

Throughout most of the 1980s, Mai Tai was the go-to spot for many people, including young adults who were fond of the varied drink menu. Hangovers weren't the only headaches caused by the excessive drinking, and some city officials and residents viewed the establishment as a nuisance.

The Mai Tai closed in 1989.

As of 2021 the property was in transition. It had been home to the Bayside Grill which closed in 2017 and then appeared to have been leased out as office space to Asystec and possibly others.

As of 2024, the space is now known as the Bayview Event Center & Charter Cruises.

Opened March of 1970.

The Kohala Mauna Restaurant was devoted to Polynesian and Chinese foods and operated by the Lee family.

This family was experienced as chefs and Chinese restaurant operators in the Boston area. With no previous Burlington connections, the family drove around looking for another location for a restaurant, after selling one in Leominster, MA. They found the former Cobb's location vacant and made inquiry about the site. The restaurant was completely redecorated with Polynesian and Chinese accents. It seated about 125, with parking for 75 cars. There were separate luncheon and dinner menus.

This location is now a Denny's.

The Newport Yacht Club isn't remotely tiki -- but it does have a pretty righteous tiki out front. This monster tiki stands about 12' high, and used to be in the backyard of someone who lived nearby. It was later donated to the neighborhood, and stands proudly on the lawn in front of the yacht club, guarding the tennis courts. The tiki was carved out of what must have been one very large piece of wood; when viewed from the back, it appears it may have been carved from just one portion of a massive trunk. Markings at the base indicated that it was carved by "E. Marcus Westby, Lilliwaup, Washington, 1968." A bronze plaque at the base indicates it was donated by the David Bauer family.

Hawaiian Gardens Resort was a large complex on the shores of Oahu Lake in Holly, Michigan. It was created by Fred and Jane Barton, who were inspired by their travels to Hawaii and New Zealand. Both Hawaiian and Maori imagery were used throughout the resort.

The resort had some dramatic and very modern shapes, including a geodesic dome and irregular angles, plus some A-frame structures. The entrance featured a stylized outrigger canoe full of rowers, and several Barney West-style moais on top. The architect was James H. Livingston Associates.

Aside from hotel rooms, the complex had several restaurants and lounges. The Huki Lau Restaurant "tried to capture the true effect of Polynesia," per the restaurant's menu. The Polynesian Longhouse had full table service and advertised "individually cooked" meals. The Kahili Room served buffet-style food inside the geodesic dome and was available for private rentals. Waitoma Grotto Lounge had rock walls, and "glow worms" in the ceiling, inspired by a visit to an actual glow worm infested grotto cave in New Zealand. The Banyan Court had lots of tropical plants, and windows overlooking Lake Oahu. The Banyan Court itself contained three sub-rooms: the Tahitian Room, Samoan Room, and Hawaiian Room, plus the Monu Chief House, with a 50-foot high skylight.

At some point the resort closed, and the buildings were used as a rehab facility. The buildings were bulldozed sometime in the mid-2000s.

There is a "Hawaiian Gardens" mobile home park on the other side of Lake Oahu, with Hawaiian street names. It is unclear what relationship existed, if any, with the former resort.

Opened in 1964.

The red-and-tan interior boasted some Witco décor, Tiki masks, faux-tapa designs on paper, lots of bamboo, and hanging floats and lanterns. A 1964 Denver Post review praised the food and the “suffering things” (you can guess which cocktail the reviewer was hesitant to name). Ernie Menehune provided entertainment—when he wasn’t busy is Las Vegas. Ernie still played gigs in Arizona well into his 80’s.

Two waitresses (Elizabeth Madrid and Judith Finchum, both 23) were arrested on January 19, 1966, for waiting tables in lingerie, a gimmick that had been used in the Tiki Kai in Albuquerque for some time. Madrid was fined $100; owner Harry Jew said that business had doubled in the single week that the two girls had been working there. A former waitress named Pat tells us: “(in 1966) Harry was the owner, Gordon the manager, Lou the maître D, Linda the hostess, Mike the bartender, Speedy the backup bartender, Tommy Jung the chef. I left Tiki Kai when I married Tommy.”

In December 1969, the Tiki Kai became the China Town Restaurant. In 1971, the Denver-based Vegas show-band the Glass Menagerie purchased the building and renamed it the Islander. The Islander lasted until 1975, and then it became Herb Wong's New China restaurant (which still served Polynesian drinks in their Kahuna Cocktail Lounge) until being demolished in 1992.

Today this location is the SafeSplash Swim School.

There was another Tiki Kai Supper Club in Albuquerque.

*NOTE: The Islander at this location is not to be confused with the Tommy Wong's Island (circa. 1977 -1983) which was about 11 minutes South of this location. That Tommy Wong's location now appears (as of 2025) to be a parking lot adjacent a kosher deli.

Opened September 11th, 1955.

Built by Dan Compton and U.E. Uhiman. The hotel had 64 rooms.

The Bali Hi also had a restaurant, a coffee shop, a bar, and not just 1 but 2 heated pools.

Turquoise, cocoa and coral were the color scheme.

The main sign was very unusual with the hotel's name spelled out in large shells.

The main bar was called the "Tabu Room" and had a mural depicting a "Balinese dancing scene" according to a local newspaper article describing the grand opening.

Hawaii Kai was the grand dame of New York Polynesian restaurants. The location, over the historic Winter Garden Theatre, already had a place in Polynesian Pop history: it was the location of Monte Proser's Beachcomber, a Don the Beachcomber rip-off, in the early '40s.

The dramatic space opened initially as a partnership between Monte Proser and Joe Kipness as Lanai in 1961, but by November of 1962 it had morphed into Hawaii Kai with Joe Kipness now partnered with Art Schindler, who had owned the nearby Luau 400.

The dramatic interiors were created by Frederick Fox, a scenic designer for Broadway productions. The entry was at street level, and had lush greenery, waterfalls and capuchin monkeys. After receiving a lei greeting, visitors ascended a rattan staircase to the upper level, with three rooms:

The Okole Maluna Bar (Bottoms Up Bar) had a diorama of Diamond Head at Waikiki that constantly shifted from daytime to nighttime.

Adjacent to the bar was The Lounge of the Seven Pleasures -- this room had entertainment nightly, playing until 3 a.m.

The main dining room was where the nightly luau and Polynesian revue was held, variably called Hula Wei, Place of Meeting, or The Island Huts of Oahu. The space was large, with a stage, and thatch-covered booth "huts" along the edge of the room.

Hawaii Kai had a flair for flowery naming: beyond the colorful names for the rooms and of course the drinks, they were always coming up with new exotic-sounding titles for special giveaway items. The competition for tourist dollars was likely steep in Times Square, and in order to keep up there was a steady stream of creative bonus items one could acquire: A tiki teapot set titled "Ipo Aloha Lovers Tea Set", a skull mug titled "Goddess of Love", even a simple standard bucket mug became a "Royal Ali'i Goblet". Tiki lighters, lanterns, salt and pepper shakers, and of course good old tiki mugs: they couldn't give them away fast enough. Today the items are heavily collected, and often can be found still in the box they were sent home in.

Hawaii Kai's popularity waned, but it held on through the 1980s, and through the damage of a fire. It made appearances in a couple of Hollywood films (most famously a scene from Goodfellas takes place here). Hawaii Kai finally closed sometime during or shortly after 1989.

*NOTE: Cocktail menus below show that earlier drinkware included Spurlin/Beauce designed bowls and unmarked glassware but they later converted to Otagiri designed ceramic ware and marked glassware.

Built in 1961.

This dramatic example of classic A-frame-meets-Googie architecture, was designed by James Salter, working with the Ralph Haver architecture group.

It doesn't show up well in photos, but one exterior wall has a repeated pattern of the logo tiki masks. These painted masks were also used at Del Webb's Ocean House in San Diego -- shown in the Jerry Lewis film, The Big Mouth (1967) -- and can be seen painted on the Tropics Lounge in Wichita, Kansas.

It was torn down in 1997.

Don the Beachcomber's Chicago location was a legendary hotspot on the Chicago restaurant scene for decades. It opened on May 1st, 1940, and was open at least until the late '60s, probably later. It was in Chicago's Magnificent Mile neighborhood, about where the Four Seasons Hotel is today.

The building had a simple entrance, with a large neon sign in the trademark Don the Beachcomber driftwood sign shape. Inside, the restaurant had several rooms: the Tahitian Room and the Zombie Room were dining rooms, and the Cannibal Room was the bar. The bar had striking black posts carved with a stacked trio of Tahitian cannibal tikis. The whole restaurant was thoroughly encrusted with bamboo, and float lamps and beachcomber lamps were everywhere.

One of the key bartenders at the Chicago Don the Beachcomber, Mariano Licudine, eventually went on to lead the bar program at the Mai-Kai in Fort Lauderdale, bringing drinks in the Don the Beachcomber style with him that can still be tasted there today.

Mauna Loa was Mexico City's contribution to the mid-century world of glorious, immersive Polynesian restaurants. Through a classic A-frame entry, visitors were greeted by a central pool populated with live pink flamingoes, and were entertained by a full Polynesian floor show production.

Collectors are very familiar with the amazing graphics on the Mauna Loa menu and the variety of custom mugs and swizzles for this location as well.

This location now appears to be an office building.

*NOTE -- There was another more modern Mauna Loa elsewhere in Mexico City (at St. Jerome 240), that opened after the first (Hamburg 172) caught fire in 1966, and this newer one stayed open till 2002.

Bali Ha'i at the Beach opened in 1958 and was located near the entrance of the Pontchartrain Beach amusement park, which was open from 1939 to 1983. It was known as Pontchartrain Beach-Combers before a lawsuit from Don the Beachcomber resulted in a 1959 name change to Bali Ha'i at the Beach.

The exotic experience began even before arrival at the restaurant. A bamboo-decorated “Sampan Taxi” would pick diners up from the parking lot and deliver them to the Bali Ha’i entry port, an impressive bamboo A-frame peak. There were also shuttles running from the restaurant to downtown New Orleans, complete with onboard Tiki drinks.

The bar menu was glamorous and theatrical. There was even a large carved volcano that dispensed drinks to customers.

The Cantonese menu brought new dishes to New Orleans diners, including moo goo gai pan, chow mein, rumaki and eggrolls. The new spices and sauces livened up familiar seafood, but American standards were also available for the less adventurous diners.

Bali Ha’i became the place for celebrations for decades – weddings and anniversaries, proms and graduations and, of course, the perfect first date. Private parties could book the Bora Bora Hut, the Lanai Hut or the Samoan Hut.

Although Pontchartrain Beach closed in 1983, the restaurant stayed open for a few more years. By 1988, the furnishings and memorabilia had been sold off to the public.

Two tikis and an A-frame gazebo with a sign from the Bali Ha'i have been relocated to Veterans Memorial Park in Kenner, LA. The Bali Ha'i signature mug was a copy of the logo mug from Tiki Bob's in San Francisco.

Located in the Athens Ledra Marriott, this was perhaps the last of a hotel-based chain that once rivaled Trader Vic's. This restaurant opened with the hotel in 1983, and as such the decor was not as dense as your more typical Polynesian restaurant from decades earlier, but it had several impressive pieces on display (including a unique giant-sized Solomon Islands Headhunter Canoe Prow carving). Overall, the restaurant had a cultivated sensibility of elegance and refinement.

The name of the restaurant was changed to Ledra Kai in 2015, but this was short-lived as the hotel closed a year later on May 31st, 2016.