Tiki Bars
Yours Truly - at the AC Hotel Honolulu
Honolulu, Hawaii, United States
The AC Hotel by Marriott is a 112 room boutique hotel with an expansive lobby, full service restaurant, two bars, Yours Truly Speakeasy, coffee bistro, fitness center, conference, event spaces, business center, concierge and VIP access to the best of Honolulus vibrant business district, artisan storefronts and diversified nightlife.
Yours Truly opened @ January 2024 and pays homage to the space's former identity as a post office.
Patrons fill out postcards and drop them in the vintage mailbox nearby to make their cocktail orders, which are later brought to their table.
Mai Tiki Bar - at Tigerlily
Ferndale, Michigan, United States
Opened Wednesday, September 14th, 2022.
The owners of Tigerlily restaurant in Ferndale converted a former office space in the building into a tiki-themed “speakeasy”-style bar called Mai Tiki.
The narrow, 900-square-foot room is accessible via a “semi-concealed” door on the side of Tigerlily’s dining room, which the restaurant describes as “a portal to an island getaway” with a wraparound mural, thatch canopy, and “island relics,” including gold skulls. Mai Tiki is also accessible via a rear door on the Troy Street side of the building.
In addition to their cocktails (see menu below), the spot has a food menu with small plates like crab rangoon, robata-grilled pineapple, pork belly bao, and fish tacos. The menu was developed by Tigerlily chef Chris Vasquez, a metro Detroit native who has worked at Maru Sushi and Nippon Sushi Bar who returned to Michigan following a stint as head sushi chef at Chicago’s acclaimed Momotaro.
When you book Mai Tiki you get the whole place to yourself! The room seats about 51 guests including 12 bar seats and has a capacity of 60 Guests.
Lava Tube - Waikiki
Honolulu, Hawaii, United States
This bar & restaurant used to be named Da Big Kahuna (@2011-2015) which had the same tikis out front and the same decor inside and out but skewed a bit more to the dive bar side.
Not to be confused with Big Kahuna's Pizza (since 1994 and still running).
This incarnation, Lava Tube, opened @2018 under new ownership and prides itself on being locally owned and using locally sourced food.
Coco's On The Canal
Kemah, Texas, United States
Opened in early 2022.
This bar is known for its live performances, with regular music, karaoke, and burlesque showcases held in a stage area.
The interior decor includes a large tiki head built into the back bar as well as glass fish floats suspended from the ceiling and lots of artificial greenery.
They also have a large back deck with an excellent canal view as one would guess from the name.
Southpaw Barbershop
Saint Francis, Wisconsin, United States
Opened in 2022 by Zach Marsh.
This barbershop may not serve cocktails, but they play exotica and other tiki-friendly music while you have a relaxing shave in a tiki-themed atmosphere decorated with Bac Bac on the walls, tiki artwork, masks, mugs, tapa cloth, and all the other details that would make a tikiphile right at home.
Featured in pages 4-6 of Exotica Moderne, Issue 24, 2024.
Makara - Da Nang, Vietnam
Da Nang, Vietnam
This Vietnamese bar opened in Summer of 2023.
As one would expect, it has some fusion elements and is not trying to clone the Trader Vic or Don the Beachcomber aesthetic.
However, it has a number of Tiki features that Westerners would expect -- it is dark and moody with colorful lighting, tiki masks adorn the walls, the back bar is set up with an elegant re-imagining of three boat prows with a thatched tile backing. Blue and green Chinese breezeway tiles frame one entrance. They also have a wide variety of tropical drinks on their menu and serve them in a variety of tiki mugs.
From Makara:
"MAKARA is a handcrafted cocktail bar with creative tropical drinks served in a unique Vietnamese-American ambiance.
A Western tiki bar reimagined, MAKARA celebrates the beauty and diversity of Vietnamese culture through exotic beverages, food, décor, and music — all in a cozy, romantic venue in the heart of Đà Nẵng."
Hawaii Cinco Cero - Monterrey, Mexico
San Pedro Garza García, Mexico
This location has a unique circular structure that reminds many of the Don the Beachcomber "Flying Saucer" locations (such as in Dallas and Marina del Rey).
From Hawaii Cinco Cero:
"A bridge over a stream and a breathtaking waterfall are the elements at our main entrance that’ll take you to an exotic and sophisticated facsimile of the Hawaiian Islands. Founded in 1982, Hawaii Five-O restaurant opens its doors to offer the most exquisite tastes to those demanding palates, with its delicious and varied dishes.
Our world-class menu will invite you to try the best dishes and wine for the most demanding connoisseur, with five chefs and six different cuisines and styles including: seafood, grill, Japanese, Chinese, regional (Mexican) and contemporary fusion. Offering a wide variety of lobster preparation and our famous dish ‘Paradise Shrimp’, cuts of flank steak, and the traditional Rib-Eye Five-O (Certified Angus Beef), or a dish of our famous oriental cuisine such as sushi or teppanyaki, or our delicious seafood tacos and our famous Mexican entries.
A combination of raw materials, such as bamboo, palms, and crystal, create a scene, complemented with vegetation and exotic flowers that invite you to a gastronomic paradise. A combination of objects, traditional utensils, masks, and crafts dress the restaurant’s walls to give you a taste of the Hawaiian paradise islands. Atmosphere, color, culture and high cuisine, make Hawaii Five O create a unique place in Monterrey.
We also have a different option for our guests located on the lower level of our facilities, an extension called Aloha Sushi Bar & Lounge."
Pelican Restaurant - Clearwater Beach
Clearwater, Florida, United States (Closed)
Established in 1938, making it a pre-tiki establishment.
Their bartender, Manuel Lopez, created the tikis for many area establishments including this one. Manuel practiced carving since @1959. He tended bar at the Pelican from 1944 through the 1970s.
One of his carvings, at the Rix Motel on Clearwater Beach, made it into the newspapers in 1966 when it was stolen.
This venue was known for its mascot pelican formed from driftwood and for its stuffed and fried shrimp.
The Pelican burned down in 1974. Among what was salvaged in the fire was the namesake driftwood, and the restaurant was rebuilt, but later closed -- and now this spot has been overtaken by condominiums.
Last B&W photo shows rebuilt entrance.
While open, they did have an extensive cocktail menu (see below) and issued a variety of pelican swizzles in different colors.
South Seas Cocktail Lounge - at The Coast Inn - Laguna Beach
Laguna Beach, California, United States (Closed)
The Coast Inn was built and opened in 1929.
The South Seas was established in 1936 as a pre-Tiki bar and most of its decor shown in photos below was in place by 1941.
There were actually two bars at the Coast Inn location. Part of the charm of both bars was that tropical aquarium fish tanks were used for the bar counter tops. The upstairs bar, known as the Tap Room, was quiet, dark and sophisticated. But the downstairs bar, called the South Seas, with its Polynesian atmosphere, invited customers to let down their hair.
The location, according to past owners, started with military servicemen and local young people, surfers, and more of a "straight" crowd, but began to see more and more of a gay crowd in the 70s until it became known as more of a gay bar by the mid 1980s. This coincided with a change of the name to the "Boom Boom Room" in 1978 by the new owner.
The "Boom Boom Room" shut its doors in 2007.
However, the Coast Inn endures as of the present time (2024)...
The Royal Tot
Charlotte, North Carolina, United States
Opened in early 2021.
The Royal Tot is named for the most delicious tradition of the Queen’s Navy: The Daily Portion of Rum.
The decor is modernist/minimalist with lots of tropical leaf wall paper and some interesting use of routered & painted Chinese breezeway tile patterns around the bar area.
While they do make use of tiki mugs to serve cocktails, there doesn't appear to be any actual carved tikis or tiki-themed art in the bar.
That said, the rum inventory appears to be bursting at the seams and they appear to have been a host for at least one season of the annual Beachbum Berry Sippin' Santa event.
Tiki Republik - Lake Arrowhead
Lake Arrowhead, California, United States
Opened June 21st, 2024.
Tiki Republik and Sunsets Island Bar & Grill are both next to the Center Stage and each have separate entrances but share a hallway and a deck overlooking the lake.
According to owner Rich Goodwin, Sunset features a wide variety of food including Surf & Turf, Coconut Shrimp, Huli Huli Chicken, Ahi Tartare and Mahi Mahi tacos along with healthy vegetarian and vegan options. Island drinks include Mai Tais, Pina Coladas and Margaritas.
Tiki Republik features drinks such as the Singapore Sling [gin-based], rum drinks, and Dole Whip served virgin or taken with a rum float, said Goodwin. Guests can take selfies with the 9’ gorilla in Tiki Republik.