Tiki Bars
Kon-Tiki - Cleveland
Cleveland, Ohio, United States (Closed)
This restaurant, part of Steve Crane's Kon-Tiki chain, was in the Sheraton-Cleveland hotel on Public Square.
In 1961, Sheraton converted the Bronze Room to the Kon Tiki Restaurant.
This Kon-Tiki location closed in 1976.
The hotel is now the Renaissance Cleveland Hotel, part of the Tower City Center mixed use complex.
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.
Duke's Hideaway - at McCray's Tavern On The Beltline
Atlanta, Georgia, United States
Opened July 26th, 2023.
This is sort of a reincarnation of Tiki Tango, which closed in June of 2022.
The upstairs space above McCray's Tavern on the Beltline (formerly The Baxter on the Beltline) provides plenty of seating and a great view of the city.
Many of the set pieces from Tiki Tango can be spotted, including the tiki that greets visitors at the entrance.
Tiki Rancher (Frank Simotics) was also essential to this build-out as well.
The bar serves a full menu of tiki cocktails in tiki mugs and has branded mugs and glassware for sale.
Flamingo Tiki Room
Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, United States
Opened November 14th, 2022.
Flamingo Tiki is AHMM’s second project for client Humankind Hospitality, and it joins the Oso on Paseo bar in the thriving arts community of the Paseo District of Oklahoma City.
The interior features a large central bar with curved banquette seating and there is additional terrace seating outside. The new interior teams mid-century styling and materials with a tropical color palette that extends to its bright pink exterior. The tropical theme is further enhanced by the introduction of indoor planting, LED planted lighting, hanging planters and window boxes.
Although there is "tiki" in the name and they serve a number of traditional tiki cocktails, the decor and theming of this location is skewed towards "Baja Tropical" like the affiliated Oso on Paseo -- even serving the same menu of Baja tacos. The ambiance is not the traditional dark tiki room with layers of nautical and Polynesian artifacts, especially carved tikis, that originated with Don the Beachcomber and Trader Vic. Rather, the exterior pink facade and subdued but tasteful interior call to mind an upscale beach resort.
They do serve drinks in a variety of tiki mugs, however, and their food and drink has garnered rave reviews since their opening. They also have a variety of swizzle sticks.
Tiki-Ti
Los Angeles, California, United States
This famous little bar is a Los Angeles institution and was opened on April 28th, 1961 by Ray Buhen. It is now owned and operated by Ray's son Mike Buhen and grandson Mike Buhen, Jr.
The Tiki-Ti drink menu has over 80 drinks, but picking one can feel a little bit like picking a race horse. The menu is divided into sections for the base alcohols, but beyond that, it's just a list of colorful names. These recipes are closely guarded family secrets. There are plenty of classic cocktails on the menu, but many of the drinks are the creation of Ray or his son or grandson. One of Ray's creations, Blood & Sand, is named for the Tyrone Power bullfighting film by the same name, and as it is being mixed the bar's patrons call out "Toro, Toro!" Mike or Mike will happily take the time to ask you a few questions and guide you to a drink you're sure to like.
On Wednesdays, a tribute is made to Ray -- a bell is rung five times, and the whole bar stops what they're doing to toast to Ray.
For decades, Tiki-Ti was owner-operated, with no employees, making it one of the very few places in California that could allow smoking. In June 2015, the Buhens hired their very first employee, longtime regular Greg Bansuelo, to help behind the bar. Smoking is no longer permitted at Tiki-Ti.
The Buhens close the bar when they go on vacation; be sure to check the Tiki-Ti website's calendar to make sure they are open before you stop by. Tiki-Ti is extremely small (just 12 barstools and 5 tables), and is incredibly popular so if you don't like crowds, be sure to get there right as it opens, preferably on a Wednesday. Be sure to bring plenty cash as they don't accept credit cards (although this might have changed recently?). There is an ATM in the back, but it charges a hefty fee and is sometimes hard to reach when the place is packed.
In 2021, during the downtime from the Covid closure, the front of the interior bar was given a facelift by Anders Anderson (A-Frame) with bamboo fronting and diamond-shaped panels decorated with tapa cloth and carved tiki masks. Anders previously had donated a traditional swag lamp or two as well.
Tiki Lau
Westford, Massachusetts, United States (Closed)
Tiki Lau was opened in the early 1970s by Peter Yee. Tiki Lau offered standard Chinese fare and tropical drinks. There was a moai with light-up eyes over the entrance, a fountain in the lobby entry, and a few tikis scattered throughout. The theming was a little more complete in the bar area, which was darker and had some bamboo. In early 2007 it was sold to new owners, who operated it under the name "The New Tiki" for a short time until it ultimately closed on September 27, 2008.
Tiki Kai - Lawndale
Lawndale, California, United States (Closed)
Opened by William Chin and ran from 1961 to 1965.
Tiki Kai had a very large and dramatic A-frame entrance, flanked by Milan Guanko tikis.
The Tiki Kai was succeeded by a second tiki establishment, The Golden Lei, which was opened by local realtor Fred L. Fredericks and lasted a very short time.
By the late 60s there was an entirely different themed restaurant in its place.
The building was demolished to make way for a Pizza Hut in 1971 and from 2008 until most recently the location is being used as a medical office.
Tiki Room - Arvika
Taserud-Arvika Östra, Arvika, Sweden (Closed)
Reputed to have burned down and then re-built and re-opened in 2006.
Tiki Room was a nightclub, and it does not appear to have had any connection to the Tiki Room in Stockholm. Some evenings, live bands performed, other nights were DJed music nights. There were some pieces by Bosko on the walls.
Appears to have closed @2009.
Trader Sam's Grog Grotto
Orlando, Florida, United States
Trader Sam's Grog Grotto opened at Disney's Polynesian Village Resort in 2015. It is the sister of Trader Sam's Enchanted Tiki Bar, found at the Disneyland Hotel in Anaheim, California. Like the bar in Anaheim, the Grog Grotto is a twin tribute to both the Enchanted Tiki Room and Jungle Cruise attractions. It is densely decorated and intensely themed, just as you would hope to find in a Disney tiki bar.
Like the Jungle Cruise, the crew members at the Grog Grotto are trained to give you a theatrical, goofy, fun experience. Some drink orders trigger special effects around the room (order a Polynesian Pearl and watch your bartender retrieve your pearl from a large clamshell), and several drinks are served in souvenir mugs. The decor is a mix of tiki and nautical, with some nods to 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea, and also includes pieces left over from the old Adventurer's Club that used to be part of Downtown Disney in Orlando. The menu is limited, with several small plates. There is also outdoor seating at the adjacent, relatively lightly-themed Tiki Terrace.
The Grog Grotto was added as part of a big refresh of the Polynesian Village Resort in 2015.
Children are welcome at the Grog Grotto during the day, but after 8pm it is only open to those 21 and older.
Hale Tiki
Augusta, Georgia, United States (Closed)
Owner Brad Owens opened Hale Tiki at the beginning of April 2004. The densely decorated interior was created by Dave "Basement Kahuna" Wolfe, Bamboo Ben, Tim Glazner and Crazy Al Evans. Much of the decor came from Oceanic Arts, and donations to the interior were made by many Tiki Centralites.
Unlike most newer tiki bars, with Hale Tiki Owens aimed to recreate an authentic tiki bar experience, with authentic drink recipes, and even music played from lps.
Hale Tiki went through some highs and lows: it opened to much enthusiasm and fanfare, and initially was both popular with the locals and with visiting tikiphiles who raved about the quality of the drinks and decor. Opinion of Owens, however, suffered greatly when many who ordered Hale Tiki mugs and shirts did not receive them, or any information about them, for many months. A business feud with Basement Kahuna also seemed to impact the mana of the place, with reports that in recent months the drink quality had gone south significantly.
Hale Tiki closed in February 2006.
Hell or High Water Tiki
Denver, Colorado, United States
Opened July 1st, 2022.
This is not what anyone would describe as your usual tiki bar.
The owners (Lexi Healy and Veronica Ramos) opened Hell or High Water Tiki a mere six months after opening their first bar (The Electric Cure in Edgewater, CO).
Lexi describes it as, "A gay pirate ship meets Land of the Lost with phallic and bird undertones."
You won't find any traditional tiki totems, however. "We don't do any tiki totems because we don't want to step on any other culture's toes, so we don't have masks and we don't have tiki mugs that are totems," Healy explains. "There are people in the tiki community that say if you don't have masks or totems, you're not tiki."
In response, Healy has commissioned a Las Vegas artist to make a "five-foot dick totem" for the new bar. "It's as tall as me," she notes.
The Volcano Room - at Pinky's Westside Grill - Huntersville
Huntersville, North Carolina, United States
The Volcano Room opened December 17th, 2022.
The build-out was completed by Tiki Rancher (Frank Simotics).
Pinky's started in Charlotte, North Carolina (November 2010) and then added this second Huntersville, North Carolina location afterwards (December 2013).
Pinky's has been profiled on Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives (May 2015).
Their food includes hamburgers, hot dogs, and Southern twists on fast food staples. Their cocktails are mostly original creations inspired by Tiki or Tropical classics.