Opened in 1972 under the ownership of David Tallichet with a Polynesian vibe and cuisine as well as a panoramic patio overlooking the City of Miami.

The overall impression of the place was dark and cozy with a mostly nautical vibe accented with some tiki touches. It featured rough hewn dark wood boards, nautical rope, some small carved tikis throughout, fishing nets, lit glass fish floats, strands of cork floats, shell lamps and pebble lamps, lauhala matting, and some brightly colored Orchids of Hawaii lamps.

The original menu featured favorites like a teriyaki-glazed sirloin steak, Chicken Kona Kai (grilled chicken served in a pineapple with sweet and sour sauce), and Cherries Jubilee (simmered cherries, vanilla ice cream, and Chantilly liquor).

Beyond its views and fare, Rusty Pelican gained even more notoriety after being featured in the 1980 blockbuster Caddyshack, starring Bill Murray and Chevy Chase.

In 1984, however, disaster struck and the restaurant burned to the ground. It was rebuilt and re-opened in 1987 with a large second floor space, but other than the added space, it appears they tried to rebuild along the same theme.

Then in 2011, all the tiki decorative elements went away in a brand new remodel...

The restaurant reopened in December of 2011 after a five-month, $7 million top to bottom renovation. Additions to the massive restaurant included a swanky cocktail bar; floor-to-ceiling bay windows; outdoor tables flanked by fire pits; a glass-enclosed wine corridor, mid-century style furniture, wood paneling and cushioned booths creating a Mad Men vibe.

Today, the venue is associated with weddings and other events that can make use of its floor space and fantastic views.

Although no longer tiki in its decor, they have been known to serve tropical drinks in tiki mugs from time to time as can be seen below...

Opened April 4th, 2012.

Located in Potsdam, Germany. Americans, especially Californians, might find it similar to the Islands Hamburger Restaurant chain.

In addition to burgers and other fast food offerings with a Hawaiian twist, they offer Hawaiian beers and cocktails at their bar.

On September 16th, 2017 they had their 5th anniversary party with a Hula dance show and live Hawaiian music.

The owner changed in 2023. The tropical atrium was closed by the new owner and all wall paintings were removed.

The Sheraton Motor Inn, built in 1964 at the southwestern corner of Interstate 40 and Knollwood Street, offered the traveler more than overnight accommodations. With 122 bedroom units, the inn featured a 315-seat K & W Cafeteria and the Hawaiian-themed Kona-Kai Lounge. Palmetto trees surrounded the motel and a swimming pool and putting green provided entertainment for the guests. An explosion, blamed on a natural gas leak, leveled the motel on January 18, 1988. Today, a variety of tenants occupy the 380 Knollwood Street buildings that replaced the Sheraton Motor Inn.

Open @1960-1972.

Created by Melvin Berry.

This establishment overlooked "Millionaires Row," a panorama of expensive yachts along the Providence waterfront, and featured Castaway Village where (the menu promised) your dreams of "white beaches and dusky hula maidens, tantalizing foods and exotic drinks" could come true.

The centerpiece restaurant was the maritime-themed Copper Galley, decorated with antique ship models and a collection of vintage copper ware. The Beachcomber Lounge featured picture windows overlooking the Shipyard Marina.

Berry created his own Waikiki Beach by spreading tons of super fine beach sand along the waterfront and dotting it with rattan chairs and Hawaiian-style huts.

Guests entered the complex through "fountains of fire" and then crossed the bamboo "bridge of joy" with drum accompaniment.

The drink menu featured around 20 classic tiki cocktails, including a Zombie ($1.75) but the most expensive cocktail, the Royal Ceremony of the Islands with the Beachcomber's Gong would set you back $7.50!

Much of the decor was taken from the New York World's Fair of 1964-65 -- including the entire artificial jungle for the Ford Pavillion, a pineapple garden, thatched huts, and an artificial volcano!

Berry eventually sold all of his waterfront property and it was re-developed, with little, save menus, to prove it ever existed...

Opened in November 2019 by Neal Warner and his brother Paul Warner in partnership with Love Handle’s Chris and Ally Benedyk and Flatland Kitchen designers Eric and Rebekah Nolan.

This is yet another newer bar that eschews the title of "Tiki Bar" but reaches deeply into the genre/category, borrowing much of its atmosphere and, of course, its drinks. The owners prefer to call Strange Bird a "Rum Bar" or "Landlocked Exotica" and acknowledge the tiki-leanings but state that they have purposefully kept things a bit more spare with what they consider "cleaner" and more "minimalist lines".

While there may be no tiki carvings on display, there is a ton of lauhala matting behind the backbar which is overseen by a taxidermied wild boar who looks like he would be right at home at a Hawaiian luau. Some contrasting walls are wall-papered in a large banana leaf print. Nearby booths are bordered with variated bamboo. The roof is blanketed with loose thatch panels that give a nice hut-like feel. Fish trap lamps, and round capiz shell lamps give plenty of mood lighting. This is contrasted with white painted boards on the front of the bar and white modern barstools, but this use of white calls to mind not so much a spare modern aesthetic as it does the sides of a white-painted boat's hull, and plays off all the nautical rope looped about.

This apartment community was built in 1957 and has 2 stories with 159 units.

The lush 10 acre estate in the heart of Sherman Oaks has 120 Palm Trees, Fountains, an 18 Hole Par 3 Golf Course, a recording studio, Health Spa, 4 Pools, Tennis Courts Singles, 1 & 2 Bedroom Apartment Homes Plus 15 Individual Family Homes.

They also have a party/banquet room, the Aloha Room, which can be rented for special events. The Aloha Room Rental Office can be reached at (818) 995-6827.

NOTE:

• First black & white photo is dated April 12, 1963 and is of Horace Heidt, owner-developer of the Magnolia Estates and new Hawaiian Village apartments and homes in Van Nuys showing actress Joan Huntington the entrance to his colorful new apartment complex.
• Fourth image attribution: Adsausage Archives - https://www.adsausage.com

This bar/restaurant opened in the beginning of 2022 in the site of the former Kona Kai Tiki Lounge (which ran @2013-2016?).

It is set in an unassuming strip mall, but the interior space is quite large, with plenty of seating to accommodate live music and other events which the hosts schedule regularly (as you can see through their social networks).

From the Pau Hana Lounge website:

"Pau Hana Lounge is your prime bar destination for authentic Hawaiian food with the freshest, premium ingredients and traditional, regional recipes. Located in Wood Dale, IL, our Hawaiian restaurant is proud to provide quality service, delicious food, and a warm, comfortable atmosphere. Our goal is to make sure that you have a memorable dining and drinking experience at our cocktail bar with your companions.

At Pau Hana Lounge, our bar and grill restaurant specializes in a wide range of Hawaiian cuisine made with fresh ingredients and expert techniques. In addition, we have a cocktail lounge and karaoke bar that offers premium drinks, live music, and even tarot readings for quality entertainment that you are sure to enjoy!"

The interior decor is a bit swallowed up by the space, but they have added some bamboo and thatching around the bar and some smaller tiki masks and other elements. The vast ceiling is broken up with some netting and lights but could use some swag lamps and maybe even an outrigger canoe. As with all tiki bars, they can certainly add more carvings, floats, lights, and art as time and budget permits.

This tiki bar soft opened in San Pedro Square in downtown San Jose on Monday, December 13th, 2021. Opened to the public on Thursday, December 16th.

Located in the former site of Peggy Sue’s 1950s-style diner.

Designer Notch Gonzalez transformed the venue with thatched-roof booths, bamboo railings and blowfish lights hanging from the ceiling. There are tikis everywhere, including a six-footer that Gonzalez carved in about a week.

Notch hearkened back to classic tiki carver Milan Guanko with his own versions carved in the recognizable Guanko style.

They serve Dr Funk's namesake cocktail (of rum, absinthe, lime, lemon, demerara syrup, grenadine and seltzer) alongside 12 original tiki tipples and eight classics.

There is also a limited food menu with coconut shrimp, Hawaiian ribs, burgers, chicken sandwiches, etc...

This restaurant was located in Boston's Chinatown and ran from about 1958-1983. Henry Oi was the owner and operator there for many of those years. He passed away in 2015.

There was a sister location in West Hartford, Connecticut.

There are moai mugs that list both locations on back. The mugs also list "The Hawaiian" in Boston.

Opened October 19th, 2021, at the site of the former Larry's gastropub.

Belles comes from the Wish You Were Here dining group, the group behind the Eveleigh in Sunset Strip, Kassi Club (which closed and resurfaced in Las Vegas’s Virgin Hotels), and the Elephanté in Santa Monica.

The interior gives the feeling of being at a Hawaiian resort, bright and airy with high open ceilings, lots of bamboo and natural materials, and intimate clusters of couches and coffee tables for lounging in small groups. There is a large tiki carving and giant clamshell in front as you come in. The bar has several unique looking ceramic pendant lights with the appearance of large tiki mugs.

Not a lot of densely layered art or bric-a-brac like traditional dark-interiored tiki bars, but clean and upscale in appearance with a few signature pieces on each wall.

Belles focuses on Hawaiian izakaya (snacky bites) but also has a selection of sushi and main dishes as well. Their cocktail list has many traditional cocktails (margaritas, mules, old-fashioneds) and there is a house mai-tai, but they are not trying to offer a menu of traditional tiki cocktails. Other than the mai-tai, the other drinks with Hawaiian or tropical influences are frozen slushie drinks.

There is also a large outdoor patio space.

Opened circa 1968. This Polynesian Restaurant was owned by E. Robert (Bobby) Baer.

They had a brilliantly plumaged macaw that greeted guests -- named Judy Garland.

Shanghai Lil's was named after the famous location in Shanghai that was a gathering for the diplomat corps and other international travelers.

This locale is best remembered for its live entertainment, including The Royal Hawaiians and their hula review.

Every Sunday had a luau feast.

They did serve tiki cocktails in tiki mugs. However, their ashtrays with signature wahine logo are probably more numerous out in the wild.

It closed about 1981. The property was razed no later than 1990 and the site now houses condos.

The Samoa Beach Restaurant was located in Cocoa Beach, Florida, off of Highway A1A and one block south of the Cocoa Causeway.

It was located in a strip mall with Causeway drugs and other shops on either side but stood out because of a grass thatched A-Frame entrance that jutted out from the otherwise normal-looking rectangular building.

Created by Mr. and Mrs. Guy Hovia. Opened June 23rd, 1960.

Nani Maka, the Hawaiian star and dancer (who also performed at the Yankee clipper and Mai Kai among others) often performed here during their early years -- doing the "Tahitian Twist".

The restaurant caught fire in 1960 due to a short-circuited flood light that caught the thatching on fire, but this did not apparently harm operations.

In later years, hula dancing seemed to be less of a draw and ads from 1968-1970 show that they brought in magicians and topless Go-Go dancers...which together with their house band formed quite a nightly bill of entertainment.

Unclear when they eventually closed...

Today, the site appears to be home to Ron Jon Surf Shop.