Tiki Bars
Cuckoo Coconuts
Honolulu, Hawaii, United States
Opened @ 2014.
This is a big family friendly venue that glories in the kitsch and is known for its very large fiberglass tikis inside and out as well as its inexpensive cocktails served in plastic cups.
They do serve food beyond the typical bar food one might expect.
They also have indoor as well as outdoor seating.
Tiki Garden Dining Room & Restaurant - at the Hilo Lagoon Hotel
Hilo, Hawaii, United States (Closed)
The Hilo Lagoon Hotel was built in 1971.
The 10 floor building was built overlooking the spring-fed Waiakea Lagoon and Park. The six acre site included lush landscaping, extensive fishponds filled with colorful carp, and a freshwater swimming pool.
The Tiki Garden Restaurant was located on the first level overlooking the carp ponds. It specialized in buffet meals. Decor included large murals and floor-to-ceiling Easter Island Moai heads.
NOTE: As of today (2024) this building has been converted to apartment housing.
The Pupu House & Kiki's Tiki Bar - Waikiki
Honolulu, Hawaii, United States
Opened May 16th, 2023.
Located on Lewers Street in the old Moose McGillycuddy’s space.
The Pupu House on the first level is a family-friendly restaurant and bar, while Kiki’s Tiki Bar, located upstairs on the second level, is a DJ driven Dance Club/Nightclub.
Teddy's Bigger Burgers - Haleiwa
Haleiwa, Hawaii, United States
The first Teddy's Bigger Burgers opened in 1998.
While you’ll get great burgers (etc) at any of the Teddy’s locations spread out between Oahu and Maui (they have around 11 island locations and counting as of 2024) this Teddy’s located along Kamehameha Highway in Haleiwa is a unique one. Part tiki bar, part burger joint, this Teddy’s opened in 2015 and takes the cake as being the best of their locations.
Their decor is highly Instagrammable, thanks in-part to the touches of local artisan and carver, Gecko, of South Sea Arts. The food holds up to Teddy’s superior burger standards, and their shakes are the bees knees (order the Pineapple shake!), while the bar itself is a great place to congregate with the locals to watch the game and talk story. This ain’t your typical burger joint.
The Royal Lanai & Attic Bar
Honolulu, Hawaii, United States (Closed)
The Royal Lanai opened @ 1962.
This site was previously occupied by the first Tropics restaurant (The World Famous Tropics at Waikiki) which was opened by Peaches & Tony Guerrero and ran from 1940 to at least as late as 1955, possibly later.
The upstairs portion was designated as a separate bar called "The Attic Bar".
This location was open at least as late as September of 1968.
It is interesting to note on their limited cocktail menu that they used Leilani brand as their house white rum. Beachbum Berry describes this as one of his favorite historical white rums for that time period. They also produced a very cool tiki-shaped bottle glorifier to set the bottles on that has become highly coveted over the years. See photos below...
Chuck's Steak House - at the Edgewater Hotel
Honolulu, Hawaii, United States (Closed)
This first Chuck’s Steak House was opened in Waikiki at the Edgewater Hotel in 1959, by Chuck Rolles.
As seen in the postcard, they had a bar with a tiki, fish floats, fish nets, and other flotsam and jetsam.
The restaurant became known for its casual atmosphere, self-serve salad bar, and high-quality steaks at reasonable prices. Today, a self-serve salad bar does not seem ground-breaking, but Chuck's was one of the first restaurants to implement this and they introduced it to the mainland.
Since 2007, with the creation of the Waikiki Beach Walk, this entire area has been redeveloped and no signs of the original Chuck's remains.
Over the years, the Chuck's chain expanded across the United States, although many locations have since closed, leaving only a few remaining, including one in Santa Barbara, California.
Da Big Kahuna - Waikiki
Honolulu, Hawaii, United States (Closed)
Da Big Kahuna was open from @2006 - 2015.
Not to be confused with Big Kahuna's Pizza (since 1994 and still running).
Da Big Kahuna was known for its fish bowl cocktail and for its large handled Tiki Farm mug.
The owners decided to expand and opened two locations in Florida (Fort Lauderdale in 2010-2016 and Jacksonville in 2012-2014) but eventually all three businesses closed.
Then this Waikiki location was renamed as Lava Tube, and opened @2018 under new ownership with less emphasis on being a nightclub and with a revamped food menu.
Around May of 2025, the name changed to Tikis Meeting Spot, although the decor and drink menu appear to be the same, so it appears to be yet another light re-branding or ownership change but not a complete overhaul.
Lava Tube - Waikiki
Honolulu, Hawaii, United States (Closed)
This bar & restaurant used to be named Da Big Kahuna (@2006-2015) and had the same tikis out front as today and the same decor (both inside and out) but skewed a bit more to the dive bar and nightclub side.
Not to be confused with Big Kahuna's Pizza (since 1994 and still running).
Da Big Kahuna was known for its fish bowl cocktail and for its large handled Tiki Farm mug.
The owners decided to expand and opened two locations in Florida (Fort Lauderdale in 2010-2016 and Jacksonville in 2012-2014) but eventually all three businesses closed.
Then the Waikiki location was renamed as Lava Tube, and opened @2018 under new ownership with less emphasis on being a nightclub and with a revamped food menu.
Around May of 2025, the name changed to Tikis Meeting Spot, although the decor and drink menu appear to be the same, so it appears to be yet another light re-branding or ownership change but not a complete overhaul.
Hawai Waipahu Paradise
Madrid, Spain
Built in 1979.
Hawai Waipahu Paradise is a small bar on the outskirts of Madrid. The front facade features beautiful, intricate tile work in the shape of Papua New Guinea masks. There is an outdoor patio in the back. Drinks are served in the gorgeous tiki mugs that are common to all tiki bars in Spain. The decor in the space is simple, but the bar back has some nice, elaborate carved details.
Hawaiki Restaurant and Island Girl Lounge
Destin, Florida, United States (Closed)
This circular 9-story Quality Inn Hawaiki was Destin's first high-rise building when it debuted in 1972.
The most impressive feature the tower once boasted was the revolving floor in the restaurant, Hawaiki. While the restaurant itself didn’t rotate, a large ring of tables on a track gave diners a 360 degree view of an area that had more beach than condos. It took about an hour to come full circle, and the concept, which was hailed as “ahead of its time” took some time getting used to.
The restaurant closed in 1987 due to high operating costs.
The tower was demolitioned in 2013.
Don the Beachcomber - Hollywood
Hollywood, California, United States (Closed)
This is the location that started it all. (Well, actually it started across the street at 1722 McCadden on December 5th, 1933, and moved to this spot on May 26th, 1937.) Ernest Raymond Beaumont Gantt, later and more widely known as Donn Beach, created what we think of today as a "tiki" or "Polynesian" restaurant. Bamboo-lined tropical themed night clubs had been fashionable for some time, but this was where it became more immersive. Donn's greatest innovation was surely the drinks. His travels throughout the world (and especially the Caribbean) gave him deep knowledge about rum, which in this post-prohibition era had become inexpensive. His blends of rums with fruit juice and spice flavors created exotic drinks that appealed to the masses. Backed up with Cantonese cuisine and a richly decorated environment complete with tikis, it was a hit.
Many of the most beloved tiki drinks were born here, including the Zombie, Navy Grog, Demerara Dry Float, 151 Swizzle, Shark's Tooth, Cobra's Fang, Dr. Funk. The original bartenders knew the recipes (Including Ray Buhen, who served them at his own Tiki-Ti. The recipes have been passed down to Buhen's son and grandsons and you can taste history there yourself.). Soon Donn learned to keep the recipes secret, even from his own staff, by using a system of codes and pre-mixed syrups. It didn't stop the competition from attempting to poach his staff or attempt his drinks, with mixed success.
Beyond the drinks, the entire themed-restaurant concept that Don the Beachcomber created was copied widely; perhaps first and most notably, it inspired Victor Bergeron to transform his Hinky Dinks into the first Trader Vic's.
Donn was the creative genius, but the business brains of the operation belonged to his wife, Cora Irene "Sunny" Sund. When they divorced in 1940, she retained the rights to the Don the Beachcomber name and concept in the mainland United States. She grew Don the Beachcomber into a successful chain of restaurants that flourished for decades.
Donn took his work to Waikiki (beyond the range of the deal with Sund, as Hawai'i was not yet a state) where he opened his own Don the Beachcomber restaurant, and became a major fixture in the booming Hawai'i tourist scene. He owned the Waikiki Don the Beachcomber until his death in 1987.
Thanks to many years of hard work (harder work than he would lead you to believe), drinks historian and author Jeff "Beachbum" Berry has been able to successfully decode and document many of the original Don the Beachcomber liquid masterpieces. His work has ensured that quality tropical drinks are back and here to stay, and are now being served all around the world.