Tiki Bars
The Kondo-Tiki
Tampa, Florida, United States
Opened January 2023.
When vacationing in Tampa, Florida you can stay in this 1 bedroom tiki-themed vacation condo (The Kondo Tiki) right on the bay! This 1 bedroom condo comes with a full kitchen and has access to the resort's swimming pool and private beach area. The resort is centrally located, and has causeway access to beaches in Clearwater and St. Petersburg.
Decked out by Rarabird (former Disney Park Decorator, Prop and Scenic artist who helped rehab and create props and florals for the Enchanted Tikiroom for the Disneyland 50th Anniversary, 2005) and the owner and mastermind, Chris Iller “The Chief” and ”Mr. Sitcom”, former fellow Disney cast member, MGM Tour Guide and TV production artist.
The Hawaiian & Waikiki Lounge - Boston
Boston, Massachusetts, United States (Closed)
Opened @ 1964.
From The Hawaiian:
"The Hawaiian - an island paradise situated across the Common in the heart of Boston - excels in Polynesian and Cantonese Cuisine. Leisurely atmosphere and relaxing informality, induced by a wide array of tempting island drinks served at the Waikiki Lounge, mark the Hawaiian as Boston's best Polynesian restaurant."
There was a connection between The South Seas restaurants, Anita Chue's, and The Hawaiian Restaurant. It appears Anita Chue was instrumental in starting these establishments but that she moved on after a short time and Henry Oi took over and ran them for many years.
In 1965, The Hawaiian added a discotheque area and had a free green Ku mug promotion for the opening.
Closed @ 1972.
Volcano House - Hawaii
Pāhoa, Hawaii, United States
Overlooking Halema‘uma‘u Crater at the summit of Kilauea, this casual hotel in a restored 1846 building is 2 miles from Thurston Lava Tube and 3 miles from the Jaggar Museum.
Cozy, basic rooms come with free Wi-Fi and desks; many rooms offer volcano views. Simple cabins with BBQ grills and shared bathrooms are available in Namakanipaio campground.
Amenities include a relaxed restaurant overlooking the crater and a cocktail lounge (Uncle George's Lounge) with a TV and regular live music. The property also offers loaner bikes and daily guided walking tours of Hawaii Volcanoes National Park.
They have a large gift shop as well.
HISTORY:
In 1846, the original Volcano House was built – a simple one room shelter made of grass and native Ohia wood.
In 1866, a four bedroom wooden structure replaced the original hotel. Notable guests included Mark Twain who recounted his stay in Roughing it: “Neat, roomy, well furnished well kept hotel. The surprise of finding a good hotel at such an outlandish spot startled me, considerable more than the volcano did.”
In 1904, George “Uncle George” Lycurgus purchased an interest in the Volcano House Company and managed the Volcano House until 1921 when he sold his interest. He subsequently regained the hotel in 1932 and remained the manager until his death in 1960. He was known as the dean of Hawaiian hospitality and died at the age of 101 after 45 years of direct involvement with the Volcano House.
Like many restaurants, they were temporarily closed due to the Covid pandemic, but have since re-opened.
The Tapa Room - at the Royal Towers Motor Hotel - New Westminster B.C.
New Westminster, British Columbia, Canada (Closed)
Located in the Royal Towers Motor Hotel in British Columbia, The Tapa Room was part of a rather impressive building. The hotel was constructed for $3,000,000 in 1961 and made quite the splash in Vancouver. The Royal Towers featured Canada’s first outdoor glass elevator, unparalleled views, a second floor pool, and huge convention space. It consisted of 8 stories with 135 suites.
The Tapa Room was a replica of an outdoor Tahitian courtyard, with an illuminated waterfall, palm trees and other tropicals, thatched roof caves, hand-carved tiki masks, and a ceiling painted like the sky with twinkling stars.
The hotel later became private residences in 2010 and underwent a complete renovation.
Tiki - Old Tappan
Old Tappan, New Jersey, United States (Closed)
This location had a long history. It was originally called Badini's from 1926-1946. From 1946-1965 it was The Pine Grove Inn.
Tiki was originally opened in this location in 1965 by Bob Gaudio, part of the famous singing group “The Four Seasons”. That explains the name of the drinks on the first portion of the menu entitled "The Golden Hits that built the Tiki!"
This location was only open a few years and then closed to be re-opened as Oriental Luau in the late 1960s or early 70s. The Oriental Luau kept a full menu of tiki drinks as well. It lasted into the 1990s.
MaiPai Tiki Bar
Hamilton, Ontario, Canada
Opened in February 2020.
This is a combination mash-up of Detroit style pizza restaurant and tiki bar, owned by Salar Madadi.
Salar describes his pizza:
"So with a Detroit-style pizza, they're cooked in a rectangular pan. Ideally, it's like a seasoned steel pan. It's like a hydration dough with a higher hydration. Like when you bake it off, you'll get more air into the crust and it'll come out crispier. Your sauce goes on top, if you're using a sauce, and you have cheese that goes edge to edge. So you get like a crispy cheese crown all the way around. I enjoy eating foods where each bite is different and different in texture and flavour. The crispy cheese crust was, I think like the first time I had it, I was like, 'Oh, this is awesome.'"
About the decor:
Salar spent a good amount of time sourcing Polynesian art to decorate the place. He built a considerable amount of the furniture himself. He was buying bamboo from all over Canada to carve and build some of the posts, assembling vintage lamps. There is even a booth in the restaurant dedicated to Spam and all the variations of Spam.
Polynesian Room - at The Chow Family Restaurant
Truro, Nova Scotia, Canada
Established in 1972.
They advertise both Chinese and Polynesian cuisine and have a large room for each -- the Oriental Room or the candle-lit Polynesian Room.
Stepping into this restaurant is like opening a time capsule. The interior of the Polynesian Room has thatching, amber-colored lauhala matting on the walls, tiki masks, several standing tikis, and many vintage Orchids of Hawaii style lamps.
They are especially proud of their egg rolls.
Their logo used to feature a tiki but was modernized to the current logo showing a silhouette of a couple eating.
Beachcomber Hotel
Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, United States (Closed)
Circa 1960s.
This lavishly decorated restaurant had koa wood tables, large carved tikis, masks, bamboo and thatch, hanging fish floats, wood canoes hanging from the ceiling, a separate full-length bar, and wood beaded curtain dividers between sections. A fully decorated space.
Located off Rt. 22 East of Harrisburg, PA.
Today, as of 2021, this location is home to Peacock Indian Restaurant.
The only vestige of the tiki lounge are the two “lava rock waterfall” features that flank the front door on the interior. The current owner tried to revive the waterfall but he said that it didn’t look quite right because the water pumps didn't function properly.
Aku-Aku - Worcester
Worcester, Massachusetts, United States (Closed)
Aku-Aku offered Polynesian food and comedians.
They also had locations in Newton and Cambridge, MA (both now gone).
Since 2004, this site is home to a Ninety Nine Restaurant, Starbucks, and a Rollstone Bank & Trust.
Tropic Isle Restaurant
Surrey, British Columbia, Canada (Closed)
Opened October 22nd, 1970.
Billed as a combination of Chinese, Polynesian, and Mexican art. The building was designed by Hin Fon Yip, Vancouver architect.
Created by Ken Yuen (manager), Jack Yung (president and supervisor), and Donald Chang (chef).
Two hand-carved doors opened to a foyer of Inca stone forming an interior wall with water feature and a pagoda theme. You then entered the Tiki Lounge and dining room area with blue domed ceiling and twinkling stars.
The second separate dining room was Oriental themed.
Closed around 1988.
Kona Lei
Madrid, Spain (Closed)
Kona Lei opened on March 27th, 2013.
Miguel Escobedo (Señor Castaway) and his partner, Eduardo, opened this bar at what was previously Bar Hernán Cortés.
Kona Lei appears to have closed around 2015.
Miguel went on to open the Tiki Chateau in Madrid, which closed December 1st, 2022.
As of 2021, the location of Kona Lei is now home to La Hummuseria, a vegan restaurant.
The Tiki Lounge - at The Heart O' Denver Motor Hotel
Denver, Colorado, United States (Closed)
The Heart O' Denver Motor Hotel (1960-1975), featured a bar called the Tiki Lounge. Eli Hedley, the man who popularized the beachcomber aesthetic, designed this lounge.
The site is also historically noteworthy for being located on Colfax Avenue, the longest commercial street in the United States of America.
Later, this hotel became a Ramada and in 2005-2006 the Tiki Lounge space was home to a new tiki bar called Tiki Boyd's.
It appears, as of 2021, the space is now home to Ahuevo Cantina Kitchen.