Tiki Bars
Tiki Bar - Ponferrada
Ponferrada, Spain (Closed)
Tiki Bar opened in January 2008 in Ponferrada, in the province of Len. The bar served tropical cocktails and hosted live music, mainly rock & roll. The bar was a celebration of midcentury American pop culture.
It appears they closed some time in 2010 to 2011.
The location is now home to La Posada Club.
There is another Tiki Bar location on the other side of Spain at Calle La Rioja, 39, Gandía. It opened in 2010.
The Tiki Bar & Kitsch Inn
Glasgow, United Kingdom
The Tiki Bar & Kitsch Inn is a tiki bar and restaurant in Glasgow, Scotland, it opened in November 2010. It is divided into two levels: the downstairs is the Tiki Bar, and the upstairs is the midcentury modern Kitsch Inn, serving Thai food. The drink menu is a mix of classic Tiki cocktails and modern originals, served in unique tiki mugs made by Garnet McCulloch of Fireworks Studio.
There was a sister location, also in Glasgow, called The Pacific (closed in 2017).
Lanai Hawaiian Food
São João, Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil (Closed)
Lanai Hawaiian Food was a restaurant in the Auxiliadora neighborhood of Porto Alegre. It was opened by Sarah Wojahn in June 2010, and closed in January 2015. The space was sleek and modern, yet still warm thanks to careful lighting and a smattering of bamboo trim. Two large, pale, Hawaiian tikis overlooked the dining room. The food was upscale, modern Hawaiian.
Don the Beachcomber - at the Royal Kona Resort
Kailua-Kona, Hawaii, United States
Don the Beachcomber is located within the Royal Kona Resort, where it opened in 2005.
This location is not to be confused with the historic, long-gone Don the Beachcomber restaurants run by Donn Beach or his partner Sunny Sund, but rather was opened by someone who picked up the rights to the name here in the Hawaiian Islands. Mainland rights to the Don the Beachcomber name are currently held by the newer Don the Beachcomber chain (including Madeira Beach and others run by 23 Restaurant Services after they acquired the brand from Delia Snyder).
The bar and restaurant are open-air, overlooking the ocean, but sheltered by a large, round roof. The restaurant in particular is full of fantastic '70s-chic Tiki loveliness, thanks to architect George "Pete" Wimberly.
A vibraphonist can sometimes be found playing in the bar as the sun sets over the ocean.
Food is on the more upscale end of Kailua-Kona dining.
Painkiller
Manhattan, New York, New York, United States (Closed)
Painkiller was opened by Giuseppe Gonzalez and Richard Boccato on Manhattan's Lower East Side in May 2010. The small space dictated a streamlined decor approach, with heavy use of bamboo and flat artwork on the walls. The decor was a mix of simple tiki (in the form of untreated bamboo and flat Indonesian import masks), and graffiti artwork inspired both by the local neighborhood and tiki history.
The bar itself was a bit high, and the immovable stools were also high and close to the bar; sitting at the bar could be a challenge for the large or the small. The seating in the back rooms was comfy, though, and standing at the bar worked, too.
The emphasis at Painkiller was on the cocktails, with lots of modern variations inspired by old classics. The menu did not list specific drinks, rather it was a list of drink categories, intended to spark conversation with your bartender to help you find a drink you'll love. Drinks were well-crafted, and served in tiki mugs, with pina coladas served in frozen pineapples.
After a legal dispute with Pusser's Rum, owners of the "Painkiller" trademark, the bar changed its name to PKNY.
Painkiller closed in July 2013 after losing their lease.
Mai Kai Lounge -- at the Tecumseh Inn
Tecumseh, Michigan, United States
Mai Kai Lounge is the bar of the Tecumseh Inn (built in 1964), on the west edge of town. The bar opened in 1971 and remained mostly untouched, until 2018-2021 when it was closed and then given a makeover.
The bar originally had carved Witco tiki barstools, and two tall tiki poles. The table and bar surfaces were covered with a tapa design, and the circular booths were upholstered in '70s vinyl colors: orange, avocado, aqua, blue. The backs and toe-kick areas of the booths were upholstered in green astroturf, and were surrounded by bamboo curtains and faux bamboo plants. There were two hanging rattan chairs suspended from the ceiling, with orange cushions. The lighting was dim and moody, provided by float lamps, beachcomber lamps, and white and red string lights. The building's exterior was simple, but the white walls had modern abstract shapes in relief.
Despite the ideal tiki bar setting, and the full bar, there was no menu of tropical cocktails.
As of April 2009, the bar was temporarily closed, but the owner of the bar assured that none of the decor was being removed. However, as of 2018, it was reported by area residents that the place had been gutted and tiki furnishings were now gone.
This was partly/temporarily true, but the bar did re-open in 2021 with brand-new brightly painted wall murals and much of the interior decor still intact. The floor plan seems more open with removal of some of the fake foliage and bamboo curtains. The Witco barstools are noticeably absent in new photos, so they may be sold or in the process of being restored. All of this refurbishment was part of sprucing up the property for re-sale in 2021. It was listed on loopnet.com for $895,000, and with the assertion that it has new management in place.
The "Jacuzzi Room" did have an Orchids of Hawaii hanging shell lamp and a few other pieces of tiki decor even after the initial refurbishment...but it might have been removed as part of their re-theming to a boathouse/lodge/western look for the overall site by the new owners.
As of 2024, they still advertise the "Tiki Bar" as a BYOB adult hangout that can be reserved. Their website shows a group drinking beer and eating pizza around a small table in a brightly lit room...
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.
KonTiki - Nürnberg
Mitte, Nürnberg, Germany
KonTiki is a restaurant and bar located in the Old Town section of Nrnberg, in old fishermen's houses along the Pegnitz river. It originally opened in 1978; a fire in January 2002 forced the KonTiki to close, after replacing some of the damaged furnishings with new replacements it reopened in the summer of 2002. KonTiki features a restaurant (Polynesien World), and two bars (Sea Bar and Tiki Bar). The space is elaborately decorated, with beachcomber lighting, rock walls, bamboo and plenty of carved details.
Luau - Juárez
Juárez, Juárez, Mexico
Luau is a Chinese restaurant in the Zona Rosa section of Mexico City. The building has a large Chinese pagoda facade, and the interior is decorated in an Asian style, with dragons and porcelain pieces. There don't appear to be any specifically Polynesian elements in the decor, but there are "tiki adjacent" elements present like their green ceramic Chinese tiles (utilized by Trader Vic's and other tiki locations) and a nice indoor koi pond made with what looks like lava rock. But in keeping with the seemingly incongruous Polynesian name, tropical drinks are served, and tikis have appeared in advertisements.
From their website:
"In 1957, Mr. Fong, an immigrant of Chinese origin, decided to rent a small space of just a few meters, in a house located on Calle de Niza in the Zona Rosa of Mexico City, to sell Chinese-Cantonese food using the original recipes of the family and naming the restaurant Luaú a word of Hawaiian origin that means "Banquet".
The delicious flavors of said foreign food soon caught the attention of Mexicans and the Chinese themselves, so the restaurant had to expand little by little until it became the restaurant it is today, with more than 1000 square meters, 2 lounges and a capacity for 200 diners, and with more than 100 dishes on the menu."
Sam's Maui - Kokusai Street, Naha, Okinawa
Naha, Japan
Sam's Maui is owned by three brothers, Mark, Wyatt and Alan Payne. The trio moved to Okinawa from their original home in Hawaii when their father Ray's employer, Coca-Cola, relocated the family there.
This is a Teppanyaki restaurant with strong Polynesian decor. There is an elaborate mix of large and small bamboo, tiki masks, pufferfish lamps, float lamps, war clubs and other carvings throughout.
There are seven restaurants in the Sam's chain in Okinawa; all are nautical, and four (including this one) have strong tiki/Polynesian elements. The other three tiki locations are Sam's By The Sea in Awase, Sam's By The Sea in Gushi/Naha and Sam's Maui in Kumoji.
Sam's Maui - Kumoji, Naha, Okinawa
Kumoji, Naha, Japan
Sam's Maui is owned by three brothers, Mark, Wyatt and Alan Payne. The trio moved to Okinawa from their original home in Hawaii when their father Ray's employer, Coca-Cola, relocated the family there.
Sam's Maui is a Teppan yaki restaurant with strong Polynesian influences in the decor. The walls are lined in bamboo, there are war clubs and other carvings throughout, and two large Papua New Guinea tikis greet you at the interior entrance to the main dining area.
There are seven restaurants in the Sam's chain in Okinawa; all are nautical, and four (including this one) have strong tiki/Polynesian elements. The other three tiki locations are Sam's By The Sea in Gushi/Naha, Sam's By The Sea in Awase and Sam's Maui on Kokusai street.
Sam's By The Sea - Gushi, Naha, Okinawa
Gushi, Naha, Japan
Sam's By The Sea is owned by three brothers, Mark, Wyatt and Alan Payne. The trio moved to Okinawa from their original home in Hawaii when their father Ray's employer, Coca-Cola, relocated the family there.
The restaurant has a large, full-color King Kamehameha statue out front. The dining room has a long canoe hanging over the diners' heads. The ceiling is painted an unfortunate white, but the walls are covered with elaborate Papua New Guinea-style carvings. The restaurant serves steak and seafood.
There are seven restaurants in the Sam's chain in Okinawa; all are nautical, and four (including this one) have strong tiki/Polynesian elements. The other three tiki locations are Sam's By The Sea in Awase, Sam's Maui in Kumoji and Sam's Maui on Kokusai street.