Mauna Loa was Mexico City's contribution to the mid-century world of glorious, immersive Polynesian restaurants. Through a classic A-frame entry, visitors were greeted by a central pool populated with live pink flamingoes, and were entertained by a full Polynesian floor show production.

Collectors are very familiar with the amazing graphics on the Mauna Loa menu and the variety of custom mugs and swizzles for this location as well.

This location now appears to be an office building.

*NOTE -- There was another more modern Mauna Loa elsewhere in Mexico City (at St. Jerome 240), that opened after the first (Hamburg 172) caught fire in 1966, and this newer one stayed open till 2002.

Bali Ha'i at the Beach opened in 1958 and was located near the entrance of the Pontchartrain Beach amusement park, which was open from 1939 to 1983. It was known as Pontchartrain Beach-Combers before a lawsuit from Don the Beachcomber resulted in a 1959 name change to Bali Ha'i at the Beach.

The exotic experience began even before arrival at the restaurant. A bamboo-decorated “Sampan Taxi” would pick diners up from the parking lot and deliver them to the Bali Ha’i entry port, an impressive bamboo A-frame peak. There were also shuttles running from the restaurant to downtown New Orleans, complete with onboard Tiki drinks.

The bar menu was glamorous and theatrical. There was even a large carved volcano that dispensed drinks to customers.

The Cantonese menu brought new dishes to New Orleans diners, including moo goo gai pan, chow mein, rumaki and eggrolls. The new spices and sauces livened up familiar seafood, but American standards were also available for the less adventurous diners.

Bali Ha’i became the place for celebrations for decades – weddings and anniversaries, proms and graduations and, of course, the perfect first date. Private parties could book the Bora Bora Hut, the Lanai Hut or the Samoan Hut.

Although Pontchartrain Beach closed in 1983, the restaurant stayed open for a few more years. By 1988, the furnishings and memorabilia had been sold off to the public.

Two tikis and an A-frame gazebo with a sign from the Bali Ha'i have been relocated to Veterans Memorial Park in Kenner, LA. The Bali Ha'i signature mug was a copy of the logo mug from Tiki Bob's in San Francisco.

Located in the Athens Ledra Marriott, this was perhaps the last of a hotel-based chain that once rivaled Trader Vic's. This restaurant opened with the hotel in 1983, and as such the decor was not as dense as your more typical Polynesian restaurant from decades earlier, but it had several impressive pieces on display (including a unique giant-sized Solomon Islands Headhunter Canoe Prow carving). Overall, the restaurant had a cultivated sensibility of elegance and refinement.

The name of the restaurant was changed to Ledra Kai in 2015, but this was short-lived as the hotel closed a year later on May 31st, 2016.

The Polynesia cost $500,000 when it was built in 1961. Architect Raymond H. Peck designed the space for owner Dave Cohn. The Polynesia was situated on Pier 51 in downtown Seattle, overlooking Puget Sound; it must have had absolutely breathtaking views.

It closed twenty years later in 1981, when the government condemned the pier... they wanted more space to expand the ferry terminal (it's now part of the Colman Dock complex). The building with three A-frame roofs (minus interior fixtures & furnishings, which had been removed) was put onto a barge and moved to temporary site on the Duwamish River. Owner Cohn sought a new site for some time, and sadly, never found a suitable one. He eventually gave up, and allowed the Seattle Fire Department to burn the building down for practice(!).

Some of the furnishings for the Polynesia included banquettes carved by Witco, large carved posts (these posts were salvaged, uncarved, from the building that had existed on the pier before the Polynesia) by local artists Donald Keys and Donald Ingalls, and a life-size tiki carved from monkey pod from Manila.

There was also a sister restaurant in Spokane.

Aloha was opened in 1963 by Chwan Sheu and his sister Yu Tey Chi.

Sheu died in September of 2009, and was 83 years old.

During the period of 1987 to 1992, the Aloha was not run by the original Aloha family but they took the reins back over at the end and ran it at least through May of 1993. It does not appear to have lasted very long after that, however.

The restaurant now at this site is a Japanese steakhouse called "Sakura Home."

There was also an Aloha Motel located just up Monroe at 2729 (now the Clarion Pointe), and it appears to have been opened by the Sheu family who were entrepreneurs and opened at least two other restaurants and had a hand in helping many other Chinese immigrants to find work or start their own restaurants in the US.

A curious footnote - on January 5th, 1968, News Channel 8 WROC reported that a stolen tiki weighing at least 500 lbs had been found and returned to Mr. Chieu Shu (incorrect spelling or possible relative of Chwan Sheu), vice-president and general manager of the Aloha restaurant in Pittsford Plaza, who decided not to press charges against those found responsible. This video coverage is still available online.

Opened August 12th, 1967.

Once a rather lavish Polynesian palace (the construction cost was $1.6 million), the Mauna Loa is little discussed, but may have even been on par with the Kahiki Supper Club in Columbus or the Mai Kai in Ft. Lauderdale. It didn't last long, closing just a few short years after opening (bankrupted in 1971). The menus, mugs and serving items that came out of the Mauna Loa were uniquely beautiful, and thanks to its short life, rather rare.

The building that once housed the Mauna Loa has burned down, and the site is now the parking lot for the St. Regis hotel.

Opened some time in the 1950s (circa 1956 or so) by Robert Pantley.

Was owned & operated by Pantley's Motel Apartments, right on the ocean.

The Pagan Hut lasted into the early-mid 1960s. It then became known as known as the Surfpoint Inn. The Surfpoint seemed to run in to some trouble. In December, 1968, the tide came so far inland that it smashed the property windows and flooded the dining room. In October, 1977, the property was seriously damaged by a series of storms that hit the Oregon Coast.

Later, the motel became the King Surf Resort, and this restaurant became the Pikake Hut.

At some point in its history, the bar was known as the Pupule Lanai.

There was also a Pantley's Pagan Hut on SW 10th and Stark in Portland, OR (1960-1962) and a Pantley's Pagan Room in Bellevue, WA, which must have been related somehow.

The structures for Pantley's Motel Apartments and the Pagan Hut are gone, and timeshares are now on the spot.

The Honolulu, located on Route 9 in Westborough, was the Eli Witney Steakhouse until 1970 when it was sold to Hing Wah Inc. of Brookline and was remodeled and renamed Honolulu. The restaurant featured American, Chinese and Polynesian dishes.

The Honolulu had an unusual logo tiki with a pineapple for a head, with sort of bull horns. The tiki shows up on swizzles and tiki mugs from the restaurant.

Honolulu survived until the early 2000s, but now it is closed. The location has become Bertucci's Brick Oven Restaurant.

NOTE: There was a sister location on Route 1 in Norwood, also called the Honolulu Restaurant. Both locations are often printed on the bottom of vintage mugs. This second location appears to have been started around 1974 and closed some time before 2007.

Jade East was owned by Henry Jin, who also owned the Ricsha on Brookside. He passed away in 1993 (probably the beginning of the decline of the Jade East).

Jade East had two 10' tall redwood tikis in front (matched pair of male and female). These were carved by Saint Claire Homer II (Homma), a local carver, and held up the port cochere. They now reside in a private collection.

Homer was Native American and raised in Oklahoma. He served with Patton in WWII and studied art in Rome after the war. His grandfather was secretary of the Choctaw tribe at one time. His German mother taught art in Sand Springs in the 1970s while in her 70s. Homer made a living carving cigar store Indians and and selling them out of his '51 Cadillac in the Southwest of the late 1950s. His stylized bronzes have been shown at the Gilcrease Museum. He was named one of nine master artists of the Five Civilized Tribes in 1976. He signed his pieces "Homma", Choctaw for "Proud Red".

Jade East is now a restaurant called Tokyo Garden. Bamboo curtains, a rockface waterfall and the bridge over a koi pond are still there.

Opened in 1960. A charming tiki restaurant, where employees and customers alike are treated like family. The Omni Hut's creator, Jim Walls, started the Omni Hut after taking up cooking as a hobby and second job while stationed in Honolulu as a pilot before World War II. The military took him all over the world, and he picked up culinary tricks wherever he went, and it when it came time to retire, he decided to open a restaurant. He chose this location in Smyrna, near Ft. Stuart, and opened a restaurant called "Chinese Cuisine," which soon became the Omni Hut. Walls also owned the nearby Mahi Mahi for a short time. The Omni Hut suffered a fire in 2000, but luckily the restaurant was able to reopen with the decor largely intact.

The Omni Hut did not have a liquor license, but customers were encouraged to spike their own drinks - the Omni Hut had a "Hawaiian Tea" drink that was perfect with a little rum added. They served a Fiery Pu-Pu Platter, and a Volcano ice cream dessert which arrived on fire.

To celebrate 50 years in business, the Omni Hut had two special souvenir mugs created by Tiki Farm.

The Omni Hut closed its doors for good on Friday October 12th, 2018.

Luau Polynesian Lounge opened in 1997, and was more of a nice little neighborhood restaurant than a traditional tiki bar. The decor was bright and airy, and included more surfboards than tikis. There was, however, a rather striking carved Ku (with mouth reminiscent of Milan Guanko's carvings) serving as a hostess podium, and a number of tropical drinks were available on the menu. The food is what really made Luau stand out -- the mainland interpretations of classic Hawaiian food were quite good, and they served a can't-miss pupu platter, complete with flaming Sterno.

Luau Polynesian Lounge closed in early 2010.

Opened in the mid 90s.

The Lava Lounge was not truly a tiki bar -- it was mainly a beer joint -- but those who are into such places dug the dim lighting, booths and music. They did have a small cocktail menu, shown below.

The back bar was supported by two carved tiki posts, and there were a few great old tiki mugs among the collection of jetsam & flotsam behind the bar. That was about it.

From the late '70s through the '80s, this space was occupied by a bar called Hawaii West.

Closed January 2022 ahead of a redevelopment of that block of Belltown. Apartments directly in back of the site caught fire in June 2022, and the site remained boarded after that.