Opened in 1999 by owner-chef Tony Di Lembo.

The interior featured leopard skin patterned booths, a map of the Pacific Ocean on the dining room floor, and there was one small tiki at the entrance.

This location is currently (as of 2021) home to Mercado Mexican Restaurant.

Clifton's opened in 1931, and after a remodel to add Polynesian theming in 1939 was rechristened "Clifton's Pacific Seas." The name "Clifton's" is a portmanteau of founder Clifford Clinton's name. Clifton's was a massive cafeteria, and aimed to serve inexpensive meals to all social classes, and promised to turn no one away, even the penniless. A neon sign flashed, "PAY WHAT YOU WISH."

This was the first Clifton's location, today most are familiar with the forest-themed Clifton's Brookdale location at 7th & Broadway, which still operates today. In November 2016, a new tiki bar was opened in that location, in tribute to the original Clifton's Pacific Seas, appropriately named Pacific Seas.

Clifton's Pacific Seas was themed on a grand scale. It had an elaborate, multi-story external facade with cascading waterfalls and tropical plantings. Inside there was another large waterfall, huts, and artificial palm trees.

Clifton's Pacific Seas closed June 17th, 1960, and the building was razed. It is now a parking lot.

The Java Lanes bowling alley opened in 1958. It had a large bar area called the East Indies Room (later "Lava Lounge"), where live music acts performed. At its peak, Java Lanes had two acres for parking. The Java Lanes were demolished in 2004 to make way for new development.

The "East Indies Room" was the original name of this space at the Java Lanes bowling alley when it was built in 1958. Over the years, business at Java Lanes cooled somewhat, but enjoyed a revitalization in the ’90s when the East Indies Room with its space-tropical vibe was re-branded as the "Lava Lounge". Mark DiPiazza reactivated Java Lanes’ long-dormant entertainment license and put together years of high-energy music shows in the Lava Lounge, nurturing tons of local bands and playing host to touring acts like Weezer, Rocket From The Crypt and Lit, who filmed the video for their hit “My Own Worst Enemy” at Java Lanes.

The Java Lanes and Lava Lounge were demolished in 2004 to make way for new development.

Built @1979-1980.

After the original The Tikis in Monterey Park closed, owner Danny Balsz attempted to reopen at this new location in Lake Elsinore with some of his old set pieces and tikis at the newly built-out location, but it never happened. It is now a paintball park, Jungle Island; all the landscaping and (now paint-splattered) rock formations remain, but the tikis are long gone.

The Royal Hawaiian opened in 1947. It was owned by the Cabang family. The Cabangs were originally from the Phillipines and were friends with both of the Fillipino Tiki carvers in L.A. at the time, Milan Guanko and Andres Bumatay. These talented artists both supplied Tikis for the restaurant. The prominent Andres Bumatay tikis outside the restaurant became weathered and destroyed and were later replaced by modern carvings.

The Royal Hawaiian also had a sister location located in Anaheim in the 1950s.

The Royal Hawaiian has been through several iterations. It originally had several small dining rooms with glass-walled dioramas filled with tikis and plants, great lamps, bamboo, thatch and sea grass matting, and a bar with a fireplace and pufferfish. There were lovely oil paintings throughout, including a large piece hung directly above the hostess stand.

In spring 2006, the restaurant was sold to a new owner, who gutted it. The newer, tiki-stripped version closed for good in 2012. In 2016, the space reopened, again with the name Royal Hawaiian, this time by people who wanted to bring back its rich tiki history. The new owners, Mo Honarkar and daughters Hasty and Nikisa, worked to bring back a fully-decorated Royal Hawaiian with the help of Bamboo Ben.

However in January-February 2019, the restaurant was closed for yet another remodel and then re-opened under the auspices of chef Mariano “Maro” Molteni. Honarkar’s company remained as landlords, while Molteni owned and operated the restaurant which he rebranded as the "Royal Hawaiian Fire Grill". Molteni's remodel (which came as a surprise to the landlords) removed much of Bamboo Ben's decor, especially natural materials like lauhala matting and thatching in favor of dark blue painted walls and a "cleaner" and "less cluttered" look. There were still tikis and accent pieces, but the interior was much reduced from its former full tiki glory.

On July 15th, 2022, Royal Hawaiian Fire Grill announced its closure for the end of that same month, on July 31st, 2022.

Following the 2022 closure of the last iteration of the Royal Hawaiian, the space was turned over to Boulevard Hospitality for a complete transformation and a grand re-opening in May 2023. The new build-out was completed by Ignacio “Notch” Gonzales, famous for building spaces like Smuggler’s Cove in San Francisco and Inside Passage in Seattle.

To round out the new experience, the Royal Hawaiian’s owners have brought on famed barman Dushan Zaric of Employees Only to build a bespoke cocktail menu that riffs, weaves, and rethinks the rum-forward staples of tiki lore.

*NOTE: For the 2006-2022 version or from 2023 onward see separate listings.

This listing is for Bamboo Ben's Showroom, which he closed in 2010 to focus on custom installations. He can (and should!) still be contacted for all your tiki and bamboo construction needs.

Ben is the grandson of "the original beachcomber," artist Eli Hedley, who was responsible for outfitting many of the grand tiki establishments of the original golden era of Polynesian Pop. Bamboo Ben crafts beautiful bamboo pieces, tiki bars in particular, and today is himself responsible for the buildouts of many of the better modern-day tiki bars and tropical environments.

Bamboo Ben's Showroom is where he once offered unique pieces of bamboo art and furniture to the general public.

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.

The Tropics was purchased by Stephen Crane and renamed The Luau for its opening on July 25th, 1953. This was Crane's original restaurant; after the success of the Luau, he eventually went on to open the popular Kon-Tiki chain of Polynesian restaurants.

Steve Crane's Luau was one of the Hollywood/Beverly Hills restaurants (along with Don the Beachcomber and Trader Vic's) that established Polynesian cuisine (and more importantly drinks) as de rigueur in the 1950s and '60s. The Luau produced some of the most beautiful and highly desired serveware objects (designed by Gabe Florian) to come out of midcentury Polynesian restaurants.

The Luau was demolished in 1979 to make space for a Rodeo Drive shopping complex.

There is no connection between this historic restaurant and a newer restaurant that briefly operated with the same name in Beverly Hills.

Lava Lounge opened in December 1993. This non-traditional tiki bar in a tiny strip mall in Hollywood attracted a steady flow of hipsters. Appropriate to the name, the interior had lava-dark walls, with a smoke-heaving, water-dripping wall in the rear, and pin-point lights across the ceiling. The design was sleek, with a heavy use of bamboo and Oceanic Arts lighting. There were a few tikis near the front. Live music was often featured here, almost always of the non-tiki-friendly variety. Tropical drinks were served, but not in tiki mugs. Lava Lounge closed in February 2007.

Large family restaurant in Glendale, with a bar in the rear. This is Damon's second location; the original was opened in 1937, and this location opened in 1980. A short list of tropical drinks is offered, and food sticks to old-school, meaty classics. The food quality improved a bit with the arrival of a new owner and chef in 2004. The decor is more on the elegant end of Polynesian Pop, with lots of bamboo and beautiful painted murals (painted in 1987 by Bettina Rakita Byrne in the style of Eugene Savage), and lighting comes from a number of different styles of traditional Poly-Pop light fixtures. In 2014, Bamboo Ben was brought in to do a "tune-up" of the decor, with some fresh thatch, tapa cloth, and bamboo and rope repair work. In the past, it has been targeted by the city of Glendale for an "update" of its facade, but that danger seems to have passed.

The Leilani opened in 1951, and for many years was most famous for its beautiful palm tree neon sign, almost identical to the one that stood in front of the Lanai restaurant in San Mateo. The Leilani was owned by the brothers Jimmy, Roy and Stanley Dunn, who also owned Luau across town; they ran the two restaurants for 35 years. The Leilani used to serve drinks in tiki mugs with both its name and Luau inscribed on the back (and used at both restaurants): a black moai, and a three-face bucket mug. In its final years, it no longer had any tiki whatsoever, and was just an all-you-can-eat Chinese buffet; sister restaurant Luau met a similar fate. The restaurant closed in 2005, and the building and sign were demolished around 2014.