Tiki Bars
Whispering Lakes Apartments
Ontario, California, United States
Built in 1962.
The Whispering Lakes Apartments (formerly an unnamed apartment complex) once featured four large Milan Guanko tikis in front.
There are still some smaller tiki influences present, including some simple stylized Tiki Bob-ish carved tikis at the entrance.
Hawaiian Village - Tampa
Tampa, Florida, United States (Closed)
The Hawaiian Village in Florida was incorporated in 1967-1987.
It was a massive Polynesian-themed complex featuring not only 246 air-conditioned rooms and a swimming pool, but dining rooms and supper clubs, live shows, a cocktail Tiki lounge and even a golf putting green and coffee shop.
It had a great neon sign and a flaming moai out front as well.
There are also a wealth of collectibles from this location, including mugs, menus, swizzles, etc...
This location is now a Westshore Honda dealership.
Tahiti Village - Key Largo
Key Largo, Florida, United States (Closed)
Formerly the Mayo Fish Camp in the early 1960s.
Opened in the 70s and closed in 1984.
Burned down mysteriously after 1984.
This venue consisted of a restaurant, floating outrigger bar (Tiki Isle Outrigger Club), gift huts, tropical cruise ship (Tahiti Queen Paddlewheeler), canoe rental, and of course, Polynesian shows.
In 1986, Jules Undersea Lodge opened at mile marker 103.2, very close to, and probably overlapping the original location of Tahiti Village located at mile marker 103.
Red Dwarf
Las Vegas, Nevada, United States
Opened in December 2021.
Red Dwarf is owned and operated by Russell Gardner.
This is not a traditional tiki bar, but might be described as a punk rock dive bar with a splash of tiki, and an elevated beer list, that serves Detroit-style pizza.
It has a wall of vintage concert posters and an elevated stage that hosts live music—everything from blues and ska to soul and garage rock—and doubles as a makeshift living room with a couch and mismatched chairs.
A large wraparound bartop is full of angles to encourage conversation. Netting overhead holds fish floats, flotsam, and jetsam.
There is a side cubby that feels more "Tiki" than the rest of the space, but there are still scattered tiki touches throughout the entire area.
They have about a hundred rums and a short list of funky cocktails, including a few mashups on traditional tiki classics. See menu below.
The craft beer list rotates regularly. The one constant is the Dwarf Piss, a $4 house lager brewed in partnership with Astronomy Aleworks.
The bar's excellent Detroit-style pizza is made with an airy, chewy dough that's pan-proofed and fermented in-house for up to 72 hours.
They do have some branded mugs, some of which are standards by Tiki Farm, but they also have a mascot mug of the red devil (red dwarf?).
The LuWow - Melbourne
Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
In 2019, The LuWow re-opened its doors in a prime spot in Melbourne’s cbd on Little Collins Street. It is in the space formerly occupied (fittingly) by Hawaiian-themed restaurant, Hana.
From their website:
"The LuWow has been recreated by 'Skipper' Josh Collins and Barbara Blaze Collins in a more intimate space, relax in a cosy booth or hang at the bar surrounded by an oasis of colourful kitsch with huge tiki totems, all carved by 'Skipper' Josh himself, leopard lounge suites, a jungle of plants and bamboo and a plethora of insane and wonderfully trashy souvenirs from the South Pacific and beyond. Josh & Barbara have kept to their retro OTT design ethic on this new venture. Their previous bars have been The LuWow (Fitzroy), Hula Bula Bar (Perth), Devilles Pad (Perth), South London Pacific (UK), Tikis (Belgium). Adding to the retro Tiki vibe of The LuWow the background music is hand curated from the owners’ huge vinyl collection of exotica, rhythm n blues, ska, soul, surf, 60s garage, beat & rock n roll."
Lola Lo - Cambridge
Cambridge, United Kingdom (Closed)
Opened May 25th, 2011.
This location was a dance club with themed parties 5 nights a week, decked out in hand-carved wood with Tiki booths. It was one of several in a chain of Lola Lo bar/restaurants (including Bristol, Cambridge, Manchester, and Reading) with only Bristol and Reading remaining after late 2024.
September 5th, 2024, the Lola Lo bar announced a change of ownership and that they would be named "Kiki's" going forward (presumably keeping the same Tiki/Hawaiian theme).
Canlis' Charcoal Broiler
Honolulu, Hawaii, United States (Closed)
Canlis Charcoal Broiler Restaurant was opened in 1954 by owner Peter Canlis and architect George Pete Wimberly. It was known for its high-end architectural and interior design as well as the kimono-clad waitresses. It also had a large 15' tiki in the main banquet hall whose design is repeated on their logo menu art. This tiki was carved by Edward "Mick" Brownlee (a non native who was also acknowledged as a master woodcarver and became known as the "Waikiki Wood Carver". Brownlee also carved for The Waikikian, The Tahitian Lanai, The International Marketplace and the Aku Aku in Las Vegas. His story is documented in the book, Waikiki Tiki, by Phillip S. Roberts.
A second Canlis' Restaurant was later opened in Seattle, Washington.
The original Canlis' closed in 1989 and was razed in 1998. Luxury Row now stands in its original location at 2100 Kalakaua.
Kula Hut
Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada (Closed)
Kula Hut opened in May 1960, and was just off Robson Street in Vancouver, B.C. It advertised itself as the "most authentic" Polynesian restaurant. It was owned by Joan and John Jang, Joan was the restaurant's manager. They hired Philip Fong and Paul Mak, who had been dining room captains at the Kon-Tiki in Montreal. By 1974, the restaurant was closed.
Westgate Cocoa Beach Resort
Cocoa Beach, Florida, United States
Westgate Cocoa Beach Resort began as the Wakulla Apartments, until the location was sold to the Mishler family in 1972 and converted to a motel. From then, until 2018 the site was known as the Wakulla Suites. The name was Native American, but the decor was Pop Polynesian. With 2018's extensive renovation and re-branding, the discrepancy is no longer a concern.
In addition to the previous tikis and tiki decor on the grounds, the Pop Polynesian theme has been further expanded with even more tiki decor and a lazy river in the pool area. There is now a poolside Tiki Bar for hotel guests only. The bar has two mugs for sale, a plastic tiki mug with the hotel name on the back and the other mug is a hollowed-out lidded coconut monkey.
The Beachcomber - Malibu
Malibu, California, United States (Closed)
The Beachcomber was a restaurant on the historic Malibu Pier. The restaurant itself was not tiki but rather was designed to look like a 1930s restaurant. However the restaurant's bar, the Malibu Pier Club, had a special nook with a round table that seated about ten available for special reservations. This nook was called the Tonga Lei Room, and it was decked out as a tribute to the Tonga Lei restaurant, which was located across the street.
The bar and restaurant opened in 2008, and for the Tonga Lei Room the owners enlisted the assistance of Bamboo Ben, Tiki Farm and Tiki-Ray to help deck the place out. The Beachcomber closed in 2012.
Foundation
Milwaukee, Wisconsin, United States
Foundation began as a punk bar, and around 2004 began a conversion into a punk tiki bar at the prompting of manager Don Nelson. Today the bar has left its punk roots behind, and has completed the metamorphosis into a beloved and completely punk-free tiki bar. It is chock full of tikis, many carved by local tiki artist Lake Tiki. The menu is full of traditional and modern tropical drinks, served in tiki mugs.
In 2017, a fully tikified vacation rental was added above Foundation, the Captain's Quarters.
The Reef - Long Beach
Long Beach, California, United States (Closed)
The Reef opened on August 8th, 1958, and was co-owned by George Millay, creator of Sea World. The original restaurant had interior designs by Bobby Mavis, and had "Hula Grounds" with many tikis.
Quote from a 1961 review from the Long Beach Press-Telegram:
"The Reef Is a large place with numerous dining rooms which accommodate thousands of guests each week. Bearing such fancy names as the Coco Room, the Tonga Room (both dining rooms), the Pali Room (large banquet facilities), and the Tiki Room (cocktail lounge), each is smartly tropical in decor. Most of these rooms provide their guests with breathtaking close-up views of harbor shipping and Long Beach’s sweeping skyline. For those who like to dine or sip cocktails In open air the Reef has a long handsome patio which also overlooks the water. In addition the restaurant has a huge turn-park area which can handle groups from 150 to 1500. Tommy Noh, the Reef's lively young manager, directs a staff of 70."
The Reef burned down in 1974, and was later re-built in 1980 by David Tallichet, one of the original partners in the old restaurant.
Tallichet and his company have run over 100 restaurants around the country over the years. The other Polynesian project he is well-known for is the Ports O' Call Restaurant at the Ports O' Call Village.
However, Tallichet re-built the new Reef building in a mining theme, that was popular around the country at the time, with lots of raw wood beams. He was later heard to voice regret that he didn't stick to the original Polynesian theme so many area residents fondly remembered. It's since been remodeled several times and the mining theme has been erased as well. The current restaurant isn't really tiki or Polynesian at all but it is almost 3 times as large as its predecessor and is still run by Tallichet's family-owned company, Specialty Restaurants Corporation, which currently owns 18 other restaurants, including The Castaway in Burbank, Castaway in San Bernardino, the aviation-themed Proud Bird ear LAX and 94th Aero Squadron in Van Nuys as well as Orange Hill in Orange.