Tiki Bars
Servatur Waikiki - Spain
San Bartolomé de Tirajana, Spain
The Hotel Waikiki was built in 1974 on the Playa del Inglés - Gran Canaria - Spain.
Servatur acquired the hotel around 2010 and is the current corporate head as of 2024.
Originally, the hotel sported some very nice Marquesan styled tikis on its grounds.
However, although the current advertising still talks about a tiki bar poolside, it appears the original vintage decor has long been disposed of with successive remodelings, leaving only a bland resort atmosphere. The only tikis in evidence appear to be some large and cartoonish (probably fiberglass) tikis by the childrens' pool area.
Nalu Hawaiian Surf Bar & Grille - Rehoboth Beach
Rehoboth Beach, Delaware, United States
This second Nalu location opened in Rehoboth Beach on April 9th, 2019.
It tilts a bit more to the surf than the tiki spectrum of decor with surfboard tables and Hawaiian wave mural walls, but no carved tikis in evidence like the original location.
The food menu is much the same as the sister location. They have a self-described "Pacific island fusion" menu with pad thai, tacos, burgers, and poke bowls leading the way.
The cocktails are served in tiki style glassware.
Mabu-Hay
Cala d'Or, Spain
Opened in 1982.
Mabu-Hay has both indoor and outdoor seating with plenty of rattan & bamboo furniture and decor. The interior is dark and moody as classic tiki bars tend to be, but if you want to sit outside on the patio/lanai and people watch, you can do that as well. They appear to have cocktails served in both vessels by Porcelanas Pavon as well as some of their own ceramic creations. There is a large moai out front and several other standing tikis throughout, that appear to be sculpted, rather than carved (perhaps out of concrete or fiberglass or some other material).
Sunken Harbor Club - at Gage & Tollner - Brooklyn
New York, United States
Sunken Harbor Club is an intimate nautical cocktail bar tucked away on the second floor above Gage & Tollner.
After eight years as a weekly pop-up at owner St. John Frizell's Red Hook mainstay Fort Defiance, The Club finally anchored in Downtown Brooklyn in October 2021.
Though this bar has no tikis, they certainly excel in making tiki style cocktails and various craft rum drinks.
They also have a mid-century friendly 200+ hour-long soundtrack that boasts Exotica, Surf, and Bossa Nova, for a retro feel -- and some thunderstorm sounds and other special effects mixed in to give a bit of that Don The Beachcomber rainstorm vibe.
The bar was profiled in Exotica Moderne Issue 17, 2022 and a good comparison was made to other nautical bars that are "tiki adjacent" such as the Molokai Bar at the Mai-Kai in Ft. Lauderdale.
While some tiki purists may bemoan the lack of actual carvings or artwork, they do not claim to be a "tiki" bar. However, there is no doubt that this venue appreciates tiki connoisseurs, understands tiki history, and has created a wonderful nautical bar that any mid century modern or tiki enthusiast would have a very difficult time not enjoying.
The Lost Inferno
San Clemente, California, United States
Opened August 30th, 2022.
Lost Inferno is a tiki bar with a strong homage to the classic 1985 film by Stephen Spielberg, The Goonies. The name of the bar directly references the pirate ship from the film, which belonged to One-Eyed Willie.
There are pirate skeletons and sections of the bar feel like they are a cavern straight from the film. They are a little light on actual tikis in the decor, although they do have some tiki masks up on the walls.
Mokihana Bar - at Kokee Lodge
Waimea, Hawaii, United States (Closed)
The Mokhana Bar was located in Kokee Lodge at the top of Waimea Canyon, on Kauai.
It has long since been remodeled and no traces of the bar remain, although Kokee Lodge is still running.
The bar had Leeteg paintings on the walls, carved tikis, and served drinks out of coconuts.
Oriental Garden
Haverhill, Massachusetts, United States
Opened in 1970. This is one of those cases where a site is not closed or fallen into disrepair, but for the interested tikiphile, there's not much here worth checking out.
Oriental Gardens is a typical Chinese restaurant today but at one time it was adorned with tikis, thatched roofs and authentic looking decor.
The only thing apparently left from its tiki heyday is the rock pond/fountain as seen below in vintage photos...and a lengthy tropical cocktail menu still in effect.
It's located in a strip mall, has a small lounge and a decent size dining area. They also have a separate conference/party room. It looks as though it was remodeled around 2000 or so and doesn't really show any signs of neglect. If you are looking for a decent Chinese restaurant or tropical beverage and are in the area, it could be worth a look, but don't expect to see any tiki decor.
*NOTE: Cocktail menu is current as of 2022.
High & Dry Rum Bar
Houston, Texas, United States (Closed)
Opened in February 2018.
This was a very modern bar without all the layers that one usually associates with traditional tiki bars. It had a sort of industrial look with lots of exposed brick and open space.
Then, again, they were not trying to be a "tiki" bar but a "rum" bar that happened to be tiki-friendly.
There were several nice carved tikis on display behind the back bar area and in a few other niches.
They were also true to their name with 200+ rums to select from.
In addition to rum, they had a selection of other spirits and offered a tight list of ten cocktails focusing exclusively on "upgraded" takes on classic rum cocktails like the Mai Tai and Hurricane.
The bar took pride in using house-made orgeat and other tinctures and prepared ingredients.
Closed @ November 2023.
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.
Dr. Funk
San Jose, California, United States
This tiki bar soft opened in San Pedro Square in downtown San Jose on Monday, December 13th, 2021. Opened to the public on Thursday, December 16th.
Located in the former site of Peggy Sue’s 1950s-style diner.
Designer Notch Gonzalez transformed the venue with thatched-roof booths, bamboo railings and blowfish lights hanging from the ceiling. There are tikis everywhere, including a six-footer that Gonzalez carved in about a week.
Notch hearkened back to classic tiki carver Milan Guanko with his own versions carved in the recognizable Guanko style.
They serve Dr Funk's namesake cocktail (of rum, absinthe, lime, lemon, demerara syrup, grenadine and seltzer) alongside 12 original tiki tipples and eight classics.
There is also a limited food menu with coconut shrimp, Hawaiian ribs, burgers, chicken sandwiches, etc...
Kona Kai Restaurant
Panama City Beach, Florida, United States (Closed)
This bar and restaurant appears to have been opened in the late 60s (1967?) and only flourished for a short time, possibly into the early 70s.
Many people, especially younger visitors, remember they had paddle boats for rent as well.
As can be seen in the pictures, they had a couple of large moai outside and at least two large tikis and at least two carved poles. The roofline is very distinctive and has stayed basically the same at this location and into the present (2021).
At some point this restaurant was re-christened as Pompano's (later as Pompano Key) and was open at least through 2018, after which it was closed and remained vacant, possibly awaiting land redevelopment.
The poles and carvings migrated to an Alvin's Outpost store in town and have been painted several times over in different color combinations. See last photo.
Secret Island
Long Beach, California, United States
Opened September 30th, 2021.
This bar is underground, below Shannon's on Pine. The build-out was completed by Bamboo Ben.
Some features include a poured resin bartop with a "stream" of resin running along the middle of the wood surface, a "lava" throne for photo ops, a floor with bright orange/red "lava" rivulets painted where you might normally see grout lines, and plenty of thatch and tikis.
This is also a live music venue.
The entire building is under one owner, so they are able to utilize several different levels and areas of indoor space for marketplace events as well (beyond just the bar). They started their own marketplace in June 2022 -- held roughly at quarterly intervals throughout the year.