Opened in 1963 at Villa Plaza, a new construction in Lakewood just south of Tacoma (although advertising materials say "Tacoma" for this location).

It was a 2-story construction with A-frame entrance and a Witco Mbulu Ugulu mask just below the roofline.

This restaurant started off life as a nicely appointed Polynesian Restaurant with decor sourced from Witco and some fern tikis sourced from the 1962 Seattle World's Fair that ended just half a year before The Tiki Restaurant opened.

Martin Denny even did a live performance back in the early days here.

However, in 1966 they decided to have topless go-go dancing upstairs and it appears to have gotten seedier/more sketchy as the years went on...

First off, the dancing was illegal. There were some arrests made and negative headlines before the bar was able to secure a cabaret license and legitimize the dancing.

Then, in 1974, a patron killed a bouncer.

Shortly after this, the restaurant was sold and became Peking Restaurant for a few years until in 1978 it was burned down in a suspected arson.

Nothing remains today.

Opened November 14th, 2022.

Flamingo Tiki is AHMM’s second project for client Humankind Hospitality, and it joins the Oso on Paseo bar in the thriving arts community of the Paseo District of Oklahoma City.

The interior features a large central bar with curved banquette seating and there is additional terrace seating outside. The new interior teams mid-century styling and materials with a tropical color palette that extends to its bright pink exterior. The tropical theme is further enhanced by the introduction of indoor planting, LED planted lighting, hanging planters and window boxes.

Although there is "tiki" in the name and they serve a number of traditional tiki cocktails, the decor and theming of this location is skewed towards "Baja Tropical" like the affiliated Oso on Paseo -- even serving the same menu of Baja tacos. The ambiance is not the traditional dark tiki room with layers of nautical and Polynesian artifacts, especially carved tikis, that originated with Don the Beachcomber and Trader Vic. Rather, the exterior pink facade and subdued but tasteful interior call to mind an upscale beach resort.

They do serve drinks in a variety of tiki mugs, however, and their food and drink has garnered rave reviews since their opening. They also have a variety of swizzle sticks.

Opened September 2nd, 2022.

A collaboration between the team behind Liberty Street Bistro—chef/owner Michael Kelly, his wife Alex, and executive chef Maggie Lloyd—along with designer Pat Nunnari and beverage director Jessica Gonzalez. Located in the old Blue Martini space, next door to Primo Waterfront.

Inspired by a visit to the Fuschia Tiki Bar, who also did consultation on the initial cocktail list.

The name "Jet Set" harkened back to the glory days of air travel, with bartender as pilot.

Although there was decor you would normally see in a tiki bar, with lots of tropical foliage and thatch, fish floats, and tiki mugs, there were no carved tikis and the tiki decor was rather sparse by traditional standards set by Trader Vic and Don the Beachcomber.

“Tiki itself has its origins in post-war escapism,” Nunnari says. “These guys who came back wanted to think back on paradise. It’s an Americanized sort of thing—it’s kind of fake in that respect, which leaves a lot of room for you to put your own twist on it.”

“It’s very hard to talk about tiki history without the appropriation of cultural iconography, specifically tiki gods, coming up,” says Alex Kelly, another partner in the project. “We get that, acknowledge it, and are not looking to add to the fetishization of Pacific Islander culture with The Jet Set. We have leaned heavily into the idea of mid-century modern air travel. What we aim to do at The Jet Set is focus on the quality of the cocktails our guests will be drinking.”

Best intentions aside, the bar did use plenty of mugs with tiki iconography and one of the most prominent pieces of bar art was a flip-up gate with a western-style painting of a cartoony pin-up native with a bone stuck in her hair (and holding a tiki mug). So, there was a little inconsistency in the application...

There was lots of stuff to love, though. The Jet Set had a very cool 30' aluminum jet fuselage with lit-up passenger windows in their dining area and a large outdoor patio as well. Unlike many tiki bars, they also had a great deal of space to work with and there was plenty of seating.

As time went on, they added to their decor with vintage style lamps and other details. They also became known for their live music presentations.

Unfortunately, they closed September 28th, 2024. No official reason given for closing...

Opened in 2012. This is a rum and craft cocktail bar that makes, by all accounts, fantastic tiki cocktails.

Though the interior design is not tilted as heavily toward tiki aesthetics as some of its more immersive cousins, they do have tiki decor, including several small tikis behind the back bar, tropical fern wallpaper in areas, and vintage prints that often find themselves inhabiting both home and commercial tiki bars -- such as Vladimir Tretchikoff's Green Lady (a.k.a. Chinese Girl) in the lounge and J. H. Lynch's Tina (1964) by the front bar.

They also serve drinks in tiki mugs and glassware and have several collectible mugs on display in their cabinets.

From Collage:

"Since its foundation in 2012, in the Born district of Barcelona, ​​the Collage cocktail bar has opted for signature creations. Creativity, research and respect for raw materials are the pillars on which we base our work. Always looking for new techniques, flavors and ingredients to provide a unique experience. We are specialized in rum and our sources of inspiration are in classic cocktails, in the Caribbean, the Mediterranean and in the Tiki universe.

In our Born Cocktail Bar we have a curated selection of almost two hundred rums of different origins and styles. We travel around the world looking for old treasures hidden in bottles and barrels of rum. We have achieved a collection of Rums that could almost be a museum. We value unique collection pieces and limited editions. Let yourself be guided by our team of bartenders who are passionate about rum, if you want to travel through this wonderful world."

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 .

This current version of the Royal Hawaiian opened May 27th, 2023.

Following the 2022 closure of the last iteration of the Royal Hawaiian, the space was turned over to Boulevard Hospitality for a complete transformation. 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.

The exterior tikis were replaced with brand new reproductions of the Andres Bumatay tikis that originally graced the restaurant.

A huge clam shell was added for people to sit in for photo ops (similar to the one used at the Golden Tiki in Las Vegas).

The display case was filled with a number of headhunter skulls which were fabricated by Reesenik.

The bathroom was wallpapered with large overlapping versions of the botanical drink recipe prints that Eric October has been making for several years.

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 1947-2006 version or for the 2006-2022 version see separate listings.

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).

Opened in 1999.

Paddy's Beach Club is located right on the beach and is relatively quiet during the winter but explodes into action during Spring and Summer, becoming a Spring Break/Beach Festival destination for thousands of scantily clad young people who visit every Sunday while the season lasts.

The Tikki Bar is located directly opposite the DJ entertainment stage on the other side of the dance floor. This dance floor is flanked on the sides by cabana private areas that you can rent for your friends. There is also a large drinking and dining area behind the main building and beach access onto the main beach as well.

Often regarded as New England's premiere dayclub.

They do have at least a couple of large carved wooden tikis outside. But the Tiki theme is applied pretty lightly overall.

Their cocktails are not the refined Trader Vic's and Don the Beachcomber cocktails that send the taste buds of most Tiki Fans quivering. If you want a ton of blue drink in a fish bowl to get buzzed on, though, they have you covered!

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.

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.

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.

Opened March 2nd, 2022.

The Luau was developed by owner/bartender Brett Rose to "stoke the masses".

Though not as lavishly decorated as some tiki palaces, tilting perhaps a touch more towards the surf bar than the tiki bar end of the spectrum with its coral painted walls and serviceable wood café chairs, there are still, indeed, several tikis throughout.

It has a live music stage in front of house and an outdoor patio in back.

Some nice decorative touches include a wall of ukuleles behind the live music stage, some Oceanic Arts style masks on the walls, lauhala matting, fish floats, and a couple of concrete tiki fountains out on the patio.

Tiki favorites are served in tiki mugs and volcano bowls. Including the Tropical Itch cocktail, with backscratchers included.

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.