The Tahitian in Pasadena opened on November 21st, 1961.

This location at 137 S. Lake Avenue was previously home to Steve Romer's Surf Rider, which had closed only 4 years before.

The Tahtian restaurant was co-owned by Don Avalier and Bill Dove with Chef Francois Sirgant as a third partner. It was one of two Tahitian restaurants, the other location was in Studio City. There was also a Royal Tahitian restaurant in Ontario, CA that used identical lettering and was likely related. Menu cover tiki was designed by Andres Bumatay. The decor was supplied by Oceanic Arts and Sea & Jungle, and the ceramic table lamps and coconut mugs were supplied by Spurlin Ceramics.

Open through at least 1968 (and the Studio City location closed around same time).

Mai Kai Lounge is the bar of the Tecumseh Inn (built in 1964), on the west edge of town. The bar opened in 1971 and remained mostly untouched, until 2018-2021 when it was closed and then given a makeover.

The bar originally had carved Witco tiki barstools, and two tall tiki poles. The table and bar surfaces were covered with a tapa design, and the circular booths were upholstered in '70s vinyl colors: orange, avocado, aqua, blue. The backs and toe-kick areas of the booths were upholstered in green astroturf, and were surrounded by bamboo curtains and faux bamboo plants. There were two hanging rattan chairs suspended from the ceiling, with orange cushions. The lighting was dim and moody, provided by float lamps, beachcomber lamps, and white and red string lights. The building's exterior was simple, but the white walls had modern abstract shapes in relief.

Despite the ideal tiki bar setting, and the full bar, there was no menu of tropical cocktails.

As of April 2009, the bar was temporarily closed, but the owner of the bar assured that none of the decor was being removed. However, as of 2018, it was reported by area residents that the place had been gutted and tiki furnishings were now gone.

This was partly/temporarily true, but the bar did re-open in 2021 with brand-new brightly painted wall murals and much of the interior decor still intact. The floor plan seems more open with removal of some of the fake foliage and bamboo curtains. The Witco barstools are noticeably absent in new photos, so they may be sold or in the process of being restored. All of this refurbishment was part of sprucing up the property for re-sale in 2021. It was listed on loopnet.com for $895,000, and with the assertion that it has new management in place.

The "Jacuzzi Room" did have an Orchids of Hawaii hanging shell lamp and a few other pieces of tiki decor even after the initial refurbishment...but it might have been removed as part of their re-theming to a boathouse/lodge/western look for the overall site by the new owners.

As of 2024, they still advertise the "Tiki Bar" as a BYOB adult hangout that can be reserved. Their website shows a group drinking beer and eating pizza around a small table in a brightly lit room...

The Polynesian Inn Restaurant was in a big box of a building, with five peaked roof structures forming a zig-zag across the top, with the middle one being higher than the others. There was a large, bold sign at the street with "Polynesian Inn" supported by two crossed spear-like structures. It also had a "Tahitian Room."

The owners were C.L. "Vern" Hostetler (Vern passed on November 26th, 1990 -- aged 55) and Dolores "Dee" Hostetler (Dolores passed on July 5, 2014 -- aged 79). In addition to the Polynesian Inn, they also owned and operated the Dutchman Florist in Albuquerque and Rio Rancho.

The Polynesian Inn looks to have been operated during the late '50s or '60s (at least as early as 1966 according to one news article advertising a private party and one postmarked postcard) but it's possible this location was very short-lived.

It's highly unlikely that there is any connection to the Polynesian Cocktail Lounge, which opened in 1990.

There is a Denny's (that looks to date from the '60s or '70s) and a small park in the area where this restaurant used to sit.

This restaurant used to be a Hu Ke Lau (opened in July 1969), a sister location to the Hu Ke Lau in Chicopee (and several others in a small chain), until the current owners bought it @ 1971 and rechristened it Luau Hale.

The Luau Hale's traditional mix of Chinese food and faux Polynesian decor was in full effect for decades, with elaborate painted murals, Orchids of Hawaii hanging lights, a scattering of tikis, and a dramatic pagoda right in the restaurant. By contrast, the exterior of the building was unassuming: a simple brick structure, with no windows. A menu of traditional tropical drinks was available, and were reportedly of high quality, and potent.

The Covid pandemic hit this business hard, according to the owners, and financially they never quite recovered despite community support. The death of co-founder Sam Woo in September 2023 made continuing the restaurant untenable and they closed several months later on March 30th, 2024.

Built in 1965, this 109 room hotel is a half mile north of the Bellair Shopping Plaza and sits on 2 acres of oceanfront property.

The Makai Beach Lodge was ravaged by Hurricane Irma in 2017, but before that it had a large tiki sign above the roofline and much more tiki decor in and about the site. Today, there is a moai head out front and a few tiki poles along one of the outbuildings leading to the pool, but that's it.

The Original Tiki Bar opened in 1990, was expanded in 1998, and was renovated after hurricane damage in 2004.

The restaurant had at least a few Florida-style tiki carvings. It is unclear what the "original" was in reference to.

Closed in April 2019. Now home to Crabby's Dockside.

Opened November 27th, 1968.

Owned and operated by Mr. Jimmy Tchou and Mrs. Jimmy Tchou (Lorraine Lee Tchou). Designed by architect Paul Mouton.

Huki Lau was a restaurant in Metairie's "Fat City" area with Chinese food and Polynesian decor, including a 16' high waterfall.

It operated till November 1974, when Lorraine Lee and new partner Roy Walker rebranded the place as the Huki Lau Supper Club, with food prepared and brought in from the Imperial Palace, a Chinese restaurant in Metairie that Lee and Walker (who later married) also owned.

The club and restaurant were destroyed by fire in January 1977, and then-Jefferson Parish Fire Chief James O’Neill told the Times-Picayune that burglary and arson were suspected.

YKH Consulting, LLC is now in this location.

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.

The Tropics opened November 18, 1954. At one point it suffered a fire which gutted the interior. It was re-opened soon afterward.

At some point it was known as Georgie Rudin's Tropics -- at least as early as 1960 when Barney West was contracted to carve 4 large tikis for the establishment.

Cantonese and American food was served, and tropical drinks were served in tiki mugs. It was well-known as a live music venue.

The restaurant closed in 1988. A wrecking crew took down the structure later in 1994.

Mar Vista Lanes was built in 1961, and was designed by famed Googie-riffic architects Armet & Davis. It once housed a bar called the Makai Cocktail Lounge, which had a spare, modernistic take on tiki. The Makai Cocktail Lounge closed some time during the 70s.

One lone tiki stood outside for many years until July 5, 2014 when it was reported stolen outside the Pepy's Galley Diner (which was the attached eatery until later in 2014).

Soon after, Bowlero purchased the property when AMF went bankrupt.

The new Bowlero version opened in April 2015 and is still current as of 2020. They have a long mural along the side of the building which touts its history since 1961 and sports a couple of tikis. They have also added at least one new carved tiki outside as well.

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.

Intoxica was a very modern tiki bar in Copenhagen, inspired largely by Jeff "Beachbum" Berry's drink books (and named after his second book, Intoxica!). The decor was very sleek and minimal, but with organic accents, and tropical drinks served in tiki mugs. It opened in 2008 and closed in 2009.