Tiki Bars
The Tiki Hut - Yucca Valley
Yucca Valley, California, United States (Closed)
Opened in 2016.
The Tiki Hut was a vacation rental by owners just north of Yucca Valley, near Pioneertown (and its famed Pappy & Harriet's music venue), Joshua Tree National Park, and Palm Springs.
The building was on Janky Acres, a collection of three themed vacation rentals tucked into a secluded desert valley.
The Tiki Hut was able to sleep up to seven people, and was furnished with lots of bamboo, a tiki bar, a fake palm tree, and large tikis carved by CC Rider.
Seems to have closed @2020.
Laka Lono Rum Club
Omaha, Nebraska, United States
Laka Lono opened in October 2016, in the Old Market neighborhood of Omaha, Nebraska. The elaborately themed space is divided into two rooms: a main bar room, and a "cave room" with a second bar, booths and other seating, and a large waterfall. The whole space is covered in bamboo, thatch and lauhala, with some large tikis. The menu is a mix of classic tiki drinks and originals.
Royal Hawaiian - From 2006 to 2022
Laguna Beach, California, United States (Closed)
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 on April 3rd, 2019 under the auspices of chef Mariano Maro Molteni. Honarkars 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 photos of original location prior to 2006, or newly opened version from 2023 onward, see separate listings.
Royal Hawaiian Apartments
Huntington Beach, California, United States
The Royal Hawaiian Apartments were built in 1964. The apartment complex encircles a central kidney-shaped swimming pool. At the front of a building, a rock wall with a "Royal Hawaiian" outrigger sign is on one side of the entrance, and a bamboo-lined wall is on the other, above a parking garage supported by carved tiki posts. More tikis can be found in the inner courtyard.
The Jungle Bird
Sacramento, California, United States
The Jungle Bird opened October 23rd, 2016 in Midtown Sacramento. The bar and restaurant is owned by Melissa and Tyler Williams (of Sacramento's Tank House) and Buddy Newby. The decor includes lauhala and bamboo, with a few large tikis. There is an outdoor patio. A full menu of tropical drinks, including many classics, is available. The small food menu has a mix of old school Polynesian and modern Asian-Pacific fare, including a Pu-Pu Platter.
Note: No association with Jungle Bird bar in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, which made the Asian Top 50 bars list in 2018-2019. That bar is more of a rum bar than a tiki bar. However both started in 2016 and the "Jungle Bird" name seems to hold steady across the globe!
The Tiki Putt
Gresham, Oregon, United States (Closed)
The Tiki Putt (also known as the Tiki Family Fun Center) was a tiki-themed blacklight indoor mini-golf course. It opened in Gresham, Oregon, just northeast of Portland, in 2015. The room was dark, with neon-painted black light effects all around the room. The murals painted on the walls were evocative of black velvet paintings, and some of the scenes were particularly well done. There were tikis, palm trees, and a volcano with a walk-through "lava tube." In addition to the mini golf course, there was a large play structure and a small video game arcade that included some pinball machines.
Closed in September 2019.
The Drifter
Gent, Belgium
Owner and proprietor Tom Neijens opened The Drifter in April 2014, after many years spent making classic drinks, first at home, and then at a speakeasy-themed bar he co-owned. The Drifter is his full-dive into his passion for tiki drinks and Polynesian Pop history. The small space is dominated by a beautiful, undulating mosaic tile bar, and Neijens has continued to add more and more tiki to the space over the years, with bamboo seating, carved tikis, and faux palm trees.
Hidden Harbor
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States
Hidden Harbor opened in the Squirrel Hill neighborhood of Pittsburgh in January 2016. The bar is owned by Peter and Matt Kurzweg, who own the brewery next door, and their partner, tikiphile Adam Henry. The decor is decorated in a more nautical style than a tiki style, with no bamboo, rattan or thatch. There are, however, three large tikis carved by Crazy Al Evans. The drink menu is a mix of classic tiki drinks and modern tropicals, and there are special themed nights with more focused tropical drink menus. There is a small selection of food available, including a pu-pu platter.
Saturn Room
Tulsa, Oklahoma, United States
Saturn Room opened in Tulsa, Oklahoma in April 2015, in the Brady Arts District, a bit north of downtown.
The bar is owned by Noah Bush, John Gaberino and Jeremy Reed, a team that has experience with craft cocktail bars.
They've dived into tiki in a big way, with a space that's full of tikis, thatch-covered booths, and float lights.
The drinks are served in tiki mugs, including a Chairman Mao mug with their logo. Their logo also shows up on a blue swizzle stick.
Tikitiki Bowling Bar
New Territories, Hong Kong SAR China (Closed)
Tikitiki Bowling Alley opened on October 15, 2015 in Sai Kung, in Hong Kong's New Territories. It was a large attraction, with three bars, a restaurant and a live music venue in addition to the bowling lanes.
The Krakatoa Lanes were ten bowling lanes, topped with a massive video screen with tropical and party scenes. Light fixtures were lava inspired, and the pins and balls were fluorescent colors and lit with black light.
Sea Dogs & Mermaids was the main bar, a large bar shaped like a ship and built of rustic wood, decorated in a nautical style. A row of tikis faced into the bar area. The bar served classic tropical drink recipes a la Beachbum Berry, and a selection of their own creations, in tiki mugs.
Beach Bums & Cannibals was a fine dining restaurant. The room was ringed with carved tiki panels on eggplant purple walls, with matching purple shag throw rugs under each rustic wooden table. Candelabras and chandeliers provided the lighting.
Other areas included the Octopus's Garden, with live music acts performing in front of tiki masks; and Island of the Gods, an outdoor dining area overlooking the hills of Sai Kung, backed with a row of tall tikis.
Closed @April 2024.
Rumpus Tiki Bar
VII. kerület, Budapest, Hungary
Rumpus Tiki Bar opened in downtown Budapest in December 2013. It boasts a drink menu a mile long, but it's full of familiar old tiki favorites, and appear to be faithfully executed, right down to the tiki mugs and garnish. There are two levels, one wrapping around as an upper mezzanine, so that there is a mix of dramatic high ceiling area and more intimate low ceiling spaces. There is no break between wall and ceiling, rather sloping arches, adding a cave-like feel. Black fish nets are pinned to the ceiling, studded with globe lights dressed up as float lamps. Reed, bamboo and thatch are used throughout, perhaps more sparingly than we see in American bars, but used to great effect. There are carved tikis, and framed posters of brightly colored tikis.
Psycho Suzi's Motor Lounge
Minneapolis, Minnesota, United States (Closed)
In November 2010, Psycho Suzi's Motor Lounge moved from their original location to this much larger space, just down the street and now right on the Mississippi River.
The main level includes a restaurant and bar, and a large patio overlooking the river. There are large carved posts and tikis, and walls lined with lauhala matting and and carved wooden tchotchkes. On weekends, house band Exotik-a-Go-Go plays Exotica music, and the upstairs area is open. The upstairs, Shangri-La, has three distinct themed bars: the Shrunken Head, Forbidden Cove, and Ports of Pleasure. Each of the upstairs bars can be rented out for private events.
From 2016 onward, Psycho Suzi's started an annual "Mary's Christmas Palace" event running from October 1st-January 31st where everything is converted to an over-the-top Christmas theme, including the drinks.
*NOTE: In September 2022, the owner listed this location for sale for $6 Million.
Their permanent closing was announced by the owner, Leslie Bock, for August 19th, 2023 on social media.