Opened in 1956 through at least 1957 according to old newspaper ads.

One such ad from The San Francisco Examiner July 20, 1957 states:

"Only I year old and world-famous. Under the management of BOB KENNA. Entertainment-Exotic Beverages and Foods. Jimmie Borges, 'The Hawaiian Johnny Ray' FLOOR SHOW ENTERTAINMENT FEATURES authentic Hawaiian music. SHOW TIMES: 9:45-11:15-12:15 TUESDAY THROUGH SUNDAY. Under the expert supervision of Chef Bill Seaburg authentic Island cooks prepare exotic dishes as well as the traditional seafood and steak dishes you'd expect in a fine wharf restaurant. Waikiki Far Eastern Specials include: TAHITIAN CANTONESE HAWAIIAN INDONESIAN MANDARIN FOODS and a Complete Sea Food Menu, Steaks, Chops Tropical Bar features 30 exotic beverages ranging in strength from an 'Hawaiian Sunrise' to a 'Typhoon.' Hot hors d'oeuvres during Cocktail Hour. OPEN 11:30 A.M. to 2:00 A.M."

Address no longer exists. Old building was probably torn down. Today this area is home to a thriving shopping area.

Traders Restaurant is adjacent to the Aku Tiki Inn, and is sometimes called the Aku Tiki Traders Restaurant. There are a few pieces of tiki decor left, including some Witco carved furniture. It is just down the street from Hawaiian Inn.

Spa Tiki was a large full-service spa. The spa took up two floors, and had tikis by Bosko sprinkled throughout the place. It felt very much like a modern, upscale spa, with relaxing music and dim lighting. There was a shop near the front counter with beauty supplies and soaps with a Hawaiian bent.

The investors in Spa Tiki were also investors in nearby Mister Tiki's Mai Tai Lounge. Spa Tiki opened in 2003, and closed in late 2009.

The Tropic Cafe (1935-1946), arguably San Diego’s first pre-tiki nightclub, was helmed by ‘Skipper’ John S. Ewing, and originally opened at 11th & Market. Ewing opened The Tropic Cafe to serve the large transient military population of San Diego. Business was so good, two years after opening he moved to a larger space in the old Gates Hotel building (1894), just across Third Avenue from the U.S. Grant Hotel Coffee Shop.

In 1939 he opened the Tropic Village room, with moonlit dining and dancing amidst a grove of faux coco palms, and music by Stone’s Hawaiians. A freighter-shaped bar — the S.S. Tropic — served tropical rum drinks. Design and murals were by local artist Russell Dale Moffett (Mexican Village murals).

Eventually, Ewing sold The Tropic Cafe to ‘well-connected’ Sicilians establishing themselves in Sailor’s Row. In 1946, The Tropic Cafe was re-opened as The Hula Hut by Frank and Liberante ‘Leo’ Matranga. Next door, brothers Joe and Gaspare Matranga opened the Cuckoo Club, and then the Aloha Club.

In 1952, Jack Sutton opened Dutton's Jungle Gardens, which sprawled across 7-acres at the intersection of Orangethorpe and Raymond Avenues.

The property was covered with more than 500 palm trees and crawled with assorted megafauna: an alligator, bear, lion, three elephants, orangutans and more. One of the biggest attractions was Jerry, a chimpanzee who was toilet trained and could dress himself and brush his own teeth. Admission to the jungle was free and large paths led people through the dense canopy where they could get close to the animals, which inevitably caused liability issues.

Dutton offset the cost of running the animal attraction with this swanky Polynesian joint known as the Palms Restaurant. Serving exotic gourmet food, it hosted parties of up to 1,000 people. Menus housed in the Anaheim library show Lobster dinners were served for $3.50; Hawaiian dinners such as Barbecued Pork and Opae Teriyaki were served for around $5 a plate. Guests included such glitterati as actor Dale Robertson (Dynasty) as well as Catwoman Eartha Kitt. The brochure below shows that the bar was known as the "Lantern Bar" and featured a ton of swag lamps! There was also a "Terrace Room" and a "Gold Room".

But ultimately the operation was too much for Dutton to handle. In 1974 thieves raided the jungle making off with two flamingos, two silver pheasants, a Ghigi Golden pheasant and other birds totaling a loss of $1,200. In 1976 police responded to reports of an unruly party of approximately 700 guests at the Palms. According to the Santa Ana Register a “free-for-all” broke out with people launching rocks and bottles at police forcing cops to use mace and batons to break up the throng. Three people were arrested for assault on a police officer and one lawman was hospitalized.

On May 17, 1976 the Palms closed. It stood vacant for two years and succumbed to a suspicious electrical fire in 1978.

The Palms restaurant was right next door to the Akua Motor Hotel, now known as the Akua Motor Inn.

Mauna Loa Lounge was in the Mayfair Hotel, built during the early 1960s by George Kelly Hill.

The project was executed on the eastern part of the hotel. The walls and ceilings were of grass matting sewn on the large bamboo poles. The room resembled a large Polynesian hut with colored fish floats that glimmered as they were suspended by fishnets in between lighted king turtle shells. Painted leather and gilded tiles made the walls glow. There were gurgling fountains, hoTai (the god of good luck), lighted blowfish, peacock chairs, hand carved wooden tables, all on exotic theatre carpeting. The servers’ sporting flowered shirts and leis, brought drinks served in brightly colored glasses.

While listening to Hawaiian surf music, you could enjoy tall Singapore Slings and other tropical cocktails. Credit goes to Edith Holden (a talented artist), along with Daryl Giffin and Don Pelechaty who both hand carved and painted the tiki pole Gods to create the perfect look.

Mayfair Enterprises sold the hotel in 1966.

The building later burned down December 26th, 1976, destroying the Mauna Loa Lounge.

This location on Fairfax was the second of two, built in 1950, the first being built at Pico in 1947. Two men, Thomas Kelley and Jack Bouck, combined the first syllables of their last names and invented Kelbo’s, a small chain of Hawaiian barbecues whose food was not all that Hawaiian: burgers, barbecue meat sandwiches and some miscellaneous seafood. The concession to the islands was that every plate was garnished with a piece of pineapple and the fried shrimp was coated with coconut. They also served very sweet (but very good) barbecued ribs and had a menu of tropical drinks, some of which came flaming or served in a skull mug. Eli Hedley was the main designer and he was also responsible for the interior of other tropical-themed restaurants like Don the Beachcomber. Kelbo’s felt like a place that had been decorated in the thirties or forties and then no one changed anything. As mentioned, there were two Kelbo’s. This one was on Fairfax across from CBS Television City in La Brea, and was later torn down. It was a popular hangout for crew members who worked across the street at CBS Television City in the fifties and sixties. The building that housed the other was over on Pico at Exposition.  After that location was shuttered, the building was converted into a bikini bar called Fantasy Island for a time.  Much of the Kelbo’s advertising art was done by Bob Hale who otherwise turned up on Los Angeles TV from time to time as a cartooning weatherman. (He was also active in Seattle where he owned a popular hobby shop that bore his name.) Hale’s drawings of a fat Hawaiian guy in native garb could be seen on Kelbo’s napkins and menus, and both of the Kelbo's outlets had huge Bob Hale murals on the outside.

Luau Polynesian Lounge opened in 1997, and was more of a nice little neighborhood restaurant than a traditional tiki bar. The decor was bright and airy, and included more surfboards than tikis. There was, however, a rather striking carved Ku (with mouth reminiscent of Milan Guanko's carvings) serving as a hostess podium, and a number of tropical drinks were available on the menu. The food is what really made Luau stand out -- the mainland interpretations of classic Hawaiian food were quite good, and they served a can't-miss pupu platter, complete with flaming Sterno.

Luau Polynesian Lounge closed in early 2010.

The founder of the Trader Vic's chain, Victor Jules Bergeron, is interred with his wife Helen in the Mausoleum at Mountain View Cemetery. You will find them on the bottom floor at about eye level, near the west-facing end entrance. If you visit, be sure to bring some menehunes to leave in remembrance.

On the second floor of the same Mausoleum, Henry J. Kaiser is interred. Henry J. Kaiser's connection to tiki is that he built the Kaiser Aluminum Dome, where Arthur Lyman's albums were recorded, and the Hawaiian Village, which was later purchased by the Hilton chain.

Opened in the early 2000s and closed by 2016.

Waikiki was a small Thai/Indonesian restaurant located in a quiet neighborhood near the Schwabing district of Munich. By foot, it could be reached via a short (5 minute) walk from the Josephsplatz U-bahn station.

The decor was tropical, featuring tapa cloth wall coverings and large, carved wooden tiki masks. A backlit bookcase filled with carvings and knick-knacks also figured prominently, along with fan-backed wicker chairs. Traditional Hawaiian music was played, at a reasonable volume, and the lighting was muted.

The drink menu was extensive and the drinks themselves were clearly modeled after Trader Vic's. The bartender could mix a very reasonable fascimile of a Mai Tai and an excellent Zombie and both were priced far lower than the Munich Vic's.

The menu was reasonably priced and featured Thai staples such as spring rolls, along with curries and noodle dishes.

Sam's Seafood started in its original location in 1923 at 2501 Coast Highway and, up until its Polynesian remodel in 1960 it was just a seaside seafood joint.

At 3 a.m. on Feb. 17, 1959, a fire burned the original Sam’s Seafood to the ground. Forced to rebuild, then-owners Ruth, Nick and Dick Katsaris glommed on to the midcentury fad sweeping Southern California: Tiki!

In 1960, they invested $1 million and hired architect Don Davis to design the new face of Sam’s and introduced Surfside to “Sam’s Seafood and Hawaiian Village.”

Sam's Seafood contained several dining rooms. The brightly lit main dining room had a large wall mural on one side and a dramatic tiki & waterfall display at the back. A pair of smaller side dining rooms were also bright and more aviation themed.

Of more interest to the tikiphile was the Hidden Village (Hawaiian Village) banquet room area in the back available for event rentals, which was large and moodily lit, with glass floats, waterfall displays, A-frame covered seating areas, and a small bar. On Friday nights from April to November, Sam's Seafood had a Polynesian Dinner Show in the Hidden Village. Last but certainly not least was the excellent main bar at Sam's. It was dark and full of excellent carvings, pufferfish and float lamps, and thatch.

A small bar with some tiki carvings inside, Turc's, can be found just down the street.

At the end of May 2006, Sam's Seafood was sold to developers who aimed to build retail spaces & condominiums on the site. Red tape appeared to be holding off any development on the site for years. Sam's closed for several months until June 2007, when the property owners allowed a new group to come in and keep the restaurant running in a somewhat modified form until the development could move forward.

In 2007, Sam's Seafood became Kona. In 2009, Kona closed and the restaurant reopened as Don the Beachcomber (no connection to the historic chain), which then closed in 2018.

Ren Clark's Polynesian Village was in the Western Hills Hotel, and was richly decorated with bamboo, tapacloth, floats, lights, thatch and peacock chairs. It had several rooms: the Tahitian Room, the Hawaiian Room, the Samoan Hut, and the Cannibal Cocktail Lounge. Its signature tiki was carved by Milan Guanko.

Ren Clark was a magician, and held several posts in magician groups in the 1950s. For entertainment at his Polynesian Village restaurant he performed a magic act; as a souvenir, patrons could purchase a grotesque mug of a severed head -- this mug has become one of the more sought-after tiki mug collectibles, despite it not being really all that "tiki."

The Polynesian Village opened on June 20th, 1960. The hotel was open from 1951 until it burned down in 1969.

The location is currently a Winn-Dixie Marketplace.