Tiki Bars
Tiki Fala Restaurant
Arlington, Virginia, United States (Closed)
This location was functioning circa 70s - late 80s.
The interior of the restaurant was decorated with lots of decorations including Orchids of Hawaii lamps and masks.
By 1990 this location was closed and had become a Korean Restaurant named Sang Rok Su, which purportedly kept the Polynesian decor.
Today, as of 2023, any sign of Polynesian decor is gone and the location is home to The Celtic House Irish Pub.
Chan's Dragon Inn
Ridgefield, New Jersey, United States (Closed)
Opened in 1962.
This was one in a chain that also included Chan's Hawaii Inn in Mahwah and Chan's Waikiki in Paramus.
The interior featured tiki poles and shields, string lights, Christmas lights, printed fabric, Chinese dragons, bamboo and rattan accents, rainbow chunk resin swag lamps, fake flowers, plastic colored leis, and pufferfish lamps. Two outrigger canoes hung from the ceiling. In the front entrance there was a wishing well made from three giant clam shells.
There was a main dining area that seated about 60 people, with a small alcove in the northeast corner that had one table, and a secondary, smaller, separate dining area in the front of the building (to the left as you enter) that held probably another 16-20 people.
On the other side of the main dining area was a small bar, with enough seating for about eight people where you could order the restaurant’s signature cocktail offerings: Daiquiri, Mai Tai, Aloha Delight, South Sea Satellite, Tabu for Two, and Flaming Virgin, to name a few.
This location closed Fall 2020.
The Hukilau - Florence
Florence, Oregon, United States
Opened in 2018.
Pacific fusion restaurant and tiki bar on the Oregon Coast featuring daily cocktail specials.
Originally a food truck called A Taste of Hawaii (2014), four years later owners Christian and Natasha Jakobsen opened The Hukilau brick and mortar alongside Highway 101 in Florence, OR.
They have indoor and outdoor seating.
Lime In The Coconut
Chula Vista, California, United States
Soft opening on October 11th, 2022.
From Lime In The Coconut:
"Lime in the Coconut takes you to a place of salty air and sandy toes. Time slows down and the island vibe transports you someplace tropical. Enjoy casual island fare from Hawaii, the Philippines, Vietnam, Japan, and the Caribbean. The menu, designed by executive chef Jeremy Galapon (formerly of the Bali Hai, San Diego), features fish, pork, chicken, tofu, and vegetable sandwiches, salads noodles, and snacks.
Vacation vibes begin with craft cocktails designed by Snake Oil Cocktail Co. and made with fresh, hand-pressed juices and the finest rums, tequilas, gins, and liqueurs. Mocktails are equally tasty and tropical for those choosing to forgo alcohol.
You don’t have to travel to escape."
Chan's Waikiki
Paramus, New Jersey, United States (Closed)
Dates uncertain, but open at least as early as 1968 and appears to have been open into the mid 1990s.
This was one in a chain that also included Chan's Hawaii Inn in Mahwah and Chan's Dragon Inn in Ridgefield.
Chan's Waikiki had three dining rooms and a bar‐lounge separated by bamboo dividers to maintain an intimate atmosphere. The Polynesian decor included island masks on red walls, some chunk resin swag lamps, artificial flowers, stuffed birds, a fountain and a fish pool, and a background of soft Hawaiian music.
Now home to Chakra Restaurant.
Coco Palms Resort Hotel
Kapa'a, Wailuā, Kauaʻi, Hawaii, United States (Closed)
Coco Palms Resort was a resort hotel in Wailuā, Kauaʻi, Hawaiʻi, that was noted for its Hollywood connections, Hawaiian-themed weddings, torch lightings, destruction by a hurricane, and long-standing land disputes. The resort includes or is near to culturally significant spots and the sites of some of most important legends and historical events for Native Hawaiians.
The land is ancient Hawaiian royal property that has been in dispute since 1866.
Lyle Guslander leased the site of Coco Palms from the Territory of Hawaii in 1952; the resort opened in early 1953 with 24 rooms. The hotel manager, Grace Buscher, took control of marketing the hotel as a Hawaiian-style getaway for tourists.
Coco Palms was the location of the famous outrigger canoe wedding scene from Elvis Presley's Blue Hawaii, released in 1961, the resort was also used in many other films, such as South Pacific, Pagan Love Song, and the TV series "Fantasy Island”.
The hotel made a big business out of Hawaiian-style weddings for decades. Buscher started a tradition, still in use at hotels throughout the islands, known at the hotel as the torch-lighting ceremony. Buscher also initiated a tree-planting ceremony to replenish the old coconut grove and honor individuals of note.
It was the world's most famous Polynesian resort until Hurricane Iniki struck Kauai on September 11, 1992. The Coco Palms was severely damaged by Iniki and the resort was left to decay for decades. The costly repairs and insurance issues left the Coco Palms officially closed with no announced plans to reopen.
In 2016, Honolulu developers GreeneWaters LLC formed a partnership, Coco Palms Hui LLC, to restore the resort. Their intent was to reopen Coco Palms "as part of Hyatt's Unbound Collection." However, in 2019 the project collapsed.
Chow's
Dorval, Quebec, Canada
Chow's is a Chinese restaurant that has been in operation since at least the 1960s, but underwent a Polynesian transformation in 1984, when the owner ordered everything out of an Orchids of Hawaii catalog. They once served drinks, but no longer do, though they may have some old Orchids of Hawaii mugs for sale. The room is lined with matting and tapa, with carved clubs and masks on the walls, and Orchids of Hawaii lamps. The food is standard Chinese buffet fare.
The Shag Store - West Hollywood
West Hollywood, California, United States (Closed)
The Shag Store opened in 2015 in West Hollywood. The store exclusively sold merchandise and prints created by the artist Shag (Josh Agle). Shag lived in Hawaii as a child and has long been a fan of Tiki style, and Polynesian Pop imagery makes frequent appearances in his work.
This location permanently closed as of May 31st, 2020.
There is another Shag Store location in Palm Springs which is still open.
The Shag Store - Palm Springs
Palm Springs, California, United States
The Shag Store opened in 2009 in downtown Palm Springs. The store exclusively sells merchandise and prints created by the artist Shag (Josh Agle). Shag lived in Hawaii as a child and has long been a fan of Tiki style, and Polynesian Pop imagery makes frequent appearances in his work.
There was a second Shag Store location in West Hollywood, but it permanently closed as of May 31st, 2020.
Pukiki
Estreito da Calheta, Portugal
Pukiki is a tiki bar on the Portuguese island of Madeira, which is in the Atlantic Ocean, about equidistant from the shores of both Portugal and Morocco. The bar celebrates Madeira's historic connection with Hawaii: Portuguese emigrants from Madeira and Azores went to Hawaii in large numbers starting in the late 1800s to work the sugarcane plantations. The strong thumbprint of Portuguese culture remains in Hawaii today, most notably the ukulele, an instrument brought to Hawaii from Madeira. "Pukiki" is what these settlers were called by the native Hawaiians.
Pukiki opened in July 2016, and is the creation of Carla Lopes Marques and Martin McDermott. Carla is a Madeira native, and Martin is from Manchester, UK. There is a menu of tiki and other tropical cocktails, and there is also a wide rum selection (by Madeira standards, at least). The decor is somewhat simple (importing materials to this remote island would be no easy feat!), but the bar is fronted with bamboo, and drinks are served in tiki mugs (sculpted for them by Bai). A shared drink, The Ukulele, is served in a ceramic ukulele vessel, with the long straws presented on top as its "strings".
Lani Kai
New York, New York, United States (Closed)
Lani Kai was a Hawaiian-inspired (but not tiki) restaurant and bar in lower Manhattan. It was opened in 2010 by Julie Reiner, who grew up in Hawaii and has been behind several high-end cocktail spots in Manhattan including Pegu Club, Flatiron Lounge and Clover Club. While Reiner made it clear that Lani Kai was not intended to be a tiki bar, she and her staff knew traditional tropical cocktails inside-out, and executed them perfectly.
The space was dimly lit, mainly by candles... no beachcomber lamps here. The seating and tables were sleek and streamlined, and the rooms had lots of green plants. The feel of the spot was that of a modern, high-end spa in a Hawaiian resort. The upper level had restaurant seating and a small bar, and the lower level had a spacious bar area with a fireplace.
Lani Kai closed abruptly in the early fall of 2012.
Lanai - New York
Manhattan, New York, New York, United States (Closed)
Lanai was a very short-lived Polynesian restaurant -- it opened in 1961, and by 1962 had morphed into the legendary Hawaii Kai. It was above the Winter Garden Theatre in the Theater District north of Times Square. Lanai was a partnership between Joe Kipness (who went on to own the Hawaii Kai with other partners) and Monte Proser, who two decades earlier had opened his Monte Proser's Beachcomber in this same spot. The Lanai logo of sarong-clad woman holding a theatrical-meets-tiki mask to her face was used for some mugs at Hawaii Kai.