Tiki Bars
Tiki Bob's Cantina - Richmond
Richmond, Virginia, United States (Closed)
Opened in 1999.
This was one in a chain of Tiki Bob's Cantinas (no relation to the historic Tiki Bob's in San Francisco).
These have died out since the early 2000s, and were known for being dance clubs with very little tiki theming and aimed at young college-aged people.
This location clung on longer than most of the others, closing in February 2015.
They were known for jello wrestling, inviting porn star headliners, bikini contests, and drink specials involving Jagermeister and jello shots.
This location is now home to Ponies and Pints since 2017.
Tiki Bob's Cantina - Seattle
Seattle, Washington, United States (Closed)
Opened in 2002 and closed in 2012.
This was one in a chain of Tiki Bob's Cantinas (no relation to the historic Tiki Bob's in San Francisco).
These have died out since the early 2000s, and were known for being dance clubs with very little tiki theming and aimed at young college-aged people.
This bar/nightclub was located in Seattle's historic Pioneer Square.
Tiki Bob's Cantina - Pontiac, Michigan
Pontiac, Michigan, United States (Closed)
Opened in 2000 in an older 2-story commercial brick building originally built in 1919, with 16,552 square feet.
This was one in a chain of Tiki Bob's Cantinas (no relation to the historic Tiki Bob's in San Francisco).
These have died out since the early 2000s, and were known for being dance clubs with very little tiki theming and aimed at young college-aged people.
This location closed some time after 2011.
As of 2021, this space is home to Vogue Nightclub.
Tiki Bob's Cantina - Baltimore
Baltimore, Maryland, United States (Closed)
This was one in a chain of Tiki Bob's Cantinas (no relation to the historic Tiki Bob's in San Francisco).
These have died out since the early 2000s, and were known for being dance clubs with very little tiki theming and aimed at young college-aged people.
This location was part of the Power Plant Live! complex.
Tiki Bob's Cantina - Philadelphia
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States (Closed)
This location opened in 2002 and closed in about 2007.
This was one in a chain of Tiki Bob's Cantinas (no relation to the historic Tiki Bob's in San Francisco).
These have died out since the early 2000s, and were known for being dance clubs with very little tiki theming and aimed at young college-aged people.
Ports o' Call - Dallas
Dallas, Texas, United States (Closed)
This was a Steve Crane Associates restaurant, part of the same group of restaurants as the Kon-Tiki chain and the Luau in Beverly Hills.
It was located on the 37th floor of the Sheraton Hotel's Southland Life Tower. It opened on July 29th, 1960 and had four different themed dining rooms (Macao, Saigon, Papeete, and Singapore).
The Sheraton Dallas hotel was a very modern hotel when it was built as part of the Southland Life Insurance complex in 1958.
The entire complex went through some changes of owners and names over the years but eventually came under the ownership of Sheraton once again and underwent a series of renovations from 2009-2019 and is once again known by its original name as the Sheraton Dallas Hotel.
Coco's On The Canal
Kemah, Texas, United States
Opened in early 2022.
This bar is known for its live performances, with regular music, karaoke, and burlesque showcases held in a stage area.
The interior decor includes a large tiki head built into the back bar as well as glass fish floats suspended from the ceiling and lots of artificial greenery.
They also have a large back deck with an excellent canal view as one would guess from the name.
Tiki Di Amore - at Casa Di Amore
Las Vegas, Nevada, United States
This outside tiki bar was launched during the summer of 2018 to compliment the already thriving Casa Di Amore Italian restaurant.
The themed environment features a private hut, seating around a fire pit, a life-size deep sea diver, and a throne embraced by a giant octopus, the “Tikipus,” created by locals 3 Specialty Design Services.
The Luau Room - at the Royal Nevada Casino
Las Vegas, Nevada, United States (Closed)
Opened February 3rd, 1957, at the Royal Nevada Casino.
Steve Crane's Luau was the model for this establishment that, unfortunately, turned out to be rather short-lived.
The construction of the Royal Nevada began on Dec. 1st, 1953. Designed by Paul Williams, in his 'Hollywood Modern' style, it opened on April 25, 1955.
Key elements of the Royal Nevada's design offerings were its front mounted fountain of curved neon tubing, the crown road sign and roof mounted crown. Photo below shows a lovely model with giant crown at the opening day 'crowning ceremony'.
The Royal Nevada's inside attractions were its 'Dancing Waters' fountain show, its Luau Room, Palm Room and Cabaret Room.
The Luau Room closed around 1958 when the Royal Nevada closed.
In 1959 the whole property became part of the Stardust.
Although remembered by few, this precursor may have prompted the Stardust to open the Aku-Aku in 1960.
Tiki Hideaway - at the Mean-Eyed Cat Bar - Manchester
Manchester, United Kingdom
This is the third in a series of Tiki Hideaways (the first opened in Leeds and the second opened in Liverpool at a sister Mean-Eyed Cat). It is part of the Escapism Bar Group family, which was founded in 2004 by husband and wife team Phil and Mel Harrison.
This space was previously home to a Thai BBQ restaurant that closed in October 2022.
This third Tiki Hideaway opened September 28th, 2023 in the basement under The Mean-Eyed Cat, and resembles the other two versions with a long bamboo bar, thatching, lit tiki mask wall sconces, palm frond wallpaper, and stools around the perimeter.
There is also a photo booth.
Tiki Hideaway - at the Mean-Eyed Cat Bar - Liverpool
Liverpool, United Kingdom
In March of 2023, Tiki Hideaway opened this second location at 71a Seel Street, Liverpool, L1 4AZ. This new location is dubbed a "lair", hidden within the existing Mean-Eyed Cat Bar, though with its own exterior and entrance.
The first location is in Leeds.
Kahunaville - at Treasure Island Hotel & Casino
Las Vegas, Nevada, United States (Closed)
This Kahunaville was one location in a nationwide chain of restaurants, but it was the longest lasting.
It doesn't appear to be the case with the other locations, but this location had some actual Bosko tikis in one area, the elevated area on the right immediately as one walks in. They also had a few SHAG (or at least SHAG-like) paintings in one area.
The bar offered a variety of tropical drinks although not much that would be categorized as "craft cocktail" by today's standards. See the giant toilet mug in the last photo below...
Their eclectic food menu featured about 90 items, which included "Kahunaville-sized" sandwiches, salads and entrees with American, Mexican, Cajun and Asian influences.
The parent company of Kahunaville, Adventure Dining Inc., once operated nine nationwide locations, including homes in Delaware, Massachusetts, New York, Ohio, Michigan and Tampa. The Las Vegas, Nevada "Party Bar" (2001-2016) was their last holdout before the chain folded.
This type of corporate chain typifies what many tikiphiles dislike most about corporatizing the Tiki aesthetic -- bending the decor more towards a Chucky Cheese buildout (or perhaps Rainforest Cafe if one is being kind) with cheaply molded and cartoony fiberglass and plastic decorations in primary colors, dumbing down the cocktails of Don the Beachcomber and Trader Vic into chemical-tasting slushy boat drinks (but served with "flair"), and offering a big scattershot food menu in hopes of appealing to every American tourist palate. For those that grew up with these, there is some nostalgia, but they were not terribly mourned by fans of traditional tiki bars and restaurants.
This venue was a bit better than the others, it seems, due to its location within the Treasure Island Casino. It also tilted a bit more to adults as evidenced by scantily-clad hostesses dancing on the bar tops, but nothing to blink an eye at when Vegas is concerned. They also hosted hula dancer shows and ran the Treasure Island outside pool bar, serving the same tropical drinks.
The Vegas location produced a great many ceramic tiki mugs, most of them from Poolside Pineapple, which was located in Las Vegas also.