Tiki Bars
Matiki
Wien, Austria
Matiki opened at the end of September 2017 after 4 months of construction and is the first and only tiki bar in Vienna.
The space itself is rather small, sparsely decorated, and modern-looking -- gray/white/green paint with a few cut-out wall alcoves featuring small tiki carvings and puffer fish. Accents around the room include bamboo trim and a Tahitian-patterned wood bar molding.
A few potted ferns hang in the windows.
The focus is more on the bar and drinks. The back bar displays a lot more than just rum with hundreds of spirit bottles ranging from Ardberg scotch to Don Julio tequila, so there should be a range for all tastes. Their cocktail program has received wide acclaim.
They also sculpt and manufacture their own custom tiki mugs for sale -- available online through a separate website below.
Port O' Three
Bloomfield Hills, Michigan, United States (Closed)
Port O' Three was a very short-lived restaurant that lasted only a couple of years. It opened in 1971. The facility was big, seating approximately 500 people and with 140 workers/crew with 3 different themed dining rooms...a Polynesian Room, Japanese Room and a Ship/Nautical Room that had a 19th century schooner ship inside. The Ship Room was designed to give the feeling of being on a top deck of a sailing vessel. In-between the main dining rooms was a tiki bar with hand painted (black light) murals on the walls. The property, a site of the former landmark, Devon Gables, was acquired by Marvin Chin, (CHIN TIKI) Dr. Walter Thom, and Rourke Haas in May of 1971 and they re-opened it as Port O' Three in September of that same year. Since Marvin Chin, owner of the Chin Tiki, was also co-owner of Port O' Three, its menu, swizzles, and signage used many of the same graphics (and same drink list) as the Chin Tiki.
Tiki Chateau
Madrid, Spain (Closed)
Tiki Chateau was a modern tiki bar in the Malasaa neighborhood of Madrid. It was owned by Miguel Escobedo (Señor Castaway), and opened in November 2016.
The space was very small, and the decoration was spare, but heartfelt; Escobedo has a genuine love of tiki. The wall coverings were not organic matting, but instead a damask wallpaper, but small tiki touches were peppered throughout, and a framed piece of tapa cloth was at the end of the wooden bar. Unlike most of the Spanish tiki destinations, the focus at Tiki Chateau was on creating great tiki cocktails, including the use of housemade syrups and appropriate rums.
Closed December 1st, 2022.
Dobbs House Luau - Memphis
Memphis, Tennessee, United States (Closed)
Dobbs House had been operating as a steakhouse, but after the Dobbs family purchased the Luau in Atlanta, they were inspired to transform this Memphis location into a Polynesian restaurant. The transformation into Dobbs House Luau happened in 1959. Polynesian food was served buffet style, and a menu of tropical drinks was available -- but only if you brought in your own rum and stored it in your own rum locker at the restaurant, a typical practice of the time and area.
This landmark restaurant was particularly notable for the extremely tall, narrow concrete Moai in the parking lot.
This location closed in 1982.
Upon closing, the concrete moai head was moved to Tiki Pools, a shop on Getwell. When the pool business also closed in the 1980s, the head remained behind. One customer of the store, Bill Cunningham, bought it with plans to convert it into a barbecue pit that would smoke out through the ear holes. But it never happened. One day Cunningham brought over a big crane, and workers began to hoist the head onto the back of a flatbed truck but the head snapped in half and shattered during the attempt.
Other Dobbs House Luau locations were in Birmingham, Charlotte, Dallas, Miami, Orlando, Lexington, Houston, and Louisville.
The Liars Club
Manchester, United Kingdom (Closed)
The Liars Club opened in Manchester in September 2011. It is a cocktail-centric modern tiki bar, with a large menu of classics and originals. There is a large selection of rums. Styled as a "tiki dive bar," the basement space has a mix of tapa cloth, lauhala, found materials, and graffiti-painted brick.
Closed at the end of December 2023.
There is a sister location, The Liars Lounge, found within Cane & Grain in Manchester.
Lost On 111 Grill & Art Lounge
La Quinta, California, United States (Closed)
Lost On 111 Grill & Art Lounge was a small breakfast cafe and art store in La Quinta, outside of Palm Springs. There were many pieces of tiki art and carvings for sale by modern-day tiki artists.
Lost On 111 Grill was originally called Scramblez Cafe & Grill and was not tiki. Tiki art and decor was added gradually, and the new name and identity was forged by owner Damen Perry in January 2015.
Closed as of 2019.
Mata Hari Bar
Zürich, Switzerland
Mata Hari Bar has been in the Gewerbeschule quarter of Zurich since 2004. The room is ringed with plush red velvet seating, with walls lined in bamboo. The bar back is flanked by two large, carved tikis.
The Tiki Bungalow
Dongcheng Qu, China
Owner Phil Tory opened this tiki bar in September 2015 in the Dongcheng district of Beijing. A brief earlier incarnation of Bungalow was in another part of town. Most seating was outdoors, but a small amount of seating was available indoors with the bar. Tory and his aloha-shirt clad team served a slate of serious classic tiki cocktails. The small interior had tall tiki poles flanking a large collection of bottles.
In April 2017, a nearby fire didn't harm the Tiki Bungalow space, but the decision was made to raze its building anyhow.
The Tiki Bungalow reopened at 46 Fangjia Hutong (enter from Jiaodaokou Bei Santiao, next to Peiping Taphouse). The bar is slightly bigger than it used to be when housed at its former location. The bar menu is pretty exhaustive, showcasing house cocktails as well as a wide selections of cocktails from other tiki bars from around the world.
Tiki Bar Head Hunter
Kita-ku, Okayama, Japan
Tiki Bar Head Hunter is a small but thoroughly decorated tiki bar inside Omote-machi Play Town in Okayama. It opened in November 2011, and is owned by Yosiaki Taniguchi. Logo artwork was created for the bar by Mookie Sato.
The bar is encrusted with bamboo and festooned with netting, with thatch and float lamps and pufferfish and everything you want to see in a classic tiki bar.
Though the space is small, live acts perform regularly at Head Hunter, with an emphasis on musicians that get the mid-century American vibe.
Head Hunter is cash only.
Kanaloa - Glasgow
Glasgow, United Kingdom (Closed)
Kanaloa opened in 2011 as one of several themed bars within the Mansion House nightclub in Glasgow. It was a sister location to the original Kanaloa in London. There was a small mezzanine with seating overlooking the main bar below. Decor was by CheekyTiki, with no shortage of tapa and bamboo. Drinks were similar to those served at the London location, and came in tiki mugs. Kanaloa closed, along with the rest of Mansion House, in January 2016.
Tiki Bar - Ponferrada
Ponferrada, Spain (Closed)
Tiki Bar opened in January 2008 in Ponferrada, in the province of Len. The bar served tropical cocktails and hosted live music, mainly rock & roll. The bar was a celebration of midcentury American pop culture.
It appears they closed some time in 2010 to 2011.
The location is now home to La Posada Club.
There is another Tiki Bar location on the other side of Spain at Calle La Rioja, 39, Gandía. It opened in 2010.
Tiki No
Los Angeles, California, United States
Tiki No is a bar in the San Fernando Valley; it had initial soft openings in October 2010 and opened a few weeks later in early November. The "No" in the name is a reference to it being in North Hollywood.
The interior is by Bamboo Ben. The building is at a corner, with lit tiki torches. The interior has several large, but cozy, upholstered booths with thatched roofs, and the walls are lined with lots of bamboo. The bar has several large tiki carvings. There is a small outdoor smoking patio, which is not heavily themed.
A small menu of tropical drinks are available, a mix of classics and their own creations, including some served in tiki mugs.