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 under the auspices of chef Mariano “Maro” Molteni. Honarkar’s 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 .

This current version of the Royal Hawaiian opened May 27th, 2023.

Following the 2022 closure of the last iteration of the Royal Hawaiian, the space was turned over to Boulevard Hospitality for a complete transformation. 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.

The exterior tikis were replaced with brand new reproductions of the Andres Bumatay tikis that originally graced the restaurant.

A huge clam shell was added for people to sit in for photo ops (similar to the one used at the Golden Tiki in Las Vegas).

The display case was filled with a number of headhunter skulls which were fabricated by Reesenik.

The bathroom was wallpapered with large overlapping versions of the botanical drink recipe prints that Eric October has been making for several years.

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 the 1947-2006 version or for the 2006-2022 version see separate listings.

Opened in 1982.

Mabu-Hay has both indoor and outdoor seating with plenty of rattan & bamboo furniture and decor. The interior is dark and moody as classic tiki bars tend to be, but if you want to sit outside on the patio/lanai and people watch, you can do that as well. They appear to have cocktails served in both vessels by Porcelanas Pavon as well as some of their own ceramic creations. There is a large moai out front and several other standing tikis throughout, that appear to be sculpted, rather than carved (perhaps out of concrete or fiberglass or some other material).

Opened in 1999.

Paddy's Beach Club is located right on the beach and is relatively quiet during the winter but explodes into action during Spring and Summer, becoming a Spring Break/Beach Festival destination for thousands of scantily clad young people who visit every Sunday while the season lasts.

The Tikki Bar is located directly opposite the DJ entertainment stage on the other side of the dance floor. This dance floor is flanked on the sides by cabana private areas that you can rent for your friends. There is also a large drinking and dining area behind the main building and beach access onto the main beach as well.

Often regarded as New England's premiere dayclub.

They do have at least a couple of large carved wooden tikis outside. But the Tiki theme is applied pretty lightly overall.

Their cocktails are not the refined Trader Vic's and Don the Beachcomber cocktails that send the taste buds of most Tiki Fans quivering. If you want a ton of blue drink in a fish bowl to get buzzed on, though, they have you covered!

Sunken Harbor Club is an intimate nautical cocktail bar tucked away on the second floor above Gage & Tollner.

After eight years as a weekly pop-up at owner St. John Frizell's Red Hook mainstay Fort Defiance, The Club finally anchored in Downtown Brooklyn in October 2021.

Though this bar has no tikis, they certainly excel in making tiki style cocktails and various craft rum drinks.

They also have a mid-century friendly 200+ hour-long soundtrack that boasts Exotica, Surf, and Bossa Nova, for a retro feel -- and some thunderstorm sounds and other special effects mixed in to give a bit of that Don The Beachcomber rainstorm vibe.

The bar was profiled in Exotica Moderne Issue 17, 2022 and a good comparison was made to other nautical bars that are "tiki adjacent" such as the Molokai Bar at the Mai-Kai in Ft. Lauderdale.

While some tiki purists may bemoan the lack of actual carvings or artwork, they do not claim to be a "tiki" bar. However, there is no doubt that this venue appreciates tiki connoisseurs, understands tiki history, and has created a wonderful nautical bar that any mid century modern or tiki enthusiast would have a very difficult time not enjoying.

Opened August 30th, 2022.

Lost Inferno is a tiki bar with a strong homage to the classic 1985 film by Stephen Spielberg, The Goonies. The name of the bar directly references the pirate ship from the film, which belonged to One-Eyed Willie.

There are pirate skeletons and sections of the bar feel like they are a cavern straight from the film. They are a little light on actual tikis in the decor, although they do have some tiki masks up on the walls.

The Mokhana Bar was located in Kokee Lodge at the top of Waimea Canyon, on Kauai.

It has long since been remodeled and no traces of the bar remain, although Kokee Lodge is still running.

The bar had Leeteg paintings on the walls, carved tikis, and served drinks out of coconuts.

Opened March 2nd, 2022.

The Luau was developed by owner/bartender Brett Rose to "stoke the masses".

Though not as lavishly decorated as some tiki palaces, tilting perhaps a touch more towards the surf bar than the tiki bar end of the spectrum with its coral painted walls and serviceable wood café chairs, there are still, indeed, several tikis throughout.

It has a live music stage in front of house and an outdoor patio in back.

Some nice decorative touches include a wall of ukuleles behind the live music stage, some Oceanic Arts style masks on the walls, lauhala matting, fish floats, and a couple of concrete tiki fountains out on the patio.

Tiki favorites are served in tiki mugs and volcano bowls. Including the Tropical Itch cocktail, with backscratchers included.

Opened in February 2018.

This was a very modern bar without all the layers that one usually associates with traditional tiki bars. It had a sort of industrial look with lots of exposed brick and open space.

Then, again, they were not trying to be a "tiki" bar but a "rum" bar that happened to be tiki-friendly.

There were several nice carved tikis on display behind the back bar area and in a few other niches.

They were also true to their name with 200+ rums to select from.

In addition to rum, they had a selection of other spirits and offered a tight list of ten cocktails focusing exclusively on "upgraded" takes on classic rum cocktails like the Mai Tai and Hurricane.

The bar took pride in using house-made orgeat and other tinctures and prepared ingredients.

Closed @ November 2023.

Edward Kwong (1917-2006) was was one of the leading pioneers of Asian Cuisine in the West Valley.

He established House of Kwong restaurant, a favorite celebrity dining spot in Woodland Hills, CA from 1948 through 1986 when he retired.

The restaurant had a pink and green neon sign welcoming customers. Parking in the rear. Thatched reed walls on the interior with a Chinese tree painting, oriental rugs, and purple formica table-tops with glitter.

Although not resplendent with tikis and tiki decor, this Chinese restaurant had a large tiki cocktail menu and is impressive for having several (now) rare and sought-after mugs, including the Spurlin Fog Cutter and Oceanic Arts Cobra's Fang, as well as their own unique bowl, the Witchcraft Bowl, surrounded by 4 flaming demon heads (truly a crypto mug!).

Today, as of 2022, the location appears to be a vacant lot sandwiched between a cell phone repair shop and a multi-level building housing a law firm.

*Photo shows Edward Kwong on left with his brother, Don Kwong, on right -- in the restaurant kitchen.

Established in 1972.

They advertise both Chinese and Polynesian cuisine and have a large room for each -- the Oriental Room or the candle-lit Polynesian Room.

Stepping into this restaurant is like opening a time capsule. The interior of the Polynesian Room has thatching, amber-colored lauhala matting on the walls, tiki masks, several standing tikis, and many vintage Orchids of Hawaii style lamps.

They are especially proud of their egg rolls.

Their logo used to feature a tiki but was modernized to the current logo showing a silhouette of a couple eating.

Built in 1963, this apartment complex features two A-frames in front and an A-frame pool house in back. Original name unknown...but labeled "Tiki Apartments" on blueprints.

Features 14 units and 2 stories.

Oceanic Arts was consulted about decor for this location, so it's quite possible it once had tikis or other decor on grounds.

As of 2022, this location was closed, but not demolished, possibly awaiting refurbishment or re-development.

This tiki bar soft opened in San Pedro Square in downtown San Jose on Monday, December 13th, 2021. Opened to the public on Thursday, December 16th.

Located in the former site of Peggy Sue’s 1950s-style diner.

Designer Notch Gonzalez transformed the venue with thatched-roof booths, bamboo railings and blowfish lights hanging from the ceiling. There are tikis everywhere, including a six-footer that Gonzalez carved in about a week.

Notch hearkened back to classic tiki carver Milan Guanko with his own versions carved in the recognizable Guanko style.

They serve Dr Funk's namesake cocktail (of rum, absinthe, lime, lemon, demerara syrup, grenadine and seltzer) alongside 12 original tiki tipples and eight classics.

There is also a limited food menu with coconut shrimp, Hawaiian ribs, burgers, chicken sandwiches, etc...