Tiki Bars
Tiki Haven
San Francisco, California, United States
Opened in 2011.
Tiki Haven is a tiki bar in the Inner Sunset neighborhood of San Francisco. The decor is beachy-tiki with mainly mass-market tikis and lauhala matting, and there are about a half-dozen glaring video screens throughout the space.
They do serve drinks in tiki mugs and have a small menu of classics and signature cocktails.
Trader Sam's Enchanted Tiki Bar
Anaheim, California, United States
Trader Sam's Enchanted Tiki Bar finally answers the question we've all been asking ourselves: what would it be like if the Enchanted Tiki Room actually served alcohol?
Trader Sam's is named for the "head" salesman from the Jungle Cruise ride at Disneyland, and the decor is a mix of influence from that ride and the Enchanted Tiki Room, with a little of Walt Disney World's Adventurer's Club thrown in for good measure. Top-notch Disney designers Kevin Kidney and Jody Daily were able to work on some of the decor. The bar is utterly packed with entertaining bric-a-brac and artifacts from "Sam's" archives. The music is a pitch-perfect mix of Exotica, hapa haole and traditional Hawaiian tunes.
The servers have been given the same training as the skippers on the Jungle Cruise, and keep the atmosphere lively, silly, and very friendly. The bar has lots of surprises and interactive elements, some triggered by ordering particular drinks.
The quality of drink ingredients is higher than one might expect, with fresh-squeezed citrus and syrups from Portland's B. G. Reynolds in use. The alcohol content of the drinks tends to be a little light -- keep in mind, they want their guests to continue to enjoy their vacation the next day. Let your server know you're looking for something more in the vein of classic tiki, and they'll steer you in the right direction. If you like the punny performance given by the Jungle Cruise skippers, you'll love the drink names: "HippopotoMaiTai", "Schweitzer Falls" and "Tiki Tiki Tiki Tiki Tiki Rum" are some of the cleverly-named cocktails.
Kids are welcome at Trader Sam's, as long as they don't sit at the actual bar; there are several tables around the room where kids can sit. There is also an outdoor patio, where Hawaiian musicians perform nightly.
There is a small menu of pupus available. The bar is near a casual dining tropical restaurant that opened at the same time, called Tangaroa Terrace.
In 2015, a sister location opened at Walt Disney World in Orlando: Trader Sam's Grog Grotto.
Tangaroa Terrace
Anaheim, California, United States
Tangaroa Terrace is a casual dining restaurant at the Disneyland Hotel, with a name inspired by the Tahitian Terrace and Enchanted Tiki Room in Disneyland. It opened in May 2011. The restaurant is open for breakfast, lunch and dinner, and is near the more elaborately-themed Trader Sam's Enchanted Tiki Bar. The offerings have island flavors, including a papaya slaw and a pineapple-teriyaki burger. Made-to-order meals are ordered via a video kiosk, and there are also some grab-and-go options. There are some tables indoors, but most of the seating is on an outdoor patio. Exotica and traditional Hawaiian tunes are played.
Freaky Boutiki
San Diego, California, United States (Closed)
Freaky Boutiki started out in 1999 as the Freak Factory, selling a mix of original art, retro items, surf stuff and midcentury pieces. After a fire in 2006, owner "Hodad" Hank Adelson transformed it into Freaky Boutiki, with a stronger emphasis on all things Polynesian Pop.
The store billed itself as a "coastal curiosity shoppe" and had a great mix of items: art by modern tiki artists, Oceanic art pieces, nautical knick-knacks, tiki mugs, aloha wear, carvings, and more. Freaky Tiki had work by many well-beloved tiki artists, including Ken Ruzic, Heather Watts, Derek Yaniger, Doug Horne, Sam Gambino, Squid (especially his Acme Bakeware line), Tiki Tony, Shag and more.
In July 2016, Adelson sold the store to a new owner. It now operates under the name "Boutiki" but does not retain the Polynesian Pop focus of its predecessor.
Tiki King's Ukuleles of Felton
Felton, California, United States (Closed)
Ukuleles of Felton was the retail presence for Tiki King (Pat Baron), who has long been a purveyor of fine, hand-crafted tiki tchotchkes and a friend to ukulele players everywhere. It opened in Felton in November 2010.
The focus of the store was on ukuleles. From beginning Flea ukuleles all the way up to high-end fine ukes.
There were also plenty of King's famous tiki necklaces and keychains, and tiki mugs and other small tiki items, too.
Closed June 24th, 2018.
Kalyra by the Sea
Santa Barbara, California, United States (Closed)
Kalyra by the Sea was a tasting room for Kalyra Winery located in Santa Barbara.
The owners are from Australia, and the theme for their tasting room drifted from there into Polynesia. The room was decorated in the style of a full-on tiki hut, with bamboo, thatching, tiki masks and carved tikis, war clubs on the wall, and rattan and tapa lights.
The winery based in Santa Ynez lives on, but this Santa Barbara tasting room closed at the end of 2016.
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.
The Banana Hut Hawaiian BBQ
Eureka, California, United States (Closed)
The Banana Hut started out in 2004 as a simple fair-food shack selling banana fritters and ice cream. In 2009, owners Ken and Fatima Evans expanded into a full restaurant in downtown Eureka.
In 2011, they were able to purchase the remains of the interior of Chicago's Kona Kai, and planned to expand to add a tiki bar and banquet room.
The restaurant had plenty of thatch and a scattering of smaller tiki masks on the walls, with a bright and airy modern surf feel. The food was Hawaiian cuisine with all the plate lunch favorites, and tropical cocktails were available.
Closed in August 2020.
The Waterfront Restaurant
Redwood City, California, United States (Closed)
Opened in 1973.
This old school restaurant was also known by the names "Harbor House" (a previous name) and "Pete's Harbor" (the name of the harbor where the restaurant resides). The entry was flanked by two large, old wooden tikis that were a bit rotted and termite ridden, but were still gorgeous. The entry was covered by thatch, and the building had a nautical feel. The tiki apparently ended by the time you were inside, though.
The restaurant closed for good at the end of 2012, the property fated for redevelopment.
Top Notch Kustoms
San Jose, California, United States
Top Notch Kustoms is the auto shop of Ignacio "Notch" Gonzalez. Notch is famous for several things in the tiki world: for building the famous towering Ku and Moai tiki bars seen at Viva Las Vegas, Tiki Oasis and Forbidden Island; for creating the jaw-dropping decor at Smuggler's Cove; and creating original and replica tiki mugs.
Notch's many talents manifest in many different ways, but here at his shop, it's mostly about carsNotch's specialty is hot rod customization. His shop holds a completely immersive tiki bar as a break room. It's a small space, but some ingenious interior design work gives it the feel of a full-size, full-featured tiki bar. Particularly notable: Notch's shop houses the neon sign for the fabled Cosmo Place Trader Vic's in San Francisco.
Smuggler's Cove
San Francisco, California, United States
Smuggler's Cove was opened December 8th, 2009 by Martin Cate, a renowned rum expert and longtime tikiphile who was one of the founders of Forbidden Island in Alameda. Smuggler's Cove specializes in all varieties of rum and rum drinks, with a particular emphasis on historic and exotic cocktails. Cate has attracted some of the top bartender talent in the talent-rich city of San Francisco. Smuggler's Cove regularly appears on the lists of the best bars in the world. It has proven incredibly popular: if you go on a weekend, be prepared to possibly wait in a line for entry.
The decor is a blend of nautical and tiki. The dimly-lit bar spans three floors: the main and lower levels each have their own bars, and an upper half-level is a tiki hut that overlooks the main floor. There is a waterfall between the main floor and the lower floor, with a small pool at the bottom. The construction was led by Ignacio "Notch" Gonzalez, of San Jose's Top Notch Kustoms.
The offerings can be overwhelming in scope: over 500 rums, and more than 75 cocktails. If you're intent on trying as many as possible, consider entering the Rumbustion Society; those who complete the list are rewarded for their efforts.
Kona Inn and Kona Kai Club
San Diego, California, United States (Closed)
Kona Kai Club opened in 1953, and along with the nearby Bali Hai Restaurant, was one of the first developments on the predominantly Polynesian-themed Shelter Island. The Kona Kai Club was a marina, intended from the start to serve high-end yachts, and it developed into the premiere marina in San Diego. The catalog of celebrities mooring pleasure boats there is impressive: Clark Gable, Burt Lancaster, Jack Lemmon, Gregory Peck, Jimmy Durante, Dick Van Dyke, Liberace, and many more.
The Kon-Tiki bar & lounge adjoined the club's main dining room and came complete with a Kon-Tiki sail waving from the bar itself.
In 1959, the Kona Inn hotel was opened next door (at 1901 Shelter Island Drive). Later in the year, the entire property was purchased by Jack Wrather, a Hollywood producer who was the original owner of the Disneyland Hotel. Wrather expanded the marina, and in 1963 sold the club to John Alessio, owner of the famous Hotel del Coronado. Alessio started to add Mediterranean touches, including an octagonal structure echoing the one at the Coronado.
The Kona Inn and Kona Kai Club underwent their final renovation from 1995-1997, which completed the conversion from Polynesian to Mediterranean. The name was removed in 1998, and it became Shelter Pointe Hotel & Marina.
Today, the name is back (well, nearly: it is called Kona Kai Resort & Spa) but the theming is entirely Mediterranean.