The Royal Tahitian, built in 1960, and opened June 24th, 1961, claimed to be the world's largest Polynesian restaurant, with 250 acres of tropical landscaping and "lagoons" -- however, this was simply a reference to the Ontario National Golf Course next door. The main floor was the restaurant, with a bar downstairs, and a show area outside. It featured a dramatic asymmetrical swooping A-frame entrance.

In later years, after the Royal Tahitian closed in 1967, its building became the club house for the golf course. In 2003, the building was set to be demolished, but it lingered for several more years and was torn down some time after 2010.

Just down the street there is an apartment building built in 1962 (now the Whispering Lakes Apartments) that once featured some large Milan Guanko tikis, and still retains some Polynesian influence.

Opened in 1956 through at least 1957 according to old newspaper ads.

One such ad from The San Francisco Examiner July 20, 1957 states:

"Only I year old and world-famous. Under the management of BOB KENNA. Entertainment-Exotic Beverages and Foods. Jimmie Borges, 'The Hawaiian Johnny Ray' FLOOR SHOW ENTERTAINMENT FEATURES authentic Hawaiian music. SHOW TIMES: 9:45-11:15-12:15 TUESDAY THROUGH SUNDAY. Under the expert supervision of Chef Bill Seaburg authentic Island cooks prepare exotic dishes as well as the traditional seafood and steak dishes you'd expect in a fine wharf restaurant. Waikiki Far Eastern Specials include: TAHITIAN CANTONESE HAWAIIAN INDONESIAN MANDARIN FOODS and a Complete Sea Food Menu, Steaks, Chops Tropical Bar features 30 exotic beverages ranging in strength from an 'Hawaiian Sunrise' to a 'Typhoon.' Hot hors d'oeuvres during Cocktail Hour. OPEN 11:30 A.M. to 2:00 A.M."

Address no longer exists. Old building was probably torn down. Today this area is home to a thriving shopping area.

This new Trader Vic's location opened in November 2004, marking the return of Trader Vic's to San Francisco proper. Until the early '90s, Trader Vic's had a location in San Francisco at Cosmo Alley. This new location had most recently held the famous Stars restaurant. Renovations were rumored to be budgeted at $3.5 million dollars.

The restaurant had several dining rooms, many suitable for private parties. The main dining room and bar area were large and open, with many Papua New Guinea masks and very large carved tikis. There was a bit of a rough start as the restaurant first opened, but after a series of improved bartender hirings, the drink quality improved.

The restaurant never quite found its footing, and closed in December 2007, after just three years in operation.

Opened @ November 18th, 1955 when they started advertising in the Santa Ana Register.

Walt Disney recruited the first performers for Adventureland's Tahitian Terrace from here in 1962.

Hosted many musical acts, including Don Ho.

Was open as recently as 1992 (when No Doubt played there). Closed in the early 1990s.

Before becoming Latitude 20°, this was The Polynesian (1957-1964).

The Polynesian opened in 1957 and closed due to fire in 1959, but was refurbished and re-opened in 1960 to run for 4 more years before being sold in 1964.

Hop Louie re-opened it as Latitude 20° on July 15th, 1966. Latitude 20° ran through 1980 before being sold to developers who decided to stray from the Polynesian theme and go Country. It was a Waco's and then a Calamity's before the structure was finally leveled in 1984.

This location is now a strip mall.

Opened in 2001. This sleek, modern tiki-ish bar may not have had the lush and dense decor of a Trader Vic's or the Mai Kai, but there's one thing it had: the drinks. Martini Monkey (specifically, bar manager Jay Crabb) prided itself on recreating classic tropical cocktails by keeping true (well, mostly true) to the original recipes.

The back bar was notable for its large mural copied from Mark Ryden's famous painting, Exotica (but minus the tiki in the center and with a few other changes).

Martini Monkey thrived in its location in the San Jose Airport's Terminal C, until the airport reshuffled and Martini Monkey wound up behind security. The airport closed Terminal C in June 2010, and Martini Monkey closed with it.

Club Mallard came into existence in 1945, but this same building has been a bar since 1934, just after the end of the Prohibition. It was originally called The Doghouse and then became Club Pago Pago in 1941. Some of the Club Pago Pago roots can still be seen on the outdoor patio and have been accented with some Oceanic Arts decorations as well.

Overall, though, this bar is themed more like a duck-hunting lodge than Polynesia, but in addition to the tiki-themed patio, some of the bartenders (Robin, in particular) can be trusted to make classic tropical drinks. The bar is pretty popular with East Bay folks, and the doormen can be quite strict about checking IDs -- be sure you have yours on hand.

The current owner of the Mallard also owns Kona Club in Oakland.

Billy's at the Beach started out as a somewhat generic Hawaiian/tropical restaurant, but has upped the tiki angle in recent years, adding more pieces from Oceanic Arts and hiring Bamboo Ben to make some improvements.

The Hawaiian Room opened in the 1960s (1964 has been mentioned but not verified), and was outfitted by Oceanic Arts.

Much of the original decor remained in place, but was covered with typical sports bar banners and posters. It has been slowly devolving over the years with less and less of its original patina left each year...

In September 2003, a group of people temporarily removed all the sports bar ephemera and returned it to its prior glory for a one-night "resurrection" party.

In 2015 it was purchased by the owners of the Bottoms Up Sports Bar chain and began a re-branding as the Bottoms Up Tiki Lounge, even though they left the old stand-alone post sign for the Hawaiian Room in place. The newer roof sign reads "Bottoms Up Tiki Lounge."

By all accounts, as of 2025, this destination has devolved completely into a dive bar and their social media is loaded up with shots of bartenders in skimpy outfits.

A short-lived tiki bar added to Jack's Cannery Bar, found in The Cannery at Fisherman's Wharf.

It appears a few orange-painted Tiki Bobs endured after the rest was removed...

Mister Tiki's was a new tiki bar and restaurant managed by the Cohn Restaurant Group, in the trendy Gaslamp district of San Diego. The group had invested also in the nearby Spa Tiki. Mister Tiki's was a trendy, modern take on Polynesian Pop, but tried to hold true to some mid-century influences. The artwork of Bosko was featured heavily throughout the bar and restaurant.

Mister Tiki's opened in 2004, and closed in early 2010.

This Redondo Beach apartment building is from the '60s and still has plenty of tikis, both in front of the building and in the pool courtyard. It's particularly notable for its large, beautifully lettered sign that simply says "Tiki". It is just blocks from the beach.

Some of the apartment building's tikis are speculated to have been carved by students of Trader Luke, Mike & George Gildea (and friends from Manhattan Beach), who were known for their unique cartoon-like and elongated mouths on their carvings.

Documented on page 221 in Sven Kirsten's The Book of Tiki (and 150/153 in Tiki Style).