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I felt a bit overwhelmed as I walked into this fish tank saturated oasis. With a galley maze feeling to the what seemed like endless restaurant I had a tough time finding my way back to the entrance. I love that this place truly makes you feel as though you are somewhere else, hell somewhere else in time. The food as " basic" as most people have said felt just right and I wouldn't have expected more or less. The drinks served in mixing bowl proportions set the hazy tropical feel that we all love. But this story is truly about CHICO. Chico was our server and host for the evening. He is famous with our friends and it was quick to see why. His quick humor and quirky answers brought the sense of whimsy that lacks in most tiki experiences. He truly made this restuarant feel like a tiki twin peaks.

Terrific happy hour specials: Drink and appetizer prices are half price all day Mondays and from 4:00 - 7:00 the rest of the week. Several of the tiki drink offerings appear to be made using the original recipes that are in Beach Bum Barry's Intoxica and the Grog Log. The service was terrific! The bar is kind of like tiki meets sports bar due to the flat screen TVs but, I found them to be a pleasant distraction. I haven't experienced a live music or entertainment event here yet, but I am looking forward to doing so in the near future.

The apartments were built in the early 70s. My husband and I lived there for a brief time in 1974. The paint was barely dry when we moved in. The apartments were decorated in bright blue, yellow and lime green at that time. It was within walking distance of the cruise ship piers and the Little Fisherman restaurant as well as Ports O'Call Village with shops and more restaurants.

This is a great out of the way place. As a visiter to Chicagoland I was amazed buy the number of people that had no idea what I was talking about when I mentioned it. Finally I would get a response like "Oh, that place. I have been driving by there since I was a kid but never stopped in"

For god sake people-stop in. You have a Tiki gem right in your backyard!!

Man, I just love this place. It's underground, more than one level underground. There are aquariums in the walls. The drinks are served in volcanoes. They bring out all these tasty simple snacks with your drink volcano. Awesome!

We went to Vegas in October 2009 and this Trader Vic's has closed. Gone the way of so many others. We were told that the space is being remodeled into some kind of high-end club.

Speak of the devil. Made it out to Frankie's today for "breakfast", and the place is a-MAZ-ing. Doesn't look like much from the outside, but from the inside, it is a tiki paradise. The decor is a great mix of tiki-hemed art, both traditional, and a few with some nods to the Vegas surroundings. I managed to make it through three drinks (with mugs!) before I had to pause for recovery time. Definitely planning to make it back there a couple of more times before I leave Vegas so I can pack in the other four mugs. (They're supposed to have 8 total, but one of them, the Malekula mug is currently undergoing a redesign, and wasn't available when I went.)

One tip: They don't have a kitchen, but they have menus for local sandwich and pizza joints and may order delivery for you if you ask nicely. Our bartender, Tanya, was awesome. Highly recommended.

Also: Check out the Shag-designed "Vice Tester" in the corner behind the door. Pop in a quarter, and it tells you what your vice is!

Excellent spot. I went there on a Monday and Tuesday night where the most of the hotel guest were booked in banquets that week, so it wasn't crowded at all. In fact, on the first night, since I was the last guy there, the bartender Joel took me around and gave me a tour of the place. Excellent drinks and excellent service.

The next night (the Tuesday) I came with a few friends and we had dinner. The Indonesian Rack of Lamb seemed to be a bit rarer than what I had asked for, but I like rare meat, so it wasn't a problem. All-around the meal was excellent and the drinks were strong and tasty, especially the Suffering Bastards.

We visited the Conga Lounge on Saturday Feb 20, 2010 for the first time and were blown away. Tiki is alive and well in the East Bay! It surpassed our expectations; great food, great service, great drink and it definately had the right vibe. Jordan and the crew took good care of us all night and we will be sure to make it a regular stop in our Tiki Bar rotation. We are very fortunate to have such high quality establishments like this in the Bay Area. Lucky us!!!!

I can't wait to visit here. Haven't been back to Vegas since they opened, but it sounds great.

A wonderful place and a credit to its heritage - Trader Vic's as it should be!

As a Southern California native, my first visit was long-anticipated - Ft. Lauderdale is a bit of hike from my neck of the woods. Mai Kai certainly did not disappoint. It truly was a wonderful experience. It would require pages to tell all that makes this place so very special. Here, though, churlishly, are a couple of niggling criticisms. Our waitress worked very hard at "up-selling" us on the most expensive menu items, on unwanted bottles of wine, and on unwanted desserts and after-dinner drinks. Yes, all restaurants do this and I often appreciate the useful advice. However, this had quite a strong element of hard-sell and a bit too much persistence to it, along with a perceptible edge of what seemed to us like coldness, disdain, or disappointment shown by our otherwise attentive, if not overly-friendly server in response to our polite no-thank-you’s. The food portions, too, could have been larger for the price - everyone in our party of six, which included seniors with small appetites, felt this way independently. However, the food was absolutely delicious - and if slightly higher prices and somewhat small portions really are necessary in order to keep this grand dame profitably in business then I'm more than happy to submit to them. Oh, just to let you know - if you valet park and elect to attend the floor show (it's optional and an absolute bargain at only $10.95 per person) except to wait 20 or more minutes for your car (everyone in the showroom will leave at the same time). On the other hand, those waiting curbside along with you will be in a good mood and it's a great opportunity to chat with your fellow tikiophiles. Best advice I can give you with respect to the Mai Kai? Go, by all means!

This place is too modern. The lava tube room is pretty nice though. There are two different menus, the patio food is cheaper with sandwiches, and I prefer it. The "indoor" menu is kind of expensive, and I wasn't impressed with it. They have t-shirts and stuff for sale, and you can get a souvenier coconut mug to take home.

I try to make it there every once in awhile. Visitors to hawaii definitely need to check it out for the decor. The drinks are good, but the menu is not polynesian. Last time I was there I had lasagna! Call ahead, so see if there will be entertainment. My first time there I had a wonderful time because of the pianoman. He had a lot of talent.

I used to go there for my birthday as a kid. A part of me died when it closed. I still think of the Kahiki ten years after it closed.

I do think it makes a difference when you visit this bar. I have been on Saturday and Sunday afternnons and it is very relaxed and lovely. Saturday (and probably Friday) evenings, however, the place is packed, noisy and blasting out inappropriate music.

Last time I was there they had an ATM in the back...

Have been here a few times and have loved it each time. The Zombie is amazing. And I like the little strength chart next to the drinks on the menu...

The website says they closed Summerof 2008.

This place is the shiznit. Just make sure you got some cash with you. I run out of money every time i go there.

I love the place, but i wish they would play some other music besides southern/classic rock. This place BEGS for some Martin Denny.

I had stayed at the Castaway's a number of times in the early to mid '70's. The hotel actually had property on both sides of Collins avenue. I always stayed on the ocean side. The large pool was on the ocean side. I don't recall any indoor pool. A brochure I have states the hotel had 540 rooms. In addition to the Wreck Bar there was also the Ginza Bar. Besides additional accomodations, there was a large parking lot and sportfishing enterprise on the inland side.

Always a blast!
Mai Tai Thursdays with Tongo hiti!

Cheers!

Yey! I'm glad Kontiki Slottskogen is finally on critiki :-)

Unfortunately Lani Tiki Lounge seems closed as of this past summer. They've removed their decor and apparently it was for rent.

Location is no longer open

I have traveled from coast to coast visiting Tiki Bars and collecting mugs, but I must say I have never been treated as badly in any restaurant than I was treated at Trader Dicks in the Nugget casino in Reno NV.

On December 26th 2009, I went in to Trader Dicks with a large party and we wanted to order drinks and appetizers.
While looking at the menu to order our drinks and appetizers we were told to leave the restaurant because someone had complained about us. The bar and restaurant were empty since it was the day after Christmas so there was no one there to complain about us. A member of our party overheard that the manager of the restaurant threatened to call security to have us removed if we didn't vacate immediately. We were given no reason and considering that we were a very quiet group, the only explanation we could come up with was that we had some Asian people in our party.

I can't believe that in this day and age that this kind of prejudice still exists. The bartender and the waitress shared our disgust at this treatment. Since I collect mugs, I went back later to order a drink and when I told the bartender that I would give the place a bad review, he said "Please do, our manager is a jerk". I have considered filing a class-action law suit, but I decided that letting people know about this awful management via my review was more serving to the public.
I will still give two stars because the Bartender and the waitress were really on our side and the drink I had was great and reasonably priced.

Deb, The telephone numbers were as follows:
813-877-6181 = Hotel
813-877-5871 = Resturant

I use to stay at this hotel when I was visiting custoemrs in the Tampa area in the mid to late 70's

We stopped in on New years eve on the recommendation of some friends. We had a great time, the staff was awesome and it was super relaxing. Perfect!

Sadly Funhauser shut its doors this past summer - it will be truly missed.

I don't know how I missed this bar, but they just celebrated their first birthday. It was excellent. The owner Lyndon is very friendly, and definitely appreciates tiki in the proper sense. This bar has a good feel about it, and I liked it immediately. My score on Vibe is low because of the clientele on that night - drunken Christmas party, no tiki crowd when I visited. But I'm sure next time will be different, so let's not judge on that.
Drinks were good, and a fine selection. And served in tiki mugs, unlike other venues not so far away... This bar won an award and their pride in the presentation of drinks is justified.
The decor is good, and the bar area is great. Some lounge or exotica music would have been better, but again the selection may have been for the crowd in on that night. I will be a Regular visitor and look forward to my next visit.

A small but very friendly tiki bar with excellent cocktails. If you are in Berlin, do yourself a favour and seek this place out.

Minnies actually has three bars, the third is a private, all original vintage bar upstairs. More info on TC.

I worked at the Tahitian Village in 1976-77. I was 22 years old, and pretty much ran all of the banquet functions there. It had a small Ballroom? The place was wild on the weekends, and it was there that I learned to bartend, and to make my first mai tai. It was a bit of a hole in the wall at the time, but I bet it was really something in it's hayday. Does anyone know when that hayday was? When was it built? It must have been GRAND in the day!

The Aloha was a great place to go as a child and well into my teen years. It was so unique. The arched bridge over the lagoon and waterfall. Palms throughout, and the bars sat in cozy corners with a south pacific feel. The fountains were on a timer and would go off every so often.

I would enjoy seeing additional photos of the interior or find additional websites on the Alohas history and facts

The last time I went to Tiki Brett (in August 2009) the interior was being ripped apart by workmen. Their myspace site (in German) says they are currently closed. But it doesn't say if they are moving or just renovating.

Very Rockabilly, 50% tiki, 50% fifties nostalgia. Dig into Elvis food like 'Elvis Burger; Get as big as Elvis!' or the 'Elvis Appetite Platter' appetizers. I had a giant 1 litre cocktail, which was more about quantity than quality (once again, Berliners pour their tiki drinks with way too much citrus juice).

A very hard to find, tiny tiki room in the back of an unmarked art gallery. The menu is in the memory of the bartender/owner, and while the vibe is nice and 'secret tiki society', the Zombie I had was way too sour, like 30% lemon juice (but at least it was strong).

Stopped in while in town for Viva Las Vegas. Wound up going there twice. Really dug the place. Had a great time and came home with a few mugs.

Tiki's is now closed (as of Fall 09). Joe Fanelli has not been involved in a couple of years. Shame, he did nice work, but his replacement did more wildlife and signs. Tiki's weren't nearly as good as Joe's. Guess Joe stayed in Florida.

I am a Ringling College grad that has many fond memories of this joint. It was close to campus, and a great spot to stumble home from. The Mai Tai's are quite potent and have a 2 drink limit. I still find myself dropping in here quite a bit.

I was looking at the pics of the Hawaiian VIllage that used to be in Tampa. By any chance, on the post card you have was the phone number re-7-6181. We think this might have been the Motel and Restraunt my girlfriends grandparents used to own back in the 50's and 60's.

Let me know! I love your collection!

You have to see this place to believe it. Swanky and his wife have really done a fabulous job on this bar. It really is one of the most incredible places I have been, especially at someone's home.

Bananabobs posted this on TC a while back, but it's worth checking out if you're a fan of the Bali Hai. Here is a You-Tube video of a Chrysler Turbine car that's driving around Shelter Island back in the early days of the Bali Hai (stayed tuned around 1:40): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1Gy_fNjOy98

The Green Garden is closed. There was an organic fruit stand being run inside of it. The restaurant was undergoing repairs but I do not know what type of restaurant it will be. I found one tiki cut from a palm rotting in the flower bed outside. I have a picture of the tiki and the current outside of the restaurant if anyone wants to see it.

I hear the owner might be looking to sell...

Visited in October 2009. Given the location (on main drag in Waikiki), I wasn't really expecting much. Although it is a nice place overall - good food/drinks/service; it is like a TGIF, with a tiki room (see photos). Not much real tiki vibe.

Visited La Mariana in October 2009. An early visit (before 9:00 PM) on Thursday nights will provide you with a special treat. A group of locals gather every Thursday for an open mic night and they sing non-stop till 9:00 PM. The song variety is wide, and the talent is quite good!

Also, the Zombies are quite tasty!

Being the OLDEST tiki bar in Los Angeles makes this a MUST stop on any tiki trek. The vintage fountains are beautiful and unique. The bar is a great vintage shape and design.

The jukebox has a great selection of tiki and oldschool rock that kept the people dancing. The crowd was a mix of locals for a Monday nigh, great energy and sexy girls filled the space.

the store is closing and its sad that it is...the quanset hut style of their space fits the vibe of the tiki products...very nice selection of products...sorry to see it go...