Mahiki

EXTREAMLY loud nightclub music!! It looked more like a 21-31 year old pick up joint. Staff was very rude!! Maybe because we were “too old”? It was my 55th birthday that day and they couldn’t have cared less, acted like we were imposing when we walked up to look at the bar. Didn’t even know what a swizzle stick was, picked our drinks up before we were done, and then wanted us to pay for her drinks after we had only had one drink, they said it was because our waiter was done with his shift, I don’t know how when they had only open a couple of hours earlier. The drinks were aware very least now, more ice then drink. Beautiful bar, neat atmosphere/decor, terrible staff!

Went recently on a trip to London to see friends, they wouldn't let us in because we looked too casual........... for a tiki bar. This may look like a tiki bar on the inside, and I've heard they have great drinks but it's definitely a club, with a bouncer, full of club-goers. Hard pass.

Had an excellent time here!

We went right as it opened (wanting to avoid the crowds) We were greeted with open arms (and no notice that we far from fashionably dressed, save my fanciest Hawaiian shirt).

We talked tiki with the bartender and the manager as we sipped our drinks. We asked about getting a Mahiki tiki mug for our collection and the manager went off to find one... which he then gave to us! When does that happen?!

After a long day of London sight-seeing, it was a delightful end to the day.

Supremely disappointed in the Mahiki. We made the walk here from the West End after a show and we were denied entrance because of our "trainers." Apparently my leather Chuck's from Converse were too informal for a tiki bar... :(

If you want to see the interior of this place, plan on wearing nice shoes!

Been there for the opening night, had very great expectations for this bar. The decor is fantastic!
Unfortunately it's gone downhill from there. The cocktails are not that great, the staff is rude. Been there twice after it opened but no improvement. Then in 2013 I wanted to give it one last try but got denied entry by a young girl at the door who looked a bit like a Botox blowfish.... my style was too tiki and not trendy enough! Well ..... not sure if the staff even know about tiki .... never again!

Really unimpressed with Mahiki. Just sort of.. there.. going through the motions but not really trying. Drinks were sub par, service was indifferent.

The decor was fantastic, a very recognizable warm Tiki feeling. There are a lot of warnings about strict dress codes and reservation times but this is most likely in place to handle the night-time party crowd. Don't let that stop you from visiting them for drinks at six but do make a reservation and dress nice. The food menu was limited but familiar and high quality. The cocktails we ordered from the menu were good, some nice use of watermelon which you don't often see. As for our usual off menu test I have to say it was the worst MaiTai I've ever experienced and my wife choose not to finish her daiquiri. Overall worth a visit for the decor, I'd recommend sticking to the cocktail menu exclusively although maybe sitting at the bar might render a better experience. The neighborhood is one of London's most exclusive shopping districts so great for an evening stroll of window shopping. Beautifully decorated for the holidays.

Boilerplate London Tiki Bar Comment: (you'll see this on all my reviews from London so if you've read it once you can skip over it). All the tiki bars in London are very thinly tiki themed, under their skin they are all just after 9pm party bars. It should be noted that all our visits were before that, about 6pm. None of them played any music that came close to exotica, cocktail, surf.... They all had very vodka forward cocktail menus and even though there were recognizable drink names they were generally void of any rum. Our general process for cocktail evaluation is for us to try a couple of their signature drinks and then order a simple Havana Club Daiquiri and a MaiTai. None of the London menus had a traditional MaiTai or Daiquiri listed. There are probably exceptions to this rule but in general pubs are for boys and all other types of bars are for girls. The burlesque club and tiki bars we visited had pretty much exclusive customer base of women and "Hen Parties", just a drinking culture thing here in London I assume.

We arrived at Mahiki somewhat trepidatious, having heard of its tendency to not let people in. We were very pleasantly surprised and ended up having a fabulous evening. We arrived at opening on a Thursday and only a couple of tables were full. Great decor, great music (not Tiki per se but Jimmy Smith, Ramsey Lewis etc. so cool). Our server James was attentive and hilarious and when he realized we were Ohana he brought the manager, Georgi over who sat with us for almost an hour and gave us a tour of the 'club' area and secret 'beach house' which was fun. All in all a great experience. My advice - arrive early on a week day and don't look like a sloppy tourist.

Denied entry, even just to snap a few pictures and have a drink at the bar, despite it having just opened. Very rude staff. Guess I'm not 'high-class' enough.

Was denied entry by a snarky door girl for not being dressed 'sharp and casual' and the threatened to be removed. Only bar I've ever been denied entry to anywhere in the world. Head to the beachcomber instead, the guys there were awesome.

Don't go unless you want to be treated rudely. They have no idea what Tiki is all about. Basically a night club with some Tiki decor. Drinks are over priced and suck.

My husband and I tried to visit on August 20, 2013. We went early, to avoid the high-end nightclub scene. Their website said they open at 6:00 p.m. They also advertise a new "Rock Lobsta" restaurant. When we got there, we were told that only the restaurant was opening at 6:00; the bar would open at 10:00 "because we're a nightclub also." We punted and went to Trader Vic's instead.

I went to Mahiki on October 3, 2010 with my wife. The Zombie I had was outstanding. The waitresses are beautiful and very friendly. The bar tenders are into their trade and know their drinks. They are not using Lemon Hart Rum and said it was not readily available in the UK anymore. Who knows? I had a nice conversation with them about Tiki drinks and Beachbum Berry's book. We went early. This is a velvet rope high-style sort of place later on in the evening. Go early. The drinks were less money than those at Trader Vic's on Park Lane.