Post #122265 by boutiki on Thu, Oct 28, 2004 11:39 AM

Louis,
There are a few cool vintage Tiki bars and restaurants still in Chicagoland. There used to be more, but unfortunately we lost a few in the past 8 to 10 years. These are the three I'd recommend you definitely visit in (my subjective) order of ranking:

1. Hala Kahiki in River Grove. A treasure trove of untouched Tiki magic and home to an amazing collection of Witco.
2. Trader Vic's downtown in the Palmer House. The classic, which despite changes through the decades, still enchants.
3. Chef Shangri-La in North Riverside. A great little family owned and operated Tiki temple, cheapest and strongest Mai-Tais in town.

There are traces of old Tiki places scattered throughout town if you like to explore, and there are some T.C. members with pretty impressive home bars as well.

You might want to give a shout closer to the time of your visit and some locals might join you on your Chicago Tiki tour.

-Duke