Post #13586 by boutiki on Wed, Nov 13, 2002 9:24 AM

We had the good fortune to be in Hawaii the first week in November—our 2nd trip to the islands. We spent the week in Kauai, but had to spend a night in Waikiki before going home.

On Kauai we visited Tahiti Nui an old school tiki bar in Hanalei on the North shore. Tahiti Nui was very cool with a nice totem out front by the sign and tiki barstools inside. It showed its age a bit but the Mai Tais rocked (though not cheap) and the live Hawaiian music and low-key local crowd on a Friday Night was refreshing. Besides the Mai Tais, we had Hinano (Tahitian) beer and from then on we were hooked. If you have a good liquor store with a selection of beer from around the world, try a Hinano, you'll be hooked too!

Now, back to the Tikis... We heard about the Tikis before we even got to Oahu, so we knew we had to check it out. They had recently opened—in mid-October, I believe. We walked from our hotel, the Hawaiiana (the coolest old hotel with several BIG hand-carved tikis!), and were impressed with the Aston Waikiki Beach Hotel (newly re-modeled?) where the Tikis is located. There were huge torches all around the lanai on the 2nd floor welcoming us from the street below. Once upstairs, we had to wait for a seat, but that was OK since it gave us a chance to look around. The first thing you see upon passing the hostess stand is a big tiki on your right and the giftshop on your left. Now before you get all worked up, the gift shop sold mostly t-shirts with their cartoony logo and Accoutrements tiki mugs (frankly there was a more awe-inspiring array of tiki kitsch souvenirs at the DFS Galleria down the street). The decor of the Tikis is pretty much what you'd expect from a themed restaurant in Waikiki. Very nicely done, sparing no expense, but a little squeaky clean and manicured ala Disney World's Polynesian Village.

That said, they had lots of nice big tikis and artwork by all your favorite Juxtapose artists—Shag, Bosko, Crazy Al... etc. arranged nicely and some very cool interior design with bamboo, lava rock and very well done lighting. Every detail was considered. The food seemed like average fare for a big restaurant serving lots of tourists: good portions, not insultingly pricey, but nothing too wild. The Mai Tai was surprisingly tasty, quite large, and a fair price ($5 instead of the $8 we pay at Vic's). The service was also great; all the staff was super friendly and attentive. We even found out that there are more and larger tikis on the way, so it would be interesting to see how the place evolves.

The Tikis is a new place and they are in an expensive location where they depend on the tourist dollars, which undoubtedly is going to dictate some of their choices. But before you make a dismissive snipe, check out some photos or go for yourself if you make it to Hawaii. I can definitely recommend hitting the bar for one of their Mai Tais and having a look around.

Regardless of any shortcomings it may have or any ideas I might have about how I would create a Tiki bar from scratch, I can say I would rather visit the Tikis instead of some stupid-ass Jimmy Buffet, parrott head, cover band (playing Jimmy Buffet!) cheeseburger peddling craphole! I would think that tiki enthusiasts should be grateful that there are new tiki bars and restaurants opening. I am sick of watching our favorite hangouts closing!

[ Edited by: boutiki on 2002-11-13 10:59 ]