Post #386675 by rupe33 on Thu, Jun 12, 2008 2:11 PM

We did a 2-week California trip back in 2006 which ended up being quite the Tiki Road Trip:
-Conga Lounge, Oakland
-Trader Vic's, Emeryville
-Tonga Room, San Francisco
-Hula's & Munktiki in Monterey
-Tiki-Ti, Los Angeles
-Trader Vic's, Beverly Hills
-Purple Orchid, El Segundo
-The Encounter Bar at LAX Airport: which had far better than average drinks and superb appetizers. It's worth getting to the airport to dine & drink before your cross-country flight!

All the locales were a treasure trove of both classic and neo tiki goodness. It was pretty tremendous, and unlikely to be repeated. We had fun at all these places and definitely recommend them all!

That being said... if you could only go to one place...
my vote goes to the MAI KAI. On all points: food, show, decor, drinks, it knocks it out of the park. If you want to experience what it might've been like for our parents/grandparents to have the classic polynesian experience, the MAI KAI offers all that in one location. You'll never forget it. In fact, you'll be dreaming of those cocktails the rest of your days! Unless they publish a recipe book!

~Rupe