Opening a new Tiki bar restaurant? What do you look for in a Tiki bar? - General Tiki

H HopeChest Member East Bay, CA Joined: Oct 19, 2015 Posts: 508	H HopeChest Posted posted on Wed, Mar 6, 2019 4:15 PM On 2019-01-22 04:55, tikiskip wrote: So there has been a lot of “that’s not tiki” type talk on TC over the years and I thought this type of thread could help people looking to open a new tiki bar and or restaurant to see what the more true tiki fan looks for. You may not even be a “more true” Tiki fan at all. But post what you like, is it the drinks only? Maybe it’s decor or the food. It could be a combination of them all. Does a splash of Indonesian tiki in the place go over like a phone call from your mother in law during sex and ruin the whole thing for you. Say what you want if you want more party city tiki in your bars ok let us know. What makes a great tiki bar restaurant? On 2019-02-16 05:09, tikiskip wrote: I got it! Have finally found out why I'm so jaded and can't get excited over these new tiki lite bars. It's the Kahiki fault or even the Mai Kai and the Tiki Ti. They SPOILED me, I've been to them all and your efforts are not enough new tiki bar. It's not your fault really I want them back, your place may as well be a Starbucks with a tiki in them. I've been thinking about this topic since you started the thread, Skip, and with this latter post of yours I think I can finally kind of articulate my thoughts somewhat. Where most of the newer tiki bars fall short for me is the hedging of bets. Anywhere from "I personally love tiki but we scaled it back a bit for the people who think tiki is cheesy" to sticking an "Aloha!" sign in a bar that looks like a barn made from reclaimed wood. To me, it all smacks of some level of embarrassment, which means that at its core there is a concept that is not being fully embraced. It's kind of like how I feel when people say a certain song is a "guilty pleasure". You like it so much that you have to apologise for it? Though many folks are, I am not a stickler or purist. I wouldn't set foot in a Party City tiki bar - however, I'm also not gonna sit somewhere enjoying a good cocktail in a comfortable setting but getting all sniffy cos some good looking tikis are obviously modern Indonesian ones. What I really care about is personality and the thoughtfulness attached to that, which in turn makes it easy for me to relax and have a good time. Two great examples in my area: Kona Club and Longitude. Both built out by Bamboo Ben. The first time I went to Kona Club, the very first song I heard was by Depeche Mode. LOUD. Some people need All Denny, All Day and get offended by hearing reggae whilst sipping tropical tiki drinks - I am not that person. I bobbed my head along and enjoyed my cocktail and thought, "I love their attitude here. They do their thing." However, I know there are people who won't set foot in the place for the same reason. As a compliment to that, Longitude, until its untimely demise, was my fave bar that wasn't Trader Vic's. It was an adventure themed bar rather than a tiki bar opened by Suzanne Long, who had previously been at Forbidden Island. The menu offerings were all tiki and all fantastic, both food and drink, and I loved Suzanne's vision. However, on multiple occasions I've heard someone say something to the effect of, "Oh yeah, I've been there. It was really good but it wasn't a real tiki bar." One person mentioned that they liked it better as Kon-Tiki because "it's darker and there are finally some tikis in there", whilst readily admitting that the drinks weren't anywhere near as good. But hey - tikis, right? Obviously, to each their own - my opinion certainly won't be a universal fit and it's not my intent to piss on anyone's personal tastes. I don't necessarily prefer character over standards, but I refuse to let my standards get in the way of being able to appreciate character.

On 2019-01-22 04:55, tikiskip wrote:
So there has been a lot of “that’s not tiki” type talk on TC over the years and I thought this type of thread could help people looking to open a new tiki bar and or restaurant to see what the more true tiki fan looks for.

You may not even be a “more true” Tiki fan at all.

But post what you like, is it the drinks only?
Maybe it’s decor or the food.

It could be a combination of them all.

Does a splash of Indonesian tiki in the place go over like a phone call from your mother in law during sex and ruin the whole thing for you.

Say what you want if you want more party city tiki in your bars ok let us know.

What makes a great tiki bar restaurant?

On 2019-02-16 05:09, tikiskip wrote:
I got it!
Have finally found out why I'm so jaded and can't get excited over these new tiki lite bars.

It's the Kahiki fault or even the Mai Kai and the Tiki Ti.

They SPOILED me, I've been to them all and your efforts are not enough new tiki bar.
It's not your fault really I want them back, your place may as well be a Starbucks with a tiki in them.

I've been thinking about this topic since you started the thread, Skip, and with this latter post of yours I think I can finally kind of articulate my thoughts somewhat.

Where most of the newer tiki bars fall short for me is the hedging of bets. Anywhere from "I personally love tiki but we scaled it back a bit for the people who think tiki is cheesy" to sticking an "Aloha!" sign in a bar that looks like a barn made from reclaimed wood. To me, it all smacks of some level of embarrassment, which means that at its core there is a concept that is not being fully embraced. It's kind of like how I feel when people say a certain song is a "guilty pleasure". You like it so much that you have to apologise for it?

Though many folks are, I am not a stickler or purist. I wouldn't set foot in a Party City tiki bar - however, I'm also not gonna sit somewhere enjoying a good cocktail in a comfortable setting but getting all sniffy cos some good looking tikis are obviously modern Indonesian ones. What I really care about is personality and the thoughtfulness attached to that, which in turn makes it easy for me to relax and have a good time. Two great examples in my area: Kona Club and Longitude. Both built out by Bamboo Ben.

The first time I went to Kona Club, the very first song I heard was by Depeche Mode. LOUD. Some people need All Denny, All Day and get offended by hearing reggae whilst sipping tropical tiki drinks - I am not that person. I bobbed my head along and enjoyed my cocktail and thought, "I love their attitude here. They do their thing." However, I know there are people who won't set foot in the place for the same reason. As a compliment to that, Longitude, until its untimely demise, was my fave bar that wasn't Trader Vic's. It was an adventure themed bar rather than a tiki bar opened by Suzanne Long, who had previously been at Forbidden Island. The menu offerings were all tiki and all fantastic, both food and drink, and I loved Suzanne's vision. However, on multiple occasions I've heard someone say something to the effect of, "Oh yeah, I've been there. It was really good but it wasn't a real tiki bar." One person mentioned that they liked it better as Kon-Tiki because "it's darker and there are finally some tikis in there", whilst readily admitting that the drinks weren't anywhere near as good. But hey - tikis, right?

Obviously, to each their own - my opinion certainly won't be a universal fit and it's not my intent to piss on anyone's personal tastes. I don't necessarily prefer character over standards, but I refuse to let my standards get in the way of being able to appreciate character.

Post #793608 by HopeChest on Wed, Mar 6, 2019 4:15 PM