Advice on which TIki bars to hunt down in California Please help !

Hey

I'm planning a trip in October starting from San Francisco, heading down to Los Angeles, out to Las Vegas and up though the desert back to SF... (probably stopping here and there on the way)

Anyway I'm from London and as we only have a couple of days here and there on our trip, I wondered if any of you guys could recommend your favourites in each? (I'm trying to save the time it would take me to trawl through the Locating Tiki forum)

We love our rock n roll too, so anywhere that combines the two would be a bonus :)

Thanks in advance for any help :)

[ Edited by: Pickle on 2004-08-30 08:21 ]

welcome on board pickle! is that pickle like a cucumber pickle or pickle like the sandwiches you get in a pub? :)

some excellent resources to check are

http://www.tydirium.net/ and http://64.81.235.211/cgi-bin/index.cgi, and the book 'tiki road trip' is highly recommended (amazon, etc.)

does that get you started?

Thank you!
That's a great start!I can't wait!

(oh and it's kinda a mix of always being in a mess and a love of pickles)

pickle, Welcome
Try the Royal Hawaiian in Laguna Beach, Sam's in Huntington Beach, and Bali Hai in San Diego.

Sounds like an excellent tiki hunt.

Here are my choices, which is not an exhaustive list:

SF: Tonga Room & the Bamboo Room
East Bay (SF): Trader Vics & the Conga Room
LA: Tiki Ti, Purple Orchid, the Tonga Room and Trader Vics
OC: Sam's
SD: Mr. Bali Hai Tiki Hut & Islands at the Red Lion Hanalei
Vegas: Taboo Cove at the Venetian (get there early to avoid the cover) & Kanhunaville accross the street at the TI - Treasure Island

Check this board using the "Search" function as well as checking the category tiki events and tiki locations.

Also, allow me to make another plug for TikiBar's (Titlebaum -sp?) The Tiki Road Trip. Don't leave home without it!

East Bay (SF): Trader Vics & the Conga Room

That's" Conga Lounge" in Oakland. It's just a few short blocks from the Bart (underground) station -Rockridge exit- very convenient if you're heading to the East Bay from SF. They play alot of Elvis and oldies there too, if you like Rock n' Roll.

In LA the "Tonga Room" is actually the "Tonga Hut", a dive tiki bar in North Hollywood. The Tonga Room is in San Francisco in the Fairmont hotel. That is recommended in SF as well as the Trader Vic's in Emeryvile. If you go to the Trader Vic's in San Francisco/Emeryville then you might want to skip the Beverly Hills Trader Vic's and instead go to Bahooka in Rosemead. Of course, if you have time you can always do both. In LA, Tiki-Ti and Bahooka would be my top recommendations, as well as the Purple Orchid in El Segundo.

All of these places can be found in the Locating Tiki forum.

Pickle -

I'm sure you've been there, but I really enjoyed South Pacific London - I'd hate for you to miss one in your own backyard.

Also just FYI - Whittier is a bit of a travel in the Los Angeles area -- but Oceanic Arts is certainly a worthy stop in the Los Angeles area. It's not a bar, but certainly a place to consider if you're making the Tiki rounds in Los Angeles.

T.B.

On 2004-08-30 20:33, Tiki Baron wrote:

Pickle -

I'm sure you've been there, but I really enjoyed South Pacific London - I'd hate for you to miss one in your own backyard.

I've only been to South Pacific once, there were a few too many drunk idiots that night for my liking (and I was a bit disappointed)
Although the burlesque stripper was pretty cool!

Trader Vic's in the Hilton Hotel London is amazing if you ever get the chance to visit again (although the cocktails are ridiculously pricey....£12 each (about $16)

If anyone knows which bars are cheapest that would be good too (bit of a budget)

If anyone knows which bars are cheapest that would be good too (bit of a budget)

Pickle - I would definetly recommend Bahooka (in Rosemead) with Budget in mind. IMO it's basically Trader Vic's on a budget. Most of the drinks range in the 6-7 dollar range as opposed to the 9-12 dollar range. A full menu for Tiki Drinks and Food.

If on the other hand you can only go to One Tiki Bar here in Los Angeles - I would definely steer you to Tiki Ti. Just my opinion.

Cheers.

Hey Pickle-
One place that I can't recomend enough is BAHOOKA in Rosemead in Southern California. It is definatly worth checking out. Good Luck on your adventure. Here is the Address and Phone number for BAHOOKA:
4501 N. Rosemead Blvd.
Rosemead, CA. 91770

Phone# (626) 285-1241
Maholo,
Spermy

[ Edited by: The Sperm Whale on 2004-08-31 21:19 ]

Don't forget Damon's in Glendale.

On 2004-08-30 14:03, christiki295 wrote:
Sounds like an excellent tiki hunt.

. . .
LA: Tiki Ti, Purple Orchid, the Tonga Hut and Trader Vics . . .

Upon reflection, the Lava Lounge on La Brea, north of Sunset, should be added instead of the Tonga Hut, unless you are in the mood for a more tiki dive bar.

Hey, thanks to everyone with usefull information, Pickle and me will have a Tiki Fun time in (hopefully sunny) California!!

All hail the Tiki gods!! :o)

In SF you should also check out Trad'r Sam's in the outer Richmond District (6150 Geary Blvd, San Francisco, CA). But definitely go earlier in the day. Last time I checked it gets overrun by "hipster" types at night and becomes less than fun - well, for me at least. But if you go around 5PM or so, it's just a neighborhood dive bar.

The story goes that Sam was a Merchant Marine in WWII and he traveled around collecting all these drink recipies, came home and opened this bar. Who knows if it's true, but it's a nice story at least. It has a really cool horseshoe shaped bar, and bamboo furniture and booths. There is even bamboo phone booth. Also, the drinks are legendary. If you're low on funds, you could just get a Scorpion Bowl and drink it between you and 3 friends and that's all you need. I haven't been back there in a while, but it's where I met my husband, so it's still my favorite.

Hi Guys,
just compiling a list of addresses for these places, and I can't find a few through this site, and wondered if you could help?

Can't find
Tonga Room in SF
Bamboo Room in SF

Lava Lounge in LA?

All this Tiki is driving me crazy i think!

If you can help me out that'd be fab!

Pickle x

On 2004-09-19 12:18, Pickle wrote:
Hi Guys,
just compiling a list of addresses for these places, and I can't find a few through this site, and wondered if you could help?

Can't find
Tonga Room in SF

Tonga Restaurant & Bar
Address:950 Mason St, San Francisco, CA 94108
Phone: (415) 772-5278

Bamboo Room in SF

Bamboo Hut
Address:479 Broadway, San Francisco, CA 94133
Phone: (415) 989-8555

Lava Lounge in LA?

Lava Lounge
Address:1533 N La Brea Ave, Los Angeles, CA 90028
Phone: (323) 876-6612

All this Tiki is driving me crazy i think!

If you can help me out that'd be fab!

Pickle x

I agree! you have to, must, stop into, the Tiki Ti on Hollywood Blvd or is it Sunset Bl??? Anyway that place is the best in LA. Oh Yea just for kicks check out the Lava Lounge too!! Very Cool place inside!! But total dive?!?

On 2004-09-20 22:45, :
I agree! you have to, must, stop into, the Tiki Ti on Hollywood Blvd or is it Sunset Bl??? Anyway that place is the best in LA. Oh Yea just for kicks check out the Lava Lounge too!! Very Cool place inside!! But total dive?!?

Lava Lounge is not a total dive, although it may appear that way from its mini mall location.

It's interior is possibly the best in town, with the tiki tables, Hawaiian lava effect, tiki hut effect and all with a real mid-century modern look.

I wouldn't say Tiki-Ti is a dive, although it may qualify. The true dive would be the Tonga Hut in North Hollywood.

Aloha to this site, Pickle and Ka maka koa tiki.

THANKS A LOT PEOPLE...FOR YOUR ADVICE!!!

We didn't get to as many Tiki places as we'd have liked but we managed to get to 4 Tiki Places..

HULA'S - Monterey Bay...Great place!!
TIKI TI'S - LA! Wow, what a cool cool little place, loved it here!!
BALI HAI - San Diego...Really cool place, shame it closes so early though!
MR TIKI MAI TI LOUNGE - San Diego...Not bad, not as good as the rest though!

I don't think we did too bad...getting in BALI HAI and TIKI TI. We also went to the coolest shop ever...Wacko/Soap Plant. Man, I could have spent ALL my money in that place!!

Thanks again, we'll have to do the rest next time!!