The Ultimate Tiki Bar Revisited: LOCATION!

I really wanted to chime in on the ultimate tiki bar discussion a few weeks back, but well sometimes more pressing matters must take priority.

ANYWAY, what I think would be interesting is to find out where folks think the ideal tiki bar should be located...or where they wish an ideal tiki bar were located.

As for me, somewhere along the Hamakua Coast on the Big Island of Hawaii seems ideal (rain forests, waves crashing on massive cliffs, massive mountains, ravines, bamboo growing all over, etc.). A good proper tiki bar in Waikiki seems ideal too.

On the other hand though, I think about a few of my favorite tiki bars & how their non-tiki locations make them all the more exotic & dear. For example, Chan's Dragon Inn in North Jersey urban hell rocks for the very reason that it's a sort of exotic island in the middle of a concrete ocean. After sitting around in there for awhile it's easy to forget you're the greater NYC area not too far from the Turnpike. South London Pacific here in London has a similar effect.

I also think about places that could use a good tiki bar. A tiki bar in Brighton, England w/ its massive youth/gay/clubbing scene would probably make a lot of money & be able to stay afloat for years. Reykjavic, Iceland would probably be a great place too (aside from the cold winters the place is very exotic - volcanos, geysers).

So there are some ideas I have. I'd love to find out where other members would place their ultimate tiki bars.

Tiki Chris

[ Edited by: Tiki Chris on 2002-06-17 16:54 ]

Ideally I'd like a Tiki bar located near some body of water whether lake, river, sound or sea. But it was fakery and artificiality that first drew me to Tiki, the idea of entering a doorway and walking into some dimly lit tropical paradise. A Tiki bar's location isn't so important to my ideal, but I find most appealing the idea of Tiki bars far away from anything tropical or exotic...The Kahiki, Judges' Beyond the Reef (Brookfield, Wisc. Pg 60 BOT) , and the Mai-Tai Resort (Osaga Beach, MO). This is one reason why Portland Oregon's Alibi is so cool...It's located on a not so attractive strip type street but once you enter through it's bamboo chamber entrance you completely forget the concrete and cars a mere 10 feet behind you.

If you're looking for contrasts, i think the most appropriate place for a Tiki bar would be Canada, no?

"Leave your parkas at the door, everybody drink some more!"

Woohoo!

Sadly we'll just have to settle for Rainforest Cafe's and Planet Hollywood. Ack. Oh yes, and "Wayne Gretzky's" along with it's "Rooftop Tiki Bar" (aka 1 palm frond and plastic cups full of Molson Ex....)

The ultimate tiki bar location?

Wherever one goes, of course:

an Airstream Papoose, fully outfitted with a tiki bar and barmaid, towed behind a chauffeur-driven '64 Lincoln convertible.

The same tradewinds breeze must have been blowin' through our minds, rch427...Just yesterday I walked past an old motor home and it occured to me that with little effort one could be tricked out as a mobile Tiki bar. The envy of the RV park.

My ultimate tiki bar would be located in the middle of Biscayne Bay in Miami, Florida in a town called Stiltsville. No worrys about drunk driving, just hop in someone's boat to sleep off your rum drunk. To learn more about Stiltsville, check out the following link (website needs to be updated though):
http://www.stiltsville.org/

Tikifish -
I think it's so sad, yet funny at the same time when a place claims a "Tiki Bar" - yet there is little or nothing to it! (like your The Hut, my But! article on your site - that's heee-sterical!)
So any more info (or pics) of the sad sounding Wayne Gretzky's rooftop Tiki Bar...?
Maybe this should be a new topic....

I agree with the notion that a great tiki bar should be at odds with its location. The Honolulu Restaurant is great because it is a completely unexpected escape from the insanity of Washington, D.C. The Alibi has the same feel.

Well, I'd open one near the site of the old Tiki Gardens, and one at my dreamed of desert retreat somewhere in the Mojave.
TG

http://www.gretzkys.com/oasis.html

OK, at least the website doesn't call it a tiki bar- they call it an 'oasis'.

Actually, it wouldn't be so bad if you could be sure it wouldn't be filled to the brim with guys in hockey jerseys and mullets. Which it would be.

Tonight I celebrate the big 3-0 with a group of my friends and coworkerts, and of course would love to celebrate it in a Tiki bar, but this being Toronto I have to settle for an oyster bar. Well, at least there will be fishing floats and lobster traps....

Oh man - that totally rules!
I love how they describe the 3,000 square foot patio (surrounded by skyscrapers) as an Island Paradise! And what is a "live" waterfall? Are there dead ones...?
Sad Sad Sad.

Don't forget to call 979-PUCK for your reservation! Cause when I think tropical oasis, I think HOCKEY!!!!

Please, if any famous people are reading this, stop opening restaurants themed after yourself. It's just not cool. At least Celine Dion had the decency not to name her restaurants "My Artichoke Heart Will Go On".

That's it - I gotta start a new topic....