tiki in santa monica?? please help

Hello all,
I'll be in Santa Monica in a couple of weeks and was wondering if there are any good tiki bars or restaurants there or nearby?
thanks for any info

Not really Tiki, but kinda-sorta-like an old Trader Vic's without the Tikis.... sorta....

"Established 1934, this classic restaurant bears mentioning since it is the oldest restaurant in Santa Monica, and maintains a South Pacific nautical theme. Vintage memorabilia (menus, napkins, etc.) fill a display case outside (which also includes inexplicable but welcome pictures of Betty Page), and you’ve got to love the mermaid above the door.
Inside you’ll find grass hut booths, hula girl cocktail napkins, weird nautical stuff, a mermaid room, and tropical drinks - but no actual Tikis. The food is steaks and seafood, with an emphasis on the steaks."

Galley Restaurant, Ocean Park district, 2442 Main St., Santa Monica CA (310) 452-1934

It's not exactly tiki but it comes kind of close. On 3rd Street Promenade near Wilshire is a Thai/Indo-Chinese/Japanese restaurant called MONSOON. Buddha statues and those fanged Thai/Balinese idols replace tikis, and lots of rattan in the decor. The bar at Monsoon has a menu of polynesian style cocktails which are mostly their own, but they will make you a mai tai or a zombie as well. I recommend the Tsunami. Again, it's not really tiki but it is a nice atmosphere and the food and drinks are pretty good.

step aside and let the prince of santa monica speak!.the galley is beachcomber and it really kicks ass in the food dept.another fave is the warehouse in marina del rey, killer drinks(barrel of rum)and yes , its beachcomber but its great. the only close by tiki is the purple orchid in el segundo.many tikis and good drinks. also worth a mention is tonys on the pier in redondo beach, great mai tais and the killer view.there is also a hawaiian place on main street between ocean park and rose that sells full size tikis.look me up when you get in town for directions and/or local knowledge.(use profile button below)

Don't forget Trader Vics in Beverly Hills. Memory serves me that it is only about 20 minutes away if you don't drive during rush hour.

One of my favorites is Rusty's Surf Ranch on the Santa Monica Pier. This place isn't tiki either but they have a huge vintage surfboard collection there with all of the boards labeled for those who don't know what they are looking at. My favorite band to see there is the Red Elvises. I've seen them so many times. Russian 'surf-a-billy'. Check 'em out at http://www.redelvises.com

Spike
http://www.kikatiki.com

[ Edited by: Luckydesigns on 2003-05-08 12:05 ]

Tikifetish:

I would like to emphasize what an exotic, wonderful, tiki-like palace is Moonson. The cuisine is delicious and the prices are most reasonable.
The bar (upstairs in the back) is a great party scene with hot music and no cover.

I also would recommend twowheelintikis' advice of visiting Purple Orchid in El Segundo.

Of course, no tiki experience can be complete without visiting the seminal LA Tiki bar - Trader Vic's.

Also, worth a short jaunt on the freeway are The Tiki Room (Tahiti) on 3rd & Fairfax and Tiki Ti on Sunset in Los Feliz.

On 2003-05-08 12:04, Luckydesigns wrote:
My favorite band to see there is the Red Elvises. I've seen them so many times. Russian 'surf-a-billy'. Check 'em out at http://www.redelvises.com

I saw the Red Elvises last night at the Tractor Tavern. They were great, so was the opening act, The Mercury Four. Ran into sweetpea, too! During the encore, some guys were getting way too pushy, trying to turn it into a pit. The lead singer kept telling them not to push, to no effect. After I'd been nearly knocked over for the third time, I went all Mrs. B on their asses, and they cooled down. My friends thought it was hilarious (for those who haven't met me yet, I'm freakishly small and unintimidating). Good times all around.

The best tiki bar is the one that's within stumbling distance of your bed
The Humuhumu Room

[ Edited by: Humuhumu on 2003-06-01 12:29 ]