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Tiki Central / Locating Tiki

The Tiki Terrace, Prospect Heights, IL (restaurant)

Pages: 1 13 replies

B
Bete posted on Mon, Jan 2, 2006 4:48 PM

Name:The Tiki Terrace
Type:restaurant
Street:1 S. Wolf Road
City:Prospect Heights
State:IL
Zip:60070
country:USA
Phone:847-795-TIKI
Status:operational

Description:
Cool tiki restaurant and bar in a suburb of Chicago, here's a link to their website to tell you all you want to know about it: http://www.thetikiterrace.com

A fabulous place, full of wonderful handmade tikis and handmade drinks. I had an astonishing Suffering Bastard, beautifully tart and tangy unlike the "Mai-Tai-with-a-Cucumber-Slice" you're likely to get elsewhere, and my wife got her favorite drink, too: a nice sweet & fruity Lava Flow.

I really wish we could've stayed for dinner, and possibly the Hula show, but we already had plans to have dinner with my Godfather.

I'll post pictures as soon as I've got them developed, this place is really worth a stop. To give you an idea, they closed after lunch 15 minutes before we got there, we waited in our car in the Chicago winter for almost 2 hours for them to open for dinnertime, and it was worth it.

If you go on a show night, make sure you make a reservation! We didn't and we snagged the last table, and several others who arrived after us missed the boat! One of the best parts of this place is the real feeling of ohana - everyone gets along, there is joking among the regulars, and the staff is terrific.

On 2006-02-20 17:47, freddiefreelance wrote:
I'll post pictures as soon as I've got them developed,

Shit!
Who did you use, FotoMat? :)

Aloha from the Tiki Terrace! Thanks again for all of your support of our little Hawaiian Hideaway.

Well, It is official. Tiki Terrace will be relocating. Our last day in the current Prospect Heights location will be Dec 1. The target date for re-opening will be early March. We will be moving to a shopping center in Des Plaines about 3 minutes North of O'hare airport and across the street from Barefoot Hawaiian. The space we are moving to is decently larger and more accessible from major highways. Some points to look forward to include:
We will be open 7 days a week including lunch hours.
Major upgrades to entertainment with larger stage, sound, and lighting
We will be relocating all the decor from the current space to the new space and will also add a significant amount of larger decorative installations. Plus, all the booths and tables will be custom made, Hawaiian style of course! From an atmosphere standpoint, this new location will be far superior to the current space!
With a new chef/kitchen manager, we will be making a variety of additions to the dining menu. Additions to the cocktail menu will also be made.
The new location is literally 3 minutes North of O'hare. Access is very simple via highways 90 and 294.
And there will be much more parking at the new location!
If interested in visiting one more time before we close, please keep in mind that the next two Saturday shows are nearly booked to capacity. Please call in advance to make reservations for either Fridays or Saturdays. We will also be closed on Wednesday the 28th for a private party.

Again, we would like to thank you all for your support of Tiki Terrace! We hope to see you in the next couple weeks or at the new location in 2008!

Aloha!
The Tiki Terrace

M

I know the web page says March, but is there anymore specific information on when the new location will be opening? I can't wait to see it!

[ Edited by: MNZombie 2008-03-09 09:52 ]

Rumor has it they're shooting to re-open on 1st April, but I haven't heard anything for sure.

http://www.thetikiterrace.com/tikievents.html#wiki

Thursday, Aug 28, The Wiki Wiki Tiki Raffle.

Proceeds benefit the American Heart Association!

Tiki Terrace is raffling a 6’ hand carved beauty, carved by the owners!

Also raffling an original painting by Gabriella Mejia.

Free Wiki Wiki Tiki t-shirts, free mugs, drink specials, and entertainment by Barefoot Hawaiian, Keenan Kamae and Kaleo Lee!

See the event live in streaming video on the Tiki Terrace website and participate in the raffle from home!

T

Why aren't more people posting about this place...it looks fantastic.

Flaming Volcano Bowls, Full Polynesian show every weekend....looks amazing.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fedeOjn9GL4&feature=related

On 2009-05-13 18:06, tikiyaki wrote:
Why aren't more people posting about this place...it looks fantastic.

Flaming Volcano Bowls, Full Polynesian show every weekend....looks amazing.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fedeOjn9GL4&feature=related

apart from a really great interior, tiki terrace suffers from :

A) being located in a strip mall (which is just an asthetic turn-off in general for any tiki bar )
B) located far enough beyond chicago city limits to make it a pain in the ass to go there frequently...especially when we have actual vintage places like hala kahiki, chef shangri-la and the new trader vics to support......

the food is decent, the drinks are not terrible and if i lived in the burbs (which used to be a 10 minute drive from tiki terrace where it is now located), i would probably go more often...

that said, the real question that needs to be asked is...why hasn't tiki terrace been courting the tiki folk any longer??...i haven't seen any new posts or updates from them in a very long time here......for example, there is a tiki zombie event going on there on the 24th of this month.....i only know this because i found out about it for the first time on holden's new tiki mug website!!...and he's on the west coast !!...one would think that tiki terrace might want to be the ones to make that announcement, no??

anyway, in answer to my own question....the tiki terrace is self contained, which basically means:

A) they make all their own decor, so there is very little need for them to look outside tiki terrace for decor or other items they may want for their bar or otherwise....

B) they are also entertainers and have their own performers and dancers at their disposal in the form of the barefoot hawaiians troup...so again, there is no need to seek out other bands or entertainers to pay to perform at their bar.....they got everything covered.

anyway, that's my 2 cents...

... :oops: and let's not forget those after 10pm HOT weekend parties!

Z

Had a great time visiting the Tiki Terrace this evening. I agree with a previous post that the bar suffers by being located in a strip mall. Nevertheless, once you enter, all the carvings and decorations bring a big smile to your face. The drinks were good and reasonably priced. Many are served in Dynasty Wholesale mugs which you can take home for an additional $7.

It appears that Tiki Terrace is for sale (and has been since August). I sure hope this doesn't mean that the present owners are in dire financial straits and/or the bar/restaurant is in danger of closing. I recently enjoyed Tiki Terrace with the Chicago Area Tiki Tour (CATT) and they were wonderful hosts.

http://www.kudangroup.com/2011/08/08/profitable-turn-key-restaurantbar-catering-business-entertainment-venue/

$149K seems a great deal, especially if all of the decorative elements are included.

Here's to hoping that the buyer has the passion to keep it going for many years to come!

-MauiHowie

Pages: 1 13 replies