Aku Tiki, Acapulco, Mexico (restaurant)

Name:Aku Tiki
Type:restaurant
Street:
City:Acapulco
State:
Zip:
country:Mexico
Phone:
Status:defunct

Description: Not much is known about this restaurant except that it is now defunct and the only physical evidence seems to be a coaster in BOT. Many years ago I found this wonderful die cut menu and have kept it because of the tiki is just so cool. The description on the front page reads Aku-Tiki Restaurant Acapulco. In bringing the Aku-Tiki to Acapulco, our desire was to bring a mingling of Native dishes from many Pacific lands. The zesty tang of Spanish and Portuguse Colonies is contrasted with the robust heartiness of the Dutch influence in Indonesia. From exciting Tahiti one recognizes the touch of the French, and Hawaii brings us a primitive, relaxed gracious living. In choosing the particular menu we were guided by the adaptability of the dishes to the taste of the American continent. All of these foods and cultures of the Pacific seem to blend themselves beautifully into the enchanting atmosphere of Acapulco. Menu is filled with typical Tiki food including a wonderful selection of Pu-pu, soups (Sea Weed), Salads, Cantones food, curries and some great deserts. One page is all international including sirloin steak, Chateau Briand with Bearnaise Sauce for two and more. Here are the images:

[ Edited by: Matterhorn1959 2006-05-01 20:31 ]

That's fantastic! I've long been curious and thirsty for more details about the Aku Tiki in Acapulco, and I've come up empty -- this is a very welcome sight! I don't suppose there's an address on the menu, is there? Thanks so much for sharing it!

Matterhorn,

Here is a record album I own that may depict the Aku Tiki. The band is from Acapulco and it's signed "To our Susy With A Lot of Love. From Acapulco". If the cover was photographed in Acapulco as well... then we probably have the Aku Tiki. Can't be sure though.

Sabu

[ Edited by: Sabu The Coconut Boy 2009-06-23 16:44 ]

Holy moly...I just love that cover, Sabu. Just keep posting it in regular intervalls, it's always a good shot in the arm!
And I just had to cut that amazing menu cover out of my new book...didn't fit, sigh. There is a coaster from the place in my Thor Heyerdahl chapter in the BOT, p.?

The Tiki totem on the last page might have been their mug? That rendering's style very much reminds me of the Lonndon Mayfair Beachcomber logo Tiki, too.

Sorry no address on the menu. The reason I kept the menu was the great die cut cover.

[ Edited by: bifcozz 2007-02-09 21:54 ]

Fantastic! Thank you!

Much appreciated, bifcozz. That kind of information is worth its weight in falernum.

Sabu

Hey Sabu,

What story did Bifcozz tell those years ago? Sorry to see his old posts gone.

I got one of those Moai menus from the Aku Tiki a while back.

Came across this different one on ebay not to long ago.

Great shot of the exterior.

DC

Hey DC, please tell me you bought that Menu! My kingdom for that Menu! I need to see it closely before I die! That place is my all time favorito! Thank you so much DC! You rule! Sabu too!
Oh boy... TC is the best!

Matterhorn1959, you rock too!

Zeta - I'm the culprit who won that menu. I'll scan better photos and add them here. I don't remember what photo bifcozz posted, unfortunately.

So it was you, Sabu, who won the menu (that kind of rhymes if you say it in tempo).

Very nice piece, it will go with your album cover nicely.

Look forward to seeing a better scan of that exterior photo.

DC

Here's the front cover to the menu.

Unfortunately, while the original photo is atmospheric, it is washed-out in the lit areas. I've tried to darken and filter some of this out, but could only do so much.

For instance, in the photo below, I'm sure that the reddish-brown object is a tiki, but I can't bring out any detail. You can read "by the surf" and "no cover charge" on the sign:

:down: some more closeups

:down: That strange, lopsided A-frame

:down: Looks like they carved this tiki into the living palm trunk

I'll scan the inside of the menu next.

Very interesting concept details, Sabu, thanks.
-The sign: A lava rock grotto with its interior back-lit in red, and real bamboo letters sticking up in the foreground. Very Cool.
-The entrance: Looks like it's not an A-frame, but a modernist arch. It could be a combination of these two architectural concepts I documented on my expeditions:

The mid-century modern arch:

...and the asymmetrical A-frame:

...but all built from bamboo and tropical materials :)

And the waterfall spouting from the lava rock outrigger reminds me of the pool I found at the Shelter Isle apartments in 1994:

[ Edited by: bigbrotiki 2009-07-23 05:42 ]

Sabu,

Glad you got that menu, a beauty. Here is a snazzy ashtray from the Aku Tiki that surfaced on ebay recently.

DC

DC, please tell me you got it! And if not, who did?
Thanks for posting it DC you are a professional.

Review from a 1964 AAA Mexico travel guide

I picked up a couple of postcards from the Aku Tiki in Acapulco that provide a little more information. Here is a card showing the exterior grounds and the garden waterfall by the beach.

Anybody recognize this alien-looking Tiki?

The description on the back of the card.

The Holiday Inn Acapulco hotel was built next door to the Aku Tiki as shown in the postcard.

It looks like the hotel grounds incorporated the Polynesian look as well.

Here is another photo of the hotel under construction next to the Aku Tiki.

You get a good look at the roof-line in this photo.

Would like to see more of that menu from Sabu.

DC

Hmm, when you compare it to other Holiday Inns it makes me wonder if maybe someone had the instructions upside down? :lol:

Dustycajun,
Thank you forever for your invaluable information.
The images you provide are a time/space warp in the past into what my father saw when he was 18.
Pure magic.
For me as a frecuent traveler to Acapulco, it's an insight on what it was.
I really wish I saw it live when it happened!

Thank Tiki there is Dustycajun!
:cry:
:P

I'll say it again. If there was something like the Tiki Oscars, my price would go to Dustycajun!
Mexico's Tiki friendly neighbor!

As the Embajador del Tiki en Mexico, I give you the Mexican Tikizenship.

Gracias

Standing applause!

Viva Dustycajun!

P.S. Do you own those postcards?
How much?

Zeta,

Nice to see you back, and thank you for the citizenship. I guess I don't need my passport to go fishing in Mexico anymore!

Here is an album cover from Richard Lemus that was shot at the Aku Tiki.

I clipped the image from the web, maybe Sabu or Jeff Central have the original that they can post a better shot from.

You can here a song from it on youtube

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W_RKl0Oy4D4

And yes, those postcards are mine. Trade?

DC

Since Zeta has made a recent appearance here on TC, I thought I would give this thread a little bump in his honor. I found a video on Getty Images shot at the Aku Tiki, with these screen grabs.

The entrance sign with the logo Tiki and the entertainment line up.

Drinks by the pool with a view of the bay.

Assorted Tikis on the grounds.

Enjoy the video

http://www.gettyimages.com/detail/video/tiki-restaurant-in-acapulco-stock-video-footage/495659096

DC

Awesome! Gracias Dusty! I am honored! You are so classy!
Love those cool gringos! Love 1950 USA!!! Can you make it like that again please? You where an inspiration for the rest of The world! Land of The free, home of The brave. Respect!

Wow, that's a great find, Scott! - So "Aku" means "Fish", huh? And then there's the "God of the Luau", uhuh...yep! :)

This guy is the COOLEST - where on earth is this style from?!?

If Star Wars had tikis, they'd look like this.

On 2016-08-31 13:08, HopeChest wrote:
This guy is the COOLEST - where on earth is this style from?!?

For what it's worth, the movie says New Guinea. I know very little about it, but I HAVE seen PNG ancestor masks with elongated noses like that.

It's a Ramu River statue from PNG, yes.

http://www.ebay.ca/itm/131911677345?rmvSB=true

Hey everyone! We need to find out what other Tiki Marvel those two guys built!
I have a hunch they are The same Team behind The Mauna Loa in DF and Cancun! Give me their names and I might find something else as man on The land...

Spotted this advertisement with with a description of the food and the entertainment at the Acapulco Aku Tiki.

DC

A photo folder from the Aku Tiki

DC