Tiki -Ti, Hollywood, CA (bar)

I grew up on Pionner Chicken on Brookhurst and Lincoln (I think that's the cross streets)

Magnolia and Lincoln Joe,
that was a very sad day for me when I went there for lunch
and it was closed.

ok nuff chicken talk.

Back to Tiki Ti.
anybody still go there?

I love the place.
but the closeness, and Food, and Music at Don's are just so more appealing to me.
plus parking is never an issue.

Really Jeff, don't you think this belongs in the "Pioneer Chicken" thread?

On 2009-12-01 19:48, Joe Banks wrote:
Really Jeff, don't you think this belongs in the "Pioneer Chicken" thread?

And just where is that?
I looked all over TC for it,
and couldn't find it.

Jeff(btd)

[ Edited by: bigtikidude 2009-12-01 20:29 ]

Is there any chance of finding parking for a pickup truck with a car trailer? I may be in Riverside to pick up a car in a couple weeks and REALLY want to make a side trip to visit Tiki-Ti. I checked Google maps and the street view shows the Circuit City lot across the street is fenced off.

get there early like 4 pm when they open and you should be able to get some curb parking. But there is parking meters that you have to feed till 8pm.

so bring a lot of change, for your car, and the trailer.

Jeff(btd)

The 50th Anniversary swizzle. :)

I was driving by Tiki-Ti today and noticed it has been totally repainted. Maybe this is not something new since I haven't been there for a while, but here are some pictures anyway.

On 2012-07-01 23:20, hiltiki wrote:
I was driving by Tiki-Ti today and noticed it has been totally repainted. Maybe this is not something new since I haven't been there for a while, but here are some pictures anyway.

Definitely new from two weeks ago, I was there on the 14th. It looks nice!

I stopped by on Saturday and the new paint job looks great.

DC

Inspired by this GatorRob post where he took a Derby Daiquiri glass back to the Mai-Kai for a cocktail and glass reunion, I took a Pearl Diver glass to the Tiki-Ti and I 'd say the glass made it taste a little better. :)

On 2012-07-07 22:50, Bora Boris wrote:
Inspired by this GatorRob post where he took a Derby Daiquiri glass back to the Mai-Kai for a cocktail and glass reunion, I took a Pearl Diver glass to the Tiki-Ti and I 'd say the glass made it taste a little better. :)

Good idea :) So....what does the NEW new paint job look like now? Was it a total re-paint, old style?

Anything is fine with me, as long as it is not Scientology-blue.

Here's how she looks as of this morning ~

I'm hoping the side paintings make a comeback. :)

I really wish they would bring back the tapa cloth to the old windows, as well as the Tiki and thatch to the roof. Oh, and while they're at it, turn the torch on during biz hours.

New look for Tiki Ti! On the outside anyway :)

Going to be in LA 4 weeks today - Tiki Ti is on the agenda for the first and second night of our stay! Love those napkins, I want a stack of them for our little home bar.

Can't wait!!

On 2012-07-13 02:47, cathuna wrote:
Love those napkins, I want a stack of them for our little home bar.

Can't wait!!

You can get them at Oceanic Arts in Whittier.

Can anyone recommend a good, casual restaurant close to Tiki Ti? It will be my first time there and I want to stop in before a Clippers game. It'll be my first time going to Staples Center too. A cocktail at Trader Vic's is the plan for after the game.
Thank you in advance.

Hi Lori. You can't go wrong with El Chavo right next door for rum absorbing Mexican food. Also about a half mile West down Hollywood Blvd is an Umami Burger for gourmet burgers. If you want something "taco stand fast" then I like Yucca's on Hollywood Bvd just East of Vermont.

Remember Tiki-Ti is closed Sun-Tue.

And seek Rasta Jim out (he will be obvious) for the grand Tiki-Ti tour.

Thanks John O, thankfully I'm going this Saturday. I had thought about going to Umami Burger, but we might go to El Chavo since I'm still trying to find good and spicy Mexican food in LA. The Tex-Mex I grew up with is much spicier and more flavorful than what I've eaten out here. It looks wonderfully kitschy from looking at their website.

I am spoiled by great Mexican food here in San Deigo, but El Chavo is good. My brother moved right there in Hollywood a few years back and hasn't found a comparable mexican resturant yet. Umami burger is very tasty! Smaller portions and kind of pricey, but the Hatch burger is amazing! Reminds me of my favorite burger anywhere (Amarillo burger at Casino El Camino in Austin).

I usually go to Palermo's before Tiki Ti. Really good Italian food. One of my favorites around! Just around the corner.

Have fun at Tiki Ti! Always a great time! Drink slowly so that you can sample as many drinks as possible. They are strong but all of them are amazing.

John-O knows his stuff, and I agree with his reccomendations. Just thought I would give my 2 cents :)

[ Edited by: lunavideogames 2013-01-02 18:55 ]

There's a nice Mike Buhen Sr. interview at la,eater.com

Check it out:

http://la.eater.com/archives/2013/10/29/mike_buhen_sr_of_the_legendary_tiki_ti.php

Thanks Hak!

On 2013-10-29 19:58, Hakalugi wrote:
There's a nice Mike Buhen Sr. interview at la,eater.com

Check it out:

http://la.eater.com/archives/2013/10/29/mike_buhen_sr_of_the_legendary_tiki_ti.php

Great interview. There is no other place like the Tiki Ti. Out of all the Tiki bars and places here in California, Tiki Ti is my favorite by far. Mahaloz for posting. :)

...and the ONLY Tiki bar that had an ash tray made for its smoking clientele! :)

Article in the LA Weekly Blog:

Mike Buhen: Running the Show at Tiki Ti
By Besha Rodell Wed, May 14, 2014

From:
http://www.laweekly.com/squidink/2014/05/14/mike-buhen-running-the-show-at-tiki-ti

One of the fascinating Angelenos featured in L.A. Weekly's People 2014 issue. Check out our entire People 2014 issue.

Tiki is hot. Hot enough that new tiki bars are opening everywhere from St. Louis to Regensburg, Germany. Hot enough that the cocktail menus at Hollywood's most buzzed-about bars are just as likely to have flaming zombies as variations on the Negroni. Hot enough that tiki history has become one of the most popular seminar topics at cocktail conventions.

Tell this to Mike Buhen, though, and the owner (with his sons) of L.A.'s iconic Tiki Ti seems a little surprised. "I'm glad to hear that," he says, his trademark loud tropical shirt contrasting with his calm demeanor. You get the feeling that tiki's newfound trendiness will do nothing to change America's most beloved, if not best-known, tiki bar. Not much ever changes at the Ti.

Opened in 1961 near the end of the last great tiki era, the tiny bar on Sunset Boulevard has survived the decline of tiki, the rise of disco, and the dark ages of cocktails, which persisted from the 1960s to the late '90s. It survived the rise of mixology, and the snobbery that came with it. It even survived California's cigarette ban - Tiki Ti is one of the last bars in the state where you can still light up indoors.

All these things can be attributed to one basic fact: Tiki Ti is a family affair. Because Buhen and his sons are the bar's only employees, the law that seeks to protect workers from secondhand smoke does not apply. And because this bar has been the passion and livelihood of three generations of Buhens, its customers are devoted. "We have people who have been coming here for over 50 years," Buhen says.

Buhen's late father, Ray, had a hand in practically every important tiki bar in Los Angeles, beginning with the original, Don the Beachcomber, where he was a bartender at the time of its 1934 opening. "My dad was from the Philippines," Buhen says. "He came when he was 18. He was working at the Beverly Hills Hotel and they decided to send him to bartending school. I guess that's how this all started." Ray Buhen later worked at many of his era's best bars, including Trader Vic's and the Seven Seas. In 1950 he was an opening bartender at the Dresden.

Eleven years later, he opened Tiki Ti. "My dad could have been a contractor," Buhen says. "He built this all himself."

Buhen was 18 at the time - too young to enter the bar. He bided his time with a job at Hertz but joined the family business at 21, and he's been there ever since. Any night the Ti is open, you can find Buhen perched on a stool beside the door, smoking a cigar, checking IDs and bantering with the regulars. Listen closely, and you'll hear about the time Nic Cage got smashed on shots. On Wednesday nights at 9, one of the Buhen boys rings a ship's bell and Buhen toasts Ray's picture on the wall.

This year, Buhen and his wife are celebrating their 40th wedding anniversary. As for the future of the bar, Buhen shrugs. "That's up to my boys," he says, gesturing toward sons Mike Jr., 40, and Mark, 30, behind the bar. "There have been people coming in here wanting to start a Tiki Two or Tiki Three. That's all up to them. My dad tended bar here well into his 80s. Sometimes I think I'll retire. But some people retire and then they just have nothing to do."

This article is from a few days ago.

http://laist.com/2015/10/06/legendary_tiki_ti.php#photo-41

I was able to go a couple weeks ago, and wow, it did not disappoint!

It was quite crowded, and took a long time to get drinks, but it made sense because it was only Mike and another younger guy (glasses, goatee) ...

I ordered a Ray's Mistake first, then shared both a Zombie and a Fog Cutter. I tried a sip of a blue drink that I don't recall the name of.

What impressed me most about the drinks was that despite the volume of drink-making the bartender's were dealing with, the drinks I had were PERFECT! I was/am just blown away that they can consistently achieve such a high level of craft. Even the ice! I'm new to tiki, and I've been aware that ice is an important part of the recipes, but it really was apparent in these drinks at Tiki Ti. I got to experience the layers of the glass, the diluting over time, etc.

BTW what is the drink where they run the robot bull down the bar? That was a fun display!

On 2016-08-08 12:29, Tiki Drifter wrote:
BTW what is the drink where they run the robot bull down the bar? That was a fun display!

Blood & Sand?

On 2016-08-08 12:29, Tiki Drifter wrote:
but it made sense because it was only Mike and another younger guy (glasses, goatee)

That would be Mike Jr.

On 2016-08-08 14:16, kkocka wrote:

On 2016-08-08 12:29, Tiki Drifter wrote:
but it made sense because it was only Mike and another younger guy (glasses, goatee)

That would be Mike Jr.

Ah, cool! They did look kind of alike now that you mention it. :)

Just a note that the annual break for Tiki Ti has started. They'll reopen Wednesday, April 19th.

Man, I want a "holiday schedule" like that for myself.

What? I have to quit my job? Oh well, nevermind...

[ Edited by: AceExplorer 2017-11-13 12:23 ]

It's that time again.

(Damn, there goes my idea for Monsterpalooza Weekend.)

If you're not a local and you need a Tiki-Ti fix, Google Street View lets you see inside:

https://www.google.com/maps/uv?hl=en&pb=!1s0x80c2c74d3bed0e3b:0x628a3324ab6f85a5!2m22!2m2!1i80!2i80!3m1!2i20!16m16!1b1!2m2!1m1!1e1!2m2!1m1!1e3!2m2!1m1!1e5!2m2!1m1!1e4!2m2!1m1!1e6!3m1!7e115!4s/maps/place/maps%2Btiki%2Bti/@34.0973579,-118.2859099,3a,75y,45.42h,90t/data%3D213m4211e1213m2211sa31CCsHh3V2GBh-3GvPbHQ212e0214m2213m1211s0x80c2c74d3bed0e3b:0x628a3324ab6f85a5!5smaps+tiki+ti+-+Google+Search&imagekey=!1e2!2sa31CCsHh3V2GBh-3GvPbHQ&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwiEs-2OvMfcAhWJiVQKHewDBpoQph8wCnoECAoQDg

Look how quiet it is! You can get a seat at the bar!

On 2019-01-15 21:19, Hamo wrote:
If you're not a local and you need a Tiki-Ti fix, Google Street View lets you see inside:

https://www.google.com/maps/uv?hl=en&pb=!1s0x80c2c74d3bed0e3b:0x628a3324ab6f85a5!2m22!2m2!1i80!2i80!3m1!2i20!16m16!1b1!2m2!1m1!1e1!2m2!1m1!1e3!2m2!1m1!1e5!2m2!1m1!1e4!2m2!1m1!1e6!3m1!7e115!4s/maps/place/maps%2Btiki%2Bti/@34.0973579,-118.2859099,3a,75y,45.42h,90t/data%3D213m4211e1213m2211sa31CCsHh3V2GBh-3GvPbHQ212e0214m2213m1211s0x80c2c74d3bed0e3b:0x628a3324ab6f85a5!5smaps+tiki+ti+-+Google+Search&imagekey=!1e2!2sa31CCsHh3V2GBh-3GvPbHQ&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwiEs-2OvMfcAhWJiVQKHewDBpoQph8wCnoECAoQDg

Look how quiet it is! You can get a seat at the bar!

And of course Rasta Jim is there. :)

I was just looking around Critiki and discovered this tidbit: Tiki Ti now accepts credit cards(?)

That's huge, if it's the case! I haven't been there in some time, so whenever I'm there next I'll report back unless somebody beats me to it.

Anybody been recently to confirm if they do in fact accept credit cards now? I need to know if I have to pack a suitcase full of cash next week....

Sorry, Hamo - hope you're having a great visit!

For everyone else - Plan accordingly:

Birthday celebration this Saturday the 13th, then CLOSED until May 8th.

We will be CLOSED for Spring Break beginning April 14 through May 7th,(awww) opening again May 8.(yaaas). Come this Saturday to help us celebrate 58 years of tiki goodness! Champagne at some point, and raffle prizes from 4pm til Midnight. Come join the Celebration and wish us HBD.

SAT, APR 13 AT 4 PM
Tiki-Ti 58th Birthday Celebration
Tiki Ti · Los Angeles, CA

On 2019-01-16 11:05, arriano wrote:

On 2019-01-15 21:19, Hamo wrote:
If you're not a local and you need a Tiki-Ti fix, Google Street View lets you see inside:

https://www.google.com/maps/uv?hl=en&pb=!1s0x80c2c74d3bed0e3b:0x628a3324ab6f85a5!2m22!2m2!1i80!2i80!3m1!2i20!16m16!1b1!2m2!1m1!1e1!2m2!1m1!1e3!2m2!1m1!1e5!2m2!1m1!1e4!2m2!1m1!1e6!3m1!7e115!4s/maps/place/maps%2Btiki%2Bti/@34.0973579,-118.2859099,3a,75y,45.42h,90t/data%3D213m4211e1213m2211sa31CCsHh3V2GBh-3GvPbHQ212e0214m2213m1211s0x80c2c74d3bed0e3b:0x628a3324ab6f85a5!5smaps+tiki+ti+-+Google+Search&imagekey=!1e2!2sa31CCsHh3V2GBh-3GvPbHQ&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwiEs-2OvMfcAhWJiVQKHewDBpoQph8wCnoECAoQDg

Look how quiet it is! You can get a seat at the bar!

And of course Rasta Jim is there. :)

Ha! And I thought the same thing about Rasta Jim. I'm pretty sure I met him one of the last times I was there (2016-17). I love this Street View of Tiki Ti. The lighting is perfect...one gets to see lots of great details. Now I just need the recipe for Ray's Mistake.

It’s true; they accept credit cards now, which is good, because I spent a lot of money there last night and wouldn’t have had enough cash....

Thanks for the confirmation, Hamo! I was gonna ask my brother for you, but he's been outta town. I'm pretty sure it was still Cash Only last time I was there.

Hope you had a great trip!

Question for Tiki-Ti regulars and those in the know:

Do people queue up before opening on Saturdays? I was wondering if it's like Smuggler's Cove, where it's so small that people show up early to ensure entry. I'll be flying in to Burbank on a Saturday in a couple of weeks and want to plan accordingly.

On 2019-10-14 10:32, HopeChest wrote:
Do people queue up before opening on Saturdays? I was wondering if it's like Smuggler's Cove, where it's so small that people show up early to ensure entry.

Great question! So i've never been on a Saturday, but any day of the week that I go, I plan on being there a little before 330, parked in front. If there's a line, I hop right in. If not, I line up at the sight of the first in line or 15 min before.

Tiki Ti is MUCH smaller than Smugglers Cove. Great drinks & people.