Cheeky Tiki, Kona, Hawai'i (restaurant and bar)

The Cheeky Tiki is a new tiki restaurant and bar in Kona, Hawai'i. Only open for about five months, it is still very, very, very new. That said, the drinks are on point (indistinguishable to me from Trader Vic's at the New Ohtani in Tokyo), and the food was excellent. The tropical salad was the best salad my mother has ever had, and given she is now in her seventies, that's high praise indeed. I enjoyed my sandwich.

I got a chance to speak to two of the three owners. Decor is a work in progress, because they missed the Oceanic Arts closing sale, and so they are still collecting items. Pretty bare now, but they hope to eventually cover every surface over the next few years. Given that the view is... well... Hawai'i they opted to go with an open upstairs rather than a dark closed in approach as is typical. No need to build the fantasy here, given gestures to her current surroundings.

One of the owners had an earlier Tiki bar venture in Kentucky, one is the "business guy" and the third owner (or so he tells me) has expertise in "really liking to drink."

An easy to get to establishment in the center of the Kona waterfront, I think this one should make your list if you go to Big Island.

Thanks for the report! Not sure when I'll get back there, but this place has been on my list.

This is what I would put in the sub category "Island Style" bar.

Agreed - it would be nice to see the decor improved. I've heard from 3 or 4 different sets of people that the drinks were quite good, though, so I'll take it.