Tiki bar reccomendations for LA and West Hollywood?

Hey guys. A work-mate of mine will be heading over to the US next year on a vintage shopping tour. While she's there, she's keen to take in some tiki bar goodness. So where would you reccomend in LA and West Hollywood? Bear in mind her schedule is pretty full so she's not going to be able to do a week long bar-hop hitting a different bar each night, so what are the 'must-dos'. Any suggestions and reccomendations welcome! :D

Tiki Ti

yes Tiki Ti is the best remaining tiki bar in LA and the best drinks,Dons is great on decor but the drinks are very average since Marie left

Tiki-Ti should be the first choice and The Tonga Hut is solid and will be even more so when your friend is here. I also like the Downtown L.A. Trader Vic's and if they want to see some very cool unique places I'd say Tony's on the Pier in Redondo Beach and the Warehouse in Marina Del Rey.

Don't forget Bahooka & a trip to L.A. isn't complete without a stop at Oceanic Arts in Whittier.

There are no tiki bars in West Hollywood. The closest would be Tiki Ti, which is in Silverlake (more like East Hollywood). The hours there are limited, but I would list it as a must.

Next after that would be Trader Vic's at LA Live downtown. It doesn't have the atmosphere or the quality of the old Beverly Hills Vic's, but it's still really good and worth a stop. Both Tiki Ti and Trader Vic's can be accessed using the LA Metrorail system from West Hollywood/Hollywood/Downtown LA, so no car needed.

Anywhere else would require a car. Next closest would be North Hollywood. You can get there from West Hollywood by a scenic drive through Laurel Canyon into the valley. Tiki No and the Tonga Hut are there. They are not far from each other, but if going to only one it should be the Tonga Hut.

If she is flying into LAX then there are a cluster of tiki(ish) places near the airport. The Purple Orchid in El Segundo is closest, followed by the Warehouse in Marina del Rey and Tony's on the (Redondo Beach) Pier.

Other places are considerably more distant. Bahooka in Rosemead (Oceanic Arts in Whittier is nearby) and Don the Beachcomber in Sunset Beach are also great places, but would require a much greater time commitment.

Check the hours for the Tiki Ti before going there at http://www.tiki-ti.com because of its limited hours.

[ Edited by: PiPhiRho 2011-11-25 13:28 ]

Thanks for all the feedback folks. My work-mate has checked out this thread and was stoked with the response and is taking it all on board :D

digging this thread up as the wife is headed to LA for the weekend. she's staying at the airport marriott for a hair show, and looking for any tiki places nearby she could pop into. any advice and/or approximate cab/travel times from the airport would be appreciated. thanks!

The Purple Orchid would be the closest tiki bar to LAX.
The area around the Manhattan Beach pier has a lot of shopping, bars, restaurants and of course, the beach. Fun people watching too. None of it is tiki, but she will enjoy herself. MP Post is a good restaurant to eat at. http://eatmbpost.com/ Manhattan Beach is close to LAX.

MB Pier. Yes, we have sunsets that look like that.

Tony's on the Redondo Beach Pier is further away, but worth a visit. Good people watching.

It's not tiki, but if she likes kitschy places she should go to Encounter Restaurant which is the space ship looking place in the middle of LAX. It's overpriced and a tourist trap, but worth experiencing.

http://www.encounterlax.com

I don't know how much taxi fares are.

thanks so much for the suggestions lori! unfortunately her flight was delayed getting out there, so her window for hitting tiki ti sadly passed. also, a $60.00 one way cab ride to trader vic's also was not in her books.

she was able to stroll down to purple orchid, and really enjoyed herself. other than that, business occupied her time and kept her hotel bound, but thank you again for the suggestions!

What's the closest Metro station to Tiki Ti? Vermont/Sunset?

How is parking around there?

On 2013-06-28 12:19, djmont wrote:
What's the closest Metro station to Tiki Ti? Vermont/Sunset?

How is parking around there?

Yes, that's the closest Metro station. It's about three longish blocks away, but not bad. I've done it with no problems. Parking can be iffy. Recommend you go to Tiki Ti right when it opens so as get a seat and not be subject to waiting in a line.

Tiki Ti isn't open everyday and they like to take vacations. Check their website to make sure they're open first. Also, it's cash only and the drinks aren't cheap, but they are delicious!
There is on the street meter parking in front of Tiki Ti. Bring quarters.

Glad I found this place, and this thread. I'm heading out to LA tomorrow morning. I'm definitely hitting up the Tiki Ti, and possibly the Tonga Hut. Can you suggest a must visit place for Monday? I'm out in the Arcadia area. Also how much do you think a cab ride from Arcadia to Tiki Ti would be? I'm trying to go there and fully enjoy the drinks and don't want to have to worry about driving.

If anyone plans on being there let me know, drinking alone sucks! :drink:

The Tiki-Ti is closed Sundays, Mondays and Tuesdays and Arcadia to the Tiki-Ti is about 22 miles. I hope this helps.

Yeah that confirms my research. Wednesday or bust then. Just have to hope a cab ride won't be to expensive.

The closest tiki place to Arcadia is Damon's in Glendale. Even it is a distance if you don't have a car.

So I've been to a few places these past few days.

Started out at some place called Island Burgers or something to that effect. Was an ok burger but was more of a surfer place than tiki. Followed it up with Tiki No and had a pretty good time. It had the decor down and the drinks were pretty good, but it lacked that dirty feel that makes a tiki bar a tiki bar.

The next day I went to Damons for dinner and had a good ChiChi and steak. The decor was really well done, but again it just didn't have the right feel. The whole place looked like a big palapa, and had some great murals. Only thing I wish they did different was lower the lights. It was way to bright and took away from the atmosphere.

I then hit up the Tonga Hut. Wow, this place nailed it and I'm so happy to hear its still picking up steam. It wasn't crowded at all so I had a chance to look around and take it all in. I had planned on staying like an hour, ended up leaving around midnight after like 3-4 hours of great conversations and drinks.

Tonight is my last night here, so I plan on getting some grub somewhere then heading to Tiki Ti to check it out, and if I'm still up to it, stopping in the Tonga Hut one last time before I have to head home.

Wish I had places like this back home.

Next week is Lafayette, LA. I'm hoping I find some tiki stuff down there. Time to start researching. :drink: