Seattle Tiki

**A list of Tiki restaurants/bars, stores, and other bits of Exotica in the greater Seattle area. (For this post that means along the I-5 corridor from Everett to Tacoma and including Bellevue, etc.)

Please post your general comments, updates, and suggestions below. Opinions on which locations are worth a visit are especially encouraged. **

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Tiki Bars/Restaurants
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Luau Polynesian Lounge
Restaurant and Polynesian Lounge

2253 N 56th St
Seattle, WA 98103
(206) 633-5828

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Hula Hula
Tiki Bar with full restaurant menu.

106 First Ave N
Seattle, WA 98109
(206) 284-5003

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'Ohana Restaurant & Sushi Bar
Restaurant with Tiki Bar and Sushi Bar

2207 1st Ave
Seattle, WA 98121
(206) 956-9329

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Lava Lounge
Lowbrow Bar with Tiki theme

2226 2nd Ave
Seattle, WA 98121
(206) 441-5660

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The Islander
Restaurant and Tiki Lounge

96 Union St
Seattle, WA
(206) 344-8088

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Tiki Bob's Cantina
Spring Break style bar

166 S King St
Seattle, WA 98104
(206) 382-8454

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Seattle Area:

Trader Vic's
Restaurant and Tiki Bar

Lincoln Square
700 Bellevue Way NE, #50
Bellevue, WA 98004
(425) 455-4483

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Tiki Joe's Wetbar
"Catering to 21-31 year olds who are out to have fun..."

106 Kirkland Ave
Kirkland, WA 98033
(425) 827-8300

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A Very Taki Tiki Bar & Grill
Bar & Grill (Yelp reviews)

518 Main St
Edmonds, WA 98020
(425) 778-3548

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Tiki Stores & Shopping
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Hawai'i General Store
Aloha Shirts, Hawaiian Arts & Crafts, some Tiki items

258 NE 45th St
Seattle, WA 98105
(206) 633-5233

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Archie McPhee
"A Mecca for connoisseurs of the strange..." Some Tiki items.

2428 NW Market Street
Seattle, WA 98107
(206) 297-0240

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Tiki/Exotica Bars, Restaurants & Points of Interest
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Watch This Space!

Previous Seattle Info Threads:

Seattle

Seattle Suggestions

Seattle Tiki History Threads:

1962 World's Fair Hawaiian Pavillion

Tiki Past: Seattle, Wash

Rise And Fall of the Polynesian

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woofmutt

[ Edited by: woofmutt 2008-06-29 00:19 ]

The woofmutt opinions...

If you're in town for a short visit Hula Hula is the one I'd recommend. It has a nice interior, a good chance of tolerable music playing, and they're usual running a vintage beach flick or surfing film on the big screen over the bar. For sight seers Hula Hula has the added advantage of being not too far from the Seattle Center (Space Needle, Monorail, Sci-Fi Museum). Hula Hula also is the only Seattle bar that has their own mug. (Still for sale, I think.)

Down side: The tropical drinks friends and I have had at Hula Hula have been mediocre to forgettable. I stick to beer and wells. (The mediocre tropical drink has been the norm at all the Seattle Tiki bars I've drank in.)

If you have more time in town it'd be very easy to check out Hula Hula, the Lava Lounge, 'Ohana, and the Islander (currently attempting some sort of de-islanding) in one afternoon/evening. I'd end the tour with Hula Hula, it's the most interesting.

The Hawai'i General Store is definitely worth a visit. They have a large selection of Hawaiian arts and crafts, Aloha fabric by the yard, Hawaiian souvenir items, a selection of tropical soaps and lotions, cards, gift wrap, books, CDs, snacks, lots of Aloha shirts, and a decent selection of Tiki things (some mugs, party supplies, etc.). They're prices are pretty good. Hawai'i General Store has a great look to it, smells exotic (from the lotions), and there's always Hawaiian music playing. It's a really relaxing place to spend a slow hour shopping. (Especially after the sensorial cacophony of Archie McPhee.)

Trader Vic's is super swell. The bar looks very much like a high end Tiki joint from the Golden Age with great drink presentation.

The down side: My friends and I have found the drinks to be undependable in quality and forgettable when they were good.

Vic's location, Bellevue, not only can be a big pain-in-the-asterisk getting into and out of but near Vic's there's absolutely nothing else unique or of any real interest to look at. (Unless you're into giant malls and chain restaurants.)

Seattle Update 9/16/14

Hula Hula...the food was just ok...drinks the same. The decor is appealing but nothing special...unless you're desperate skip it.

Ohana Restaurant & Sushi Bar...the food was really good...drinks too! Go for happy hour its a good deal! The decor is appealing but again nothing special...if you have one chance to stop for Tiki in Seattle this would be the place.

Just out of curiousity, what's the market like for Tiki bars in Seattle? It doesn't seem like there's anything great. Would a Forbidden Island type bar work? Is the customer base there?

Aloha,

this place is awesome

Anyone tried the drinks at Hotel Albatross in Ballard yet? Curious what the consensus is. Went to Rhumba in Capitol Hill last night and the tropical libations were FANTASTIC. Server said they have over 400 rums in stock. Menus has roughly half of them listed.
Yes it's Caribbean and there's not a hint of tiki (except on Wed nites), but anyone who loves "tiki" drinks will find their drink menu selections highly familiar. After all, we know where the majority of Don's classic drink recipes came from, right?
If in Seattle, definitely hit Rhumba for a few.
:drink:

Hey ya....been to Hotel Albatross. They have pretty good tiki drinks. Have had most of their drinks now between three visits and they are all pretty good. Been to all remaining tiki bars and remnants and would suggest Hotel Albatross and Rumba as the top two.

That being said, however, the best Tiki Bar in Washington State is, hands down, he Tacoma Cabana. Jason Alexander makes ethereal libations and he foods pretty good too. Definately a must. Open Wednesday-Saturday.

Bothell, WA
The North Shore Lagoon is part of McMenamin it's part of a 6 restaurant, hotel, movie theater complex.
we went on the 3rd day it was open, and we'll go back again!!

http://www.tikicentral.com/viewtopic.php?topic=50149&forum=2&0

Bumping this because I'll be in Seattle next week -- is Hotel Albatross the one to hit? (Sadly I won't have time to go to Tacoma.)

I haven't made it to the Albatross yet, but I would still strongly recommend Rhumba near downtown Seattle. While it's not technically "tiki", the décor is still cool Caribbean, but more importantly, they have over 400 rums and their cocktails are top notch.

Cheers!
:drink:

Thank you! I'll try to hit up both on my trip.

A few updates to the list at the top: The Luau is no more. Neither is Trader Vic's. I don't think The Islander or Tiki Bob's Cantina are either.

I go to the Hula Hula about once a year, and the decor is blacklight-heavy and feels beach bar over tiki, to my eye, but the worst thing has been the drinks. They got a little better about a year ago, but still not great. I was about to go back tonight for an annual karaoke gathering with some friends, but instead of karaoke, they're playing some sort of fly fishing movie(?), so we'll be moving to another karaoke bar. I guess finding out if their drinks have improved any more will have to wait — it's possible it may close before I get a chance to return.

I've had a few good visits at the Hotel Albatross (since it's in my neighborhood), and while the decor is lackluster (it's a fine bar; just not "tiki" at all), the drinks have been quite tasty. The Painkiller and the Three Dots and a Dash are particularly good.

There's another new place in Ballard, the vegan No Bones Beach Club, and while I haven't been yet, friends tell me that the decor is pretty nice, but the drinks are the kind of fruit punch nonsense that you might rather avoid.

Went to the North Shore Lagoon for my birthday, back in March, and that place is totally spot-on. Amazing decor, and great drinks too. Their only mug comes with a Zombie, and it seems to be a non-traditional Renaissance-looking fish-man of some sort. I'll have to take a picture and get it up on Ooga-Mooga soon.

Still haven't been to Rhumba or Tacoma Cabana yet, to my shame.

I'll echo what has been said about the Hotel Albatros. Not a Tiki bar, but has a menu full of Tiki drinks including a few that come in mugs. The food is quite good, especially the puffy tacos.

Just up the street, still in Ballard, is Essex. Again, not a Tiki bar, but they do a Tiki/Taco Tuesday. I've been once, the drinks are well priced and strong, but not amazing. They had three Tiki options when I went.

In Capitol Hill, Rumba is a rum bar. It's much more of a Caribbean themed place, but there is a little bit of crossover between the drinks. They also have what is probably the biggest rum list I've seen in Seattle and some interesting rum flights. They have added a Tiki Wednesday recently. The menu features a lot of classic, plus some more modern drinks and Spam sliders.

In downtown, near the market, The Diller Room is basically a dark dive bar. They have a pretty impressive Scotch list, but one of the bartenders, Jason Wojslaw, is a Tiki Enthusiast who works there Tuesday-Saturday. Officially only Tuesday is Tiki night, but if he's there he'll make you a Tiki drink (though it might be missing a garnish or two on days other than Tuesday). The menu is evenly split between half a dozen or so of each classic drinks and ones that he has created. Other people have reviewed it more in depth, so I'll just link to them here and here.

Tacoma Cabana and the North Shore Lagoon in the Anderson School are more traditional Tiki Bars, but both can be an hour drive from Seattle, depending on traffic. They are far enough away that they are a special occasion only. Plus, driving an hour after a couple Tiki drinks is usually not a good idea. I much prefer being able to take a cab/uber/lyft/public transit back home.

Finally, there is a place in West Seattle called New Luck Toy. It's owned by a local chef (Mark Fuller) who grew up in Hawaii. His more traditional restaurant fuses Korean, Hawaiian and American food. But this new bar is a tribute to a long existing, long closed Chinese American restaurant of the same name in West Seattle. The place is dark and looks exactly like you would expect a Chinese American restaurant from the 50s-70s to look. The drink menu (and it's much more of a bar than a restaurant) includes four frozen drinks. Three of them were Tiki based on my last visit (Pina Colada, Singapore Sling, Mango Scorpion). They also make a decent Mai Tai and a very delicious passion fruit caparinha. Most of the other drinks are vaguely tropical/exotic, but they aren't just sweet juice and rum. Even though it's a bar, the best part may be the food. It's a classic (but small) Chinese American menu with all the classics: General Tso, Egg Rolls, Roast Duck, Chow Mein, Salt and Pepper Shrimps, BBQ Pork, Fried Rice, etc. However, it's done at a different level than you would get at that kind of place.

On 2017-01-08 10:31, arbeck wrote:

In downtown, near the market, The Diller Room is basically a dark dive bar. They have a pretty impressive Scotch list, but one of the bartenders, Jason Wojslaw, is a Tiki Enthusiast who works there Tuesday-Saturday. Officially only Tuesday is Tiki night, but if he's there he'll make you a Tiki drink (though it might be missing a garnish or two on days other than Tuesday). The menu is evenly split between half a dozen or so of each classic drinks and ones that he has created. Other people have reviewed it more in depth, so I'll just link to them here and here.

Justin Wojslaw is a Cocktail Magician.......WooHooo! He Made Us Some of the Best Tiki Drinks that We Have Ever Had :)