Kukui, Oxford, UK (bar)

Name:Kukui
Type:bar
Street:Park End
City:Oxford
State:
Zip:OX1 1JD
country:UK
Phone:
Status:operational

Description:
The first new Tiki bar outside of London in a while. This is aimed towards the Oxford Student market and has amodern tiki bar feel and design, tends to be more grown up thurs, fri sat otherwise you will be sharing the space with 600 drunken students.
Kukui is more club than bar and boasts a massive Hut over the dance floor with colour change puffer fish.
The castaway room is modernist with Tiki elements and fish Tank wall with sharks and leopard spotted moray eel.
A river runs around the clubs areas It has various areas in which to sit and enjoy the passport styled menu with arange of classic and new Tiki drinks, of special note is the Thunder God which when ordered is followed by thunder, lightning and rain pouring from the ceiling around the club

Interior Design by CheekyTiki
Graphic Design by Tiki Racer

[ Edited by: cheekytiki 2008-10-30 13:57 ]

this is our new completed project, graphic design by Tiki racer

ooh, I forgot they have their own mug

Looks sweet. Good work.

Excellent work.
Looks like a great place to hang out.
Love the Disco puffers.

And they do it again! Marvelous.

• SV

This is a masterpiece, cheeky. I'm beyond impressed. I'll be really looking forward to visiting this place on my next trip to Oxford.

Oooh , I like this!

Very friggin' cool, Jamie! Do I detect a little Tiki Modern/Westenhaver influence in the globe, the screens and the logo Tiki? Aaaaaah, it is so good to see that it CAN be done! Those hoity toity kids better appreciate it!

[ Edited by: bigbrotiki 2008-10-31 08:35 ]

I want to live in that place! It looks amazing.

Now if I can only find a cheap flight to the UK.....

Brilliant!!!

p.s. and we Will play fooz ball in the future!

sometime!

Good to see the final Professional pics Jamie - makes it look almost as good as it does in real life. Somehow my phone pics just don't do that. You gotta post some of the fish though!

Was a good project to work on, cheers.

Thanks to Cheekytiki for the intro on this project.

I worked very closely with Jamie to ensure the branding reflected his interior design work.

Drinks Menu is in the style of a vintage Uk passport, with drinks as country stamps. The food menu is a boarding card. We also made a luggage tag for the first night opening.

You brits are a bunch of slick bastards! I heart you, kids!

This is one seriously tiki-ed out bar - fabulous job by you all!!!!!!!

Love the color-change blowfish - what FUN! & the mug & ALL the bamboo!!!!!!

Looking forward to checking it out next time I'm in the neighborhood :wink:

I think a trip to oxford may be in order, a day at the pitt rivers and the off for a night of cocktails.

Bad News - the pitt rivers is closed for a refit until the spring...

Good News - the refit is only the entrance, they are not messing with the wonderful old school museum feel of the rest of the space. I'll keep you posted.

What say we make a point of organising a TikiCentralite's visit to the Pitt Rivers on its opening in Spring?

However, would like an excuse to visit the new bar a bit sooner than that!

CHRIS

Awesome work guys love the branding and the bar is wicked - I'm checking out hotels so i can pop along and sink a few in this tiki heaven!! Do they sell the mugs??

http://flisolo.com/student-news/outrage-over-naked-ky-jelly-wrestling-kukui

I'm definetly going now lol bar/alchol/feminist students/ snake show = argument/offence bad publicity - but what do they say about publicity!?!

So funny!!!! hasnt put me off a bit!*!?

I'm going to be passing through Oxford during the Xmas break on the way to visit relatives - does anyone know the opening hours on the 30th of Dec?

Also, do they sell the mugs?

Very cool looking bar.

I'm going to be in Reading for the next couple of weeks, and I was wondering if anyone in the local Ohana has been here yet. If so, is it worth a visit, or is it just a weeklong student debauch? When is the best time to go so I don't have to be surrounded by drunken Oxford 20-somethings looking to bash my skull in?

Mahalo in Advance,

Mr. BH

The first idea I ever had at what a tiki bar could look like was right after viewing some Shag work. Very crisp, clean, modern tiki and I think that place nails that. Classy and soon to be a classic.

Love those Blue Puffers (time to switch out the bulbs in my blow fish and buy a couple more).

-t key

update....

I went during the holiday perion (on the 30th of December to be precise) - unfortunately they were closed!

They only seem to open as a late bar (10pm - the early hours) so check before travelling.

RE: the mugs - apparently they aren't allowed to serve drinks in them - probably some stupid food hygene law - so they have been selling them on eBay.

[ Edited by: Pikeys Dog 2009-02-02 10:53 ]

On 2009-02-02 10:52, Pikeys Dog wrote:
They only seem to open as a late bar (10pm - the early hours) so check before travelling.

Good to know. Sounds like I'll have to give it a pass, as this is way past my bedtime...:)

Amazing to see this place in my old stomping ground.
Jamie - you've done an incredible job, judging by the photos!

I'm in Oxford this weekend for my brother's stag night and with a bit of luck I'll be able to steer
the stag party in that direction.

Does anyone know if 10:00 pm is still the opening time? It's just that by that time we'll have been drinking solidly for 7 hours.......

Trader Woody

I went there holloween night. It was a shame that the toilets aren't so great. Its also annoying that the glasses/bottles are plastic. I didn't see any mugs?

Looks great though, massive place.

Thanks Woody, good to see you are back, give them a call to see what time they open.
Hadjuk, unfortunately Oxrord city council have decided that most bars cannot use glass anymore. They are looking at producing resin or acrylic tiki mugs.

What an absolutely redicul-arse reason to be not able to use tiki mugs in a bar, bloody nanny state.
I'm always worried that any future Scottish tiki bar won't be able to serve four people volcano bowls due to the fact it might "encourage over drinking".

i understand

What is the VIP part about? i will return for sure with my girlfriend in january.

[ Edited by: Hajduk 2009-11-04 10:29 ]

On 2009-11-04 07:07, atomictonytiki wrote:
What an absolutely redicul-arse reason to be not able to use tiki mugs in a bar, bloody nanny state.
I'm always worried that any future Scottish tiki bar won't be able to serve four people volcano bowls due to the fact it might "encourage over drinking".

But it's not one volcano per person..

Visited Oxford this past weekend and hit Kukui - one seriously beautiful environment and congrats to all involved, absolutely top notch work. Praise stops there though as the drinks were awful. Yes, the plastic glass (is that even a phrase?) is well and truly in place, each filled with a variety of fruit juces poured straight from the carton, mmmmmmmm... I might do that at home sometimes but I don't charge £7 a pop.

My wife ordered a Mai Tai, as I guess many on here do to test the waters, seems that Kukui belive this should now be made without Orgeat, as their 'updated' (read 'cheaper to produce') menu confirmed. Wasn't actually a terrible drink, but certainly no Mai Tai. I'll refrain from commenting on the Voodoo Rum Punch, other than to say that I passionately believe that rum should feature as a primary ingredient/taste. Would only recommend for a look at the stunning interior.

We fared much better at Raoul's, noted as one of the UKs top cocktail bars - and on this experience certainly couldn't argue with that. Not a tiki bar but they serve a decent Mai Tai (with Orgeat!), a good Donn Beach Zombie (not the version I make at home but it contained plenty of rum, which you could actually taste) as well as a number of other rum/tiki friendly concoctions. Well worth a visit to this place, friendly and knowedgeable bar staff, happy to talk about what they are putting into your drink, for example I got a taste of the Angostura 5yo rum after enquiring casually (cough) as to what it was like. Great service, great drinks.

As on the Oxford trail here it is worth mentioning that I went to the Pitt-Rivers Museum and could have spent the whole weekend there - will try and post some typically fuzzy flash-free photos in the relevant area of TC.

Laters...

I am sorry to report the Oxford Kukui closed May 2011.

There were two additional Kukui locations, first Bournemouth and then Cheltenham. Both are now also closed.