Kon Tiki, Waikiki, HI (restaurant)

Name:Kon Tiki
Type:restaurant
Street:Sheraton Hotel
City:Waikiki
State:HI
Zip:
country:USA
Phone:
Status:defunct

Description:
This is the least publicized location of the Kon Tiki restaurant chain created by Steve Crane. The restaurant was located in the Sheraton Hotel in Waikiki.

I have this postcard, which shows the interior. I have seen no other photos from the interior of this Kon Tiki.

It is a double card that also shows the Hanohano Room Restaurant.

I also have the popular Daga Tiki mug that came from here (photo courtesy of Ooga Mooga).

three swizzles,

a pic,

and a matchbook with the same Tiki logo as shown on the back of the mug.

The Kon Tiki restaurant closed in 1980's. I read that the Tikis from the Kon Tiki were purchased by Annette Nahinu and ended up at the La Mariana Sailing Club.

Finally here is an excerpt from an essay published by Karen Kasaba I found on the Internet with a great description of the Kon Tiki experience.

To introduce him to my Hawaii, we drove straight to Kon Tiki with the luggage in the trunk. Together we rode the glass and rattan elevator that ascended one flight to the restaurant, looking onto a lush atrium. During the short ride, we listened to piped-in steel guitar, watched colored light play on a lava rock waterfall, and leered back at angry tikis, two stories tall.

The ceiling of Kon Tiki is domed like a cavern, painted black as a kukui nut. From it hang dozens of colored glass floats, caught in fishnets and lit from within. Incandescent blue water cascades over the curled lips of mammoth clams. Illuminated blowfish swim suspended over a waterfall. And everywhere, tiki gods loom. Carved totems tower over diners' heads, inferring silent war chants and curses.

Before dinner, my love and I shared a Kava Bowl: a large, coconut-shaped ceramic vessel, flanked by four menehunes B mythic Hawaiian elves. Pungent gardenias floated upon a pond of vodka-tinged punch. The entire concoction oozed a mysterious, icy mist that rolled over the edge of the bowl and onto the table. Like most exotic drinks, the first draw on the two-foot straw tasted like battery acid, but every subsequent sip was pure nectar.

Cool imagery. Here is the link to the entire essay.

http://www.summersetreview.org/04summer/kontiki.htm

DC

I was going through Beachbum Berry's Taboo Table book last night and noticed that the Molokai Mule drink (its got a Kick!) was invented at the Kon Tiki Sheraton Waikiki.

Here is the signature mug that it came in

(from Ooga Mooga)

And the write up from Taboo Table.

Still interested to see if there is more on this place.

DC

Historically interesting, but conceptually a less satisfying vessel. Even uglier than their Tiki mug, and that's hard to do. :D

Bigbro,

But the interior WAS nice! I hear you on the mug, always reminded me of the Alien in Alien.

DC

Aaaah! You scared me! Ok, it shall be the ALIEN Tiki henceforth.
Definitely, the place must have been nice! That description you found really sums up what a great Tiki temple should be like! But I think it opened a bit late in the game, around 1970?

I like this part of the essay. It sums up the True Poly-Pop. They are in Tahiti and real Polynesia after having fallen in love with it at Kon-Tiki:

Spent from the pressures of paradise, we sat on the sand and drank Tahitian beer, ate hot dogs, and fantasized about being rescued. My husband said finally, "This isn't Polynesia. This is Gilligan's Island."

Our Polynesian paradise, fast becoming extinct, is a place like Kon Tiki. A place to feel nonexistent breezes, to taste gardenias and sway to the pulse of pre-recorded drums. Where ultraviolet waters fluoresce and cascade between tables, and the mood is thermostatically controlled.

But, they've closed Kon Tiki. Never known for its food, the restaurant endured a brief Cantonese incarnation before becoming officially unpopular. Even in Hawaii, everybody just wants pizza.

On 2009-11-19 09:29, Swanky wrote:
Our Polynesian paradise, fast becoming extinct, is a place like Kon Tiki. A place to feel nonexistent breezes, to taste gardenias and sway to the pulse of pre-recorded drums. Where ultraviolet waters fluoresce and cascade between tables, and the mood is thermostatically controlled.

Haha, yes, indeed another good quote. Reminds me of this photo I took:

Apart from the thermostat, this amateurish petroglyph interpretation says so much about Poly pop, about the need go back to the primitive. I gotta feature it somewhere else, larger, I just love it.

On 2009-11-18 18:27, Dustycajun wrote:
Bigbro,

But the interior WAS nice! I hear you on the mug, always reminded me of the Alien in Alien.

DC

I always thought it had an abstract resemblance to the "Janus" tiki with the hands, mouth. and pointy nose. Daga meets Steven Crane.

Here is a menu from the Sheraton Waikiki Kon Tiki.

DC

On 2009-11-18 17:41, Dustycajun wrote:
I was going through Beachbum Berry's Taboo Table book last night and noticed that the Molokai Mule drink (its got a Kick!) was invented at the Kon Tiki Sheraton Waikiki.

Here is the signature mug that it came in

(from Ooga Mooga)

And the write up from Taboo Table.

And here I figured it was one of those back shelf mugs! (those are my photos lol)
Mahalo for the information!
can ya send me a nice printable scan of that recipe?

Still interested to see if there is more on this place.

DC

The funny thing about that Alien mug is that it kept getting re-produced, and every time someone re-made it, it lost even more detail and got uglier and uglier with each new casting.

A couple years ago I had some friends that were staying in Waikiki in the hotel above Mateo's and they made mateo's their last stop every night for a quick last drink. They got to know the head bartender - forgot his name - and he turned out to be the old manager of Kon Tiki. They talked about it for a while, and then next day he brought in a shoobox full of stuff from there. He had everything from his business cards, name tag, small menus, silverware, and a tiki mug that I've never seen before. He gave my friends some of the small paper stuff, and let them scan this photo of him:

A great shot of him next to the cannibal tikis with a great Kon Tiki black velvet behind him. You don't see too many black velvets with restaurant logos! And, yes, this tiki does look like the one that is at La Mariana now.

One day I decided to go back to Mateo's to pick his brain a little and see what he could share, and the sign on the door said "closed for renovation", and they have never reopened since then...

On 2009-11-24 12:33, Mo-Eye wrote:
One day I decided to go back to Mateo's to pick his brain a little and see what he could share, and the sign on the door said "closed for renovation", and they have never reopened since then...

Classic, I know that kinda story well....

You're sure its a black velvet? I can make out a Queens chair and a table lamp, but they make it look more like a photo. And what is that thing on a ....plate?

Now that you made me look at it more closely, I have no idea. I thought the white on the left side was from the sheen of the black velvet, but it may just be reflection off of glass or glossy printing stock. I only have a low res scan, and can not figure out what that is on the plate??? If only I could tell him to step to his left until he's out of the picture!!

Mo-Eye,

Cool photo and story. Love that Cannibal carving.

On 2009-11-23 12:36, TIKIVILLE wrote:

And here I figured it was one of those back shelf mugs! (those are my photos lol)
Mahalo for the information!
can ya send me a nice printable scan of that recipe?

Tikiville,

Thanks for the use of your photos. I can send you a scan, just PM me your email address...... of you could just buy the book, its on sale.

http://www.buy.com/prod/beachbum-berry-s-taboo-table/q/loc/106/203527509.html

DC

Buying old Hawaiian vacation photo albums on eBay paid off again.

Here are some snapshots of the Kon Tiki taken March 1973.

:up: this one was really over-exposed. I may play with it in photoshop a bit more to improve it.

[ Edited by: Sabu The Coconut Boy 2010-01-07 00:44 ]

On 2010-01-07 00:32, Sabu The Coconut Boy wrote:
Buying old Hawaiian vacation photo albums on eBay paid off again.

Here are some snapshots of the Kon Tiki taken March 1973.

:up: this one was really over-exposed. I may play with it in photoshop a bit more to improve it.

Wow, that first photo really has a high TYPSY factor! What a dense Tiki jungle, that looks like a purely decorative centerpiece to the place, a Tiki ALTAR! :) (did you mean UNDER-exposed?)

And vintage photos of Tiki revelers actually holding Tiki mugs! Very rare!, even if these are 70s-vintage.

Sabu, I went ahead and played with the pic with my limited image correction tools:

We can see some of the Janus and Cannibal Tiki posts that La Mariana took over, but again one wonders, WHO has those freestanding Tikis? :)

Wow! Those are some great photos!!

I love that "altar", especially how the large post are placed in there at an angle. I would really like to see a close-up of that tiki in the middle.

The other photo confirms that most of the tables at La Mariana also came from here. They are nice, big slabs of what looks like koa cut in free form, natural shapes.

http://www.tabooisland.com
http://tabooisland.blogspot.com/

[ Edited by: Mo-Eye 2010-01-07 09:59 ]

Sabu,

Another AWESOME find! Those are great shots of the interior. Full TIPSY overload.

Amazing that they were still using the old style Steven Crain mugs at that time, I would have thought that those were long gone from circulation by then.

DC

Got these at separate times at the local Collector Shows...

The lady selling them said she got them from a former waitress from the Kon Tiki... these were candle holders :) Freddie

No to say they are NOT, but keep in mind that vendors have told me amazing stories of Witco fountains being from The Luau in Beverly Hills and such things. Here in L.A. they have definitely caught on to the fact that it increases desirability for Tiki collectors if the item hails from a known Tiki temple. And this does not always happen in an effort to deceive, but sometimes someone else says "oh I saw them at the Kon-Tiki" and the info is eagerly taken and passed on. It would be unusual for the Kon Tiki to use non-stock Stephen Crane items, like the table lamps you see in the photo Sabu posted.
But then again, maybe someone brought these into that restaurant at a later date and they happily lived their life there until the waitress took them home.

Not sure if this mug would fit on the Dark Continent thread but it says it’s from The Sheraton Waikiki so I’m thinking it might have been drink option on the Kon Tiki menu, unless they had a “Safari Bar” after the Kon Tiki was phased out.

Here is another Waikiki Kon Tiki postcard I tried unsuccessfully for on ebay.

You really get a feel for how packed with stuff this place was.

DC

[ Edited by: Dustycajun 2010-03-15 18:55 ]

Indeed! We can see the Tiki Altar, but that big lamp is blocking a lot of it. The photographic reproduction looks kind of low quality, another symptom of the devolution of the 70s. It would be interesting to figure out WHEN most restaurants ceased to have postcards made of their interiors.

On 2010-01-07 00:32, Sabu The Coconut Boy wrote:

Not only is he holding the beautiful Crane mug, but he's got the Brady Bunch tarantula guest star from the Hawaii episode, climbing up his shirt!

-Randy

That photo above has got to be one of the best photos of anybody holding a Tiki Mug I have seen! I love it!! And that mug of all things!!! Very rare to see photos of any mugs in use let alone that one!!!!

These other photos of the interior of this Kon Tiki are also unreal!
What a incredible place!

Keep them coming!!
TabooDan

That Steve Crane mug was so bright and cartoony and "cute" that I think it begged to be photographed. That's why I think it also turned up in this 1966 Playboy article on how to throw a luau in your home:

That makes me think that it will probably turn up in more tourist photos of the various Kon Tiki locations. Same with that Tiki Altar - it was such a focal point in the restaurant that I bet a lot of tourists snapped it. I have hopes for a clearer photo appearing some day.

Here's an unusual item from our collection...

The complete package consists of the salt and pepper shakers, the original box, and a
small certificate. Apparently, the Kon Tiki gave away the salt and pepper shakers as
a thank you to guests staying at the Sheraton.

[ Edited by: JONPAUL 2010-03-19 23:52 ]

How cool! I think that is a first, that the management consciously offered Tiki S&P shakers to guests as souvenirs, instead of just the mugs. I love those boxed artifacts, like all the different Hawaii Kai mugs. My favorite set though must be the Swizzle/Coaster/Matchbook card from the Ports of Call in Dallas.

Jon Paul,

Very nice S & P gift package from the Kon Tiki. Funny, Sheraton required that you hit the early bird special (5:30 to 6:30) at the restaurant to get the free gift.

Here is a matchbook from the Kon Tiki from ebay. This is the only one I remember seeing from a Kon Tiki Restaurant that used a Hawaiian boat image for the logo.

DC

Yeh, that's a cool matchbook and you don't see it very often.
I can't find them right now, but I have some round paper coasters with the same boat logo on them with the stylized Kon Tiki name on it just like the above matchbook.
I think they also say Hawaii on them.
I will try to find them and post unless someone else has one accessible.

Mahalo, TabooDan

[ Edited by: TabooDan 2010-03-25 16:05 ]

You just gotta look in the right spot and there they are!

Here's the coaster that's like the matchbook on the bottom of the last page:

TabooDan

Taboo Dan,

Great coaster, thanks for posting. Have you ever seen that type logo for other Kon Tiki restaurants?

DC

Nice interior shot shows the atmosphere well.

Love that SABU photo just above my post...she's got some great swimming muscles.

Here is the ugly alien mug from Kon Tiki Sharaton I found at Goodwill yesterday. It's made by Steve Crane. I know most of you find this mug ugly, I like them because they are so ugly.

Aloha! Actually made by DAGA for Steven Crane!

On 2015-08-10 09:25, hiltiki wrote:
Here is the ugly alien mug from Kon Tiki Sharaton I found at Goodwill yesterday. It's made by Steve Crane. I know most of you find this mug ugly, I like them because they are so ugly.

Found this today

On 2010-01-07 00:32, Sabu The Coconut Boy wrote:

I just saw this tiki online and wonder what came first! Has anyone seen this thing before?

Some further information on the Kon Tiki at the Sheraton in Waikiki for those interested, including lots more photos of the interior. This was the last of the Kon Tiki chain to open June 1971 and was the last to close in 1993, yes, it actually lasted until then. Might be some new information for some people in the below newspaper extracts from the Honolulu Advertiser and the Honolulu Star.

May 30th, 1971 - some nice details on the layout of the restaurant :

June 25th, 1971 - description of the opening event on June 22nd, 1971 :

Oct. 26th, 1971 - early ad for the restaurant :

[ Edited by: TikiTeddie 2017-03-27 16:03 ]

August 5th, 1973 - evidently that spray of tikis in the central room was in a pond of water :

January 13th, 1974 - a never seen before photo the elevator that took you from the cocktail lounge up to the main dining room :

June 23rd, 1974 - lots of standard tiki fare on the table, and same large shell lamps on the wall as seen in other locations :

June 1st, 1975 - free ice cake if it is your birthday!

August 24th, 1986 - lots of those table lamps that I most definitely covet :

September 13th, 1987 - free Kon Tiki salt and pepper shakers during Aloha Week!

[ Edited by: TikiTeddie 2017-03-27 14:13 ]

September 11th, 1988 - some more of the interior :

August 6th, 1989 - some nice tiki mugs on display, still in general use and a nice closer photo of the forest of tiki :

August 13th, 1989 - a sign that things are not going well, but a nice photo showing some mugs, and interesting what looks like printed one, and shakers :

February 7th, 1991 it was reported that the Kon Tiki would be closed temporarily and that 30 staff were laid off because of this. The article also talks about large downturn in the hotel and restaurant trade in Hawaii.

September 15th, 1991 - Kon Tiki is reopened, a new menu will maybe save the day, lets put tablecloths on those beautiful organic form monkey-pod tables...what else?, oh nice glass salt and pepper shaker...

The Kon Tiki in Waikiki hobbled along for another year and a bit, there are ads for Mother's Day lunches and Xmas specials in 1992, sadly 1993 was the end. I found nothing on how the contents were dispersed or sold, though others in this thread has stated some of the items went to a local marina.

December 26th, 1993 - a list of places that closed in 1993...

I feel like I just wrote some tragic love story!

Wow! What a trove of articles you've unearthed, Teddy! I remember the recession from the early '90s. Had no idea it hit Hawaii so hard.

Thanks, Prikli Pear...I have been tracking down info on the Kon Tiki chain but was astounded with the amount of info and photos out there on this location, some of the other locations are next to impossible to find out about but I continue.

Though there was the recession, I must admit I think their choice to try and merge some sort of "elegant" dining with the, as they said, "retro Hawaiian decor" was not going to work, though I was happy they did not obliterate it as they claim most other restaurants did.