“Every city needs a great tiki bar,” because it’s an “escape from daily stress,” says P Moss, owner of Frankie’s Tiki Room. More than other bars, he adds, “Tiki bars offer art, style, unique drinks and atmosphere.” While the taste may have faded for a time, and the flavor has changed, the spirit of tiki has remained strong for 90 years, including in Las Vegas.
Aficionados consider Don the Beachcomber, which opened in Hollywood in 1934, to be the original tiki joint. Nearly a decade later, Los Angeles restaurateur Bob Brooks brought the vibe to Vegas, opening the Polynesian-themed Nevada Biltmore Hotel and its Seven Seas club. But the big Kahuna of Vegas tiki joints was the Aku Aku at the Stardust, an expansive bar and restaurant that added our city’s love for immersive experiences and floor shows to the mix. It closed in 1980, leaving one of its giant stone Easter Island-style heads to take up residence in Sunset Park.
Then Vegas, like many other cities, went tiki-less until the dawn of the twenty-first century, when two trends would pave the way for the style’s return. The resurgence of interest in mid-century design revived the aesthetic, while the rise of mixology invited a new take on the drinks. Tiki fans began to develop their own subculture, building home bars and creating conventions, such as California’s Tiki Oasis or New York’s Ohana Luau.
In 2008, Moss addressed what he calls a “glaring hole in Vegas culture” and opened Frankie’s Tiki Room on West Charleston, a place for “Polynesian and low-brow art, drinks people can’t find anywhere else, in an environment like no other bar.” The compact space is crammed with hand-carved sculptures and custom art serving drinks both classic (Zombie) and original (Lava Letch).
Frankie’s proved popular with both locals and tourists, and a wave of tropical-themed bars followed its lead. It began with the Disney-esque, elaborately appointed Golden Tiki and continued through the latest iterations, Resorts World’s Golden Monkey Tiki Bar and Fremont East’s Glitter Gulch Tiki.
“In this world, you have to be experiential, and tiki is entertainment,” says Glitter Gulch Tiki co-owner Paul Hymas, adding, “We wanted to do something that’s authentic, but throw a little irreverence into it.” The velvet curtains and bamboo paneling give a Sin City-via-Polynesia feel, and drinks served aflame or dry-iced have Vegas flair. Fans of the aesthetic have taken to the bar, which has created an informal tiki mug exchange: You can bring in your Trader Vic’s to swap for a Disney.
There’s also been a rise in bars that deploy the tiki aesthetic as just one ingredient in their style. San Diego’s Mothership tells the tale of “a crashed starship, a mysterious, forbidden tropical planet, and a bounty of reimagined exotic cocktails,” according to owner Kory Stetina. The legend is conveyed through decor that combines scavenged escape pods and neon-hued flora. Stetina says, “We like to think of ourselves expanding upon some of our favorite elements of tiki bars, but in a new and distinct realm: the psychedelic cosmos.”
Other tiki adaptations include New York City’s Friki Tiki, which adds Polynesia to the piano bar and Nashville’s Hubba Hubba Tiki Tonk, whose concept is right in the name. Near Las Vegas’ Paradise Palms neighborhood, Red Dwarf’s punk tropicalia means thatched roofing over booths and Iggy Pop posters on the walls. Todo Bien in the southwest is tiki via Dia de los Muertos and Mezcal.
But Downtown’s Stray Pirate may have the most original backstory, locally: Pirates, shipwrecked on a Caribbean island, have been transformed into dogs. With velvet paintings of sword-wielding canines, it’s not traditional tiki, but co-owner Chris Gutierrez says the unexpectedness is part of the appeal. “We were able to craft cocktails and an atmosphere that is unique, while still valuing the immersive décor and classic recipes,” he says.
Themes aside, P Moss says, “A great tiki bar should stand the test of time.” Time has indeed tested the endurance of the Vegas tiki joint, but after a long dry spell, it appears the Mai Tais will keep flowing into the future.