If you know me, I like my tiki with a bit of horror thrown in for good measure. When I saw pictures of Darren Perks tiki bar, I had to do a post on it! I’d say that Darren’s bar is more horror than tiki but that’s ok with me. Darren actually created all the creepy things you will see inside. As of this writing, there is no name for Darren’s ultra-scary tiki bar but Darren can tell you the story so far…
Continue reading “Home Tiki Bar Spotlight #110 A True Creepy Tiki Bar in Florida”
Suffering Bastard is a bar, hidden off the main drag in the charming historic section of Sanford inside Tuffy’s Bottle Shop & Lounge. It’s tiny, and you will need to make a reservation unless you want a long wait and risk not getting in at all…
Continue reading “Suffering Bastard – Guest Tiki Bar Review by Tom Hemmen (Sanford FL)”
About half an hour outside of Orlando, Permanent Vacation is a speakeasy-type establishment hidden inside another bar – in this case, the Copper Rocket Pub.
Continue reading “Permanent Vacation – Guest Tiki Bar Review by Tom Hemmen (Maitland FL)”
The day before we flew out from Florida we decided to squeeze in one last Tiki bar, and drove from Bradenton to the charming little walking town of Dunedin on the Gulf of Mexico…
Continue reading “Guest Tiki Bar Review – The Honu By Tom Hemmen (Dunedin FL)”
Having investigated what is possibly Florida’s newest Tiki bar in St. Petersburg, Jeanie and I next checked out Florida’s oldest Tiki bar in Sarasota, the 1954 Bahi Hut …
Burnt Ends Tiki Bar is possibly the newest Tiki bar in Florida. It is a speakeasy-style offshoot of a pre-existing business – Dr. BBQ in Saint Petersburg, Florida – and so, this is effectively a two-part review, the first part of which is not tiki.
I don’t know too many people that grow pineapples in their backyard but Scott Deeter does and it’s one of many inspirations for his home tiki bar. It’s called The Hala Kahiki Hideaway and it has a Disney, Trader Sam’s, Polynesian Village vibe. Hey, Scott and Kim (Scott’s partner-in-crime) live in Orlando, so there has to be some Disney influence, right! Here is Scott’s story of The Hala Kahiki Hideaway …
Continue reading “Home Tiki Bar Spotlight #83 The Hala Kahiki Hideaway – Orlando FL”
When I saw pictures of Sharon Wilson’s lanai called Hana Hou, I thought to myself, Damn! I wish I could drop everything and head to straight to Lake Placid to share a Mai-Tai with her. I think Sharon’s Hana Hou gives “Florida Tiki” a new meaning, here is her story …
Continue reading “Home Tiki Bar Spotlight #61 Hana Hou – Lake Placid FL”
When most people in Florida think of a tiki bar, they think of a thatched bar that’s bright and open, not a traditional tiki bar that’s dark and mysterious. Cacalito knew what a tiki bar should be and created his own. After traveling the country visiting tiki bars for “research”, he got to work transforming his man cave into Cacalito’s Tiki Grotto!
Continue reading “Home Tiki Bar Spotlight #51 Cacalito’s Tiki Grotto – Sunrise FL”
You don’t know what humidity is until you go to Florida.
I just touched down in Fort Lauderdale and it’s so humid here that my glasses fog up as soon as I go outside. I flew in from Seattle on a six-hour flight and I’m here to do two things: visit the legendary Mai Kai and reconnect with my friend Dave who I haven’t seen since the early ’90s. Back in the day, we were heavily into skateboarding and punk rock. Time passed. I grew up to be a guy who blogs about Tiki bars and Dave became a professional photographer (Gittleman Studios). I made an offer to Dave: if he could take some pictures of the Mai Kai for me, I would pay for his drinks. It was a deal!
Continue reading “Tiki Field Report #8 The Mai Kai Fort Lauderdale, FL 9/13/16”
