A tiki bar in The Netherlands?
That’s right! Fran lives in Breda, which is located in The Netherlands and as you can guess, there isn’t much tiki going on there. So, Fran decided to build his own tiki bar. He liked names that repeat and he called his bar the Bora Bora Hut! Here is a story about enjoying tiki when there isn’t much tiki close to you …
What is the tiki scene like where you live?
Fran- I live in Breda which is in the south east of The Netherlands. The tiki scene here is non-existent as far as I know. Maybe there’s some home tiki bars or some commercial bars that will have one tiki cocktail on their menu but that’s it.
This summer through Tiki Central, I got in contact with J.J., a tiki lover who also lives here in Breda. After a couple of messages, we ended it up meeting for cocktails at my Bora Bora Hut and it was a really cool surprise! J.J. and Kenneth were really cool to meet up with.
There are 2 well-established tiki bars in The Netherlands: Tiki’s in Rotterdam (since 2006)
And VaVoom Tiki Room (since 2007) in The Hague …
Recently I discovered the Rum Club in Utrecht (since 2019) but didn’t visit it yet. Not so far away from where I live (about 120 km) but yet in another country, in the Belgian city of Gent there is also a tiki bar called “The Drifter”.
Distances in Europe are not that big and if I think that from my front door I’m 400 km away from the Dirty Dick in Paris which is not that bad. The Trader Vic’s in Munich is at 750km.
What brought you into the ‘Tiki lifestyle” and how long has it been part of your life?
Fran- If I look back and try to put the puzzle together in order to understand what brought me into tiki, I think it’s not one thing but a mix of them. You have people that get into tiki from music, other people through craft cocktail culture, interest in Mid Century Modern, Rockabilly, kustom cars, etc.
I recognize a bit of everything:
Music: coming from a punk rock background the connection with surf music and the rockabilly scene was always there. I remember in my teen years until my late 20s buying almost only punk records but picking up here and there: The Surfaris, The Ventures, The Spotnicks and Question Mark and the Mysterians. Later on, I started digging deeper into the influences of my all-time favorite band: The Ramones, then I discovered The Trashman, The Rivieras and many other garage surf bands. The whole exotica genre that I love now was a late discovery to me. I already had years digging crates looking for old cha cha cha and mambo records, bossanova and other Latin beats. The moment I discovered exotica was like it all just came together: that mellow mood, the Latin beat, the jungle noises and that mysterious almost dark sound.
The cocktail part of tiki is also relatively new to me too. I’ve been working in restaurant kitchens for many years as a cook, so experimenting with flavors, spices or just following a recipe is something that I do on a daily basis. I find going deep into the layers of flavors a very exciting thing.
The mid-century modern aspect was probably the trigger for me. I have spent many years buying and selling vintage lamps, furniture, ceramics and home décor from the 50’s, 60’s and even 70’s. I first had a shop on eBay where I sold vintage bicycle parts, then I started going to flea markets, junkyards and old shops in search of material for my shop. In those excursions, I started having interest in vintage home decor and started buying some things every here and there. Then I moved to The Netherlands and switched from using eBay to Etsy and I went full on vintage home décor. I had a couple of years when I was really active going to flea markets. Almost every weekend I was on the road driving to Belgium and The Netherlands hitting flea markets, garage sales and junkyards. Then I started noticing vintage bamboo furniture, tribal art, barware, etc. Until one day in a giant flea market in Lille, France I saw this great vintage home bar in the shape of a boat and since that moment my mind was racing with the fantasy of having my own home tiki bar. I started searching second-hand sites on the internet and I came across Tiki Central and I opened an account. I started looking at all those great home tiki bar builds and I started growing an interest for the vintage classic tiki style. In my trips to markets I started finding tiki mugs, small bamboo features and one day for my birthday I got a 60’s bamboo bar from my partner!
Can you give a little history of how it all came together?
Fran- The idea of a home tiki bar was floating around in my mind, my birthday was coming and my partner asked me what do I want for a present. I started looking on Facebook Marketplace and I found someone selling a really cool vintage bamboo home bar. A couple of days later I went to pick it up with our car in Rotterdam and since then, it was game on!
We just had a new covered area in our garden and I decided to put the bar there which also works as a lounge for the whole family. I started looking for ideas on how to keep it cool even if it’s outdoors. I found it really important to keep the balance between a lounge space for the family and be a dark and mysterious tiki bar at night.
During that process, I noticed that an outdoor tiki bar can really quickly become a colorful beach bar, which I didn’t want at all. I’m still working to create the balance to keep it cool and fun for the family and dark and mysterious for tiki nights. The Bora Bora Hut is actually a completely different place with daylight than at night and I like that.
Any story behind the name of your bar?
Fran- I have always liked those names with same word repeated like Aku Aku or Pago Pago. I was playing around with names in my head and I really like how all those names from Rapa Nui sound but then I thought that first nobody is going to be able to remember it and second everybody is going to pronounce it different. Bora Bora was easy and had that word repetition and the hut part I thought it was appropriate since we are outside and the bar is a wood construction.
What is your favorite Tiki drink?
Fran- I don’t have a one and only favorite tiki drink, I love the ‘44 Mai Tai. It is simple and perfectly balanced. For the same reasons, I like the Dark n’ Stormy. I also like the more complex-in-flavor classics like a Zombie or a Pain Killer. I guess my favorite drink changes a little bit with the mood. I’m not always in a mood for the same cocktails except for a Mai Tai, that one I can drink any day anytime.
What is your favorite Tiki bar? Not including your own!
Fran- To be honest I haven’t visited many tiki bars in my life. Before moving to The Netherlands, I lived in Barcelona, Spain for eleven years. There I visited two tiki bars, they are well established, one is Kahiki in Gran Via which is a great escape in the city center. The other one that I visited is Aloha, they are both what you’d expect in a classic tiki bar with vintage décor. I remember the drinks at Aloha were better that Kahiki, but décor and location of Kahiki was better than Aloha.
Outside of great drinks, what do you think are essential elements in creating the perfect Tiki environment?
Fran- I think it’s the balance between music, lighting, décor and good drinks.
For music, I think it should be subtle. You hear it but it doesn’t prevent you from having a conversation. I have found that exotica, some Latin beats like mambo, and some cha cha cha, surf and Hawaiian music the ideal mix.
Lighting is really important to highlight the décor but low soft light helps to create that mysterious environment.
Vintage décor is a must for me, I visited a couple of “minimalist modern” wanna be tropical bars that had great drinks but they had no soul. The random clients that you can find in there you can find in any other bar. I guess tiki bars bring in a certain crowd and that Aloha spirit is really nice and relaxing.
Drinks are of course really important but in my opinion the less important from all. If cocktails are not that good I can still enjoy nice music in the soft light surrounded by vintage bamboo furniture with a cold beer.
What does the future hold for you and your home tiki bar?
Fran- The bar is in constant construction and I enjoy every moment of that. Getting ideas, going out to charity shops and flea markets searching for new additions, working on putting those ideas together. Looking for cocktail recipes and trying them, collecting vintage Hawaiian records, I just love all of that!
I’m thinking about getting some type of rolling bamboo curtains and installing a heating system in order to extend the season where we can hang out on the bar, since it’s open and our winters are really cold. At the moment, we can only enjoy the space from late spring until autumn and I hope to be able to extend that season a bit longer.
Anything else you would like to add?
Fran- Thank you Ray for this post on your blog. And please don’t forget to check out the Facebook page for my home bar
Are you curious to see what kind of vintage I sell on my Etsy shop? click here