The Belly of the Beast is not a Tiki bar per se, though it is located — as a sort of Disney-and-Tiki adjacent speakeasy –within the Tiki bar Stowaway…
Continue reading “The Belly of the Beast (Stowaway) Tustin CA – Guest Tiki Bar Review by Tom Hemmen”
999 Tiki proved to be a surprise on several levels. First of all, I had never heard of it before. Secondly, I confess that I set my expectations on a Tiki bar that was an outgrowth of a pizza parlor pretty low … and am happy to say that I was a misguided in this initial reaction, for reasons that I will further elaborate below…
Continue reading “999 Tiki (Pizza) Camarillo CA – Guest Tiki Bar Review by Tom Hemmen”
Paige and Christian Luna both have a love for tiki and goth. Outside behind their home in Santee CA, you will find a little shack. It used to be a home office, now it’s the Luna Lagoon. The Luna Lagoon is named after their favorite Universal Monster movie, The Creature From The Black Lagoon and their last name, “Luna” which in Spanish means moon. Paige and Christian created a cozy spooky tiki goth bar that showcases their passions and it’s what makes The Luna Lagoon so special. Here is Paige and Christian’s story…
Continue reading “Home Tiki Bar Spotlight #133 The Luna Lagoon – Santee CA”
I was pretty much born and raised into the tiki lifestyle…
When Kailani was growing up, she spent her summers on O’ahu where she learned Hula. She performed as a child and never stopped! Maybe you can see Kailani dance in the San Diego area or you can come to Kailani and Alan’s Tiki Playground. The Tiki Playground is an outside tiki bar that looks over an impressive view over El Cajon. Hanging on the walls are pictures of Kailani’s family and various tiki and Hawaiian items that Alan has found over the years. Kailani and Alan are very welcoming and The Tiki Playground might be one of the most relaxing home tiki bars I ever visited. Aloha!
Continue reading “Home Tiki Bar Spotlight #132 The Tiki Playground – El Cajon CA”
Traveling to Hawaii is not cheap, especially if you have three kids!
So, what do you do? Well, Steve and Amy brought Hawaii to them and built a tiki bar in their home. After their kids moved out, they converted one of the empty rooms into Gecko’s Grotto. With the help of Buzzy, they built a home tiki that’s truly stunning at night or even during the day! Here is how the Gecko’s Grotto came to be…
Continue reading “Home Tiki Bar Spotlight #131 Gecko’s Grotto – La Mesa CA”
Frank and Kathy are into many different things. Kathy likes to collect gumball machines (she has a lot!) while Frank loves music (he’s a drummer) and Star Trek. They both love Disney and they both love Tiki! Their home tiki bar is a place for Frank and Kathy to show off all the things they love. The name of their bar is Lei Low Lounge, it’s located in El Cajon and they pretty far out in the country so they don’t have many neighbors. This is a good thing because they built a stage right outside of their tiki bar and they have bands play regularly. There’s a lot going on at Frank and Kathy’s Lei Low Lounge and here is their story…
Continue reading “Home Tiki Bar Spotlight #130 Lei Low Lounge – El Cajon CA”
Some people have home tiki bars, some people have a tiki bedroom (like me) and artist Dale Sizer has a tiki condo! Dale’s Hollywood condo is filled with Hawaiian themed art, tikis and a little bit of mcm thrown in for good measure. Welcome to the Bongo Condo…
Continue reading “Home Sweet Tiki Home #7 Bongo Condo – Hollywood CA”
When most people think of Northern California, they think of San Francisco. The Bay Area might be north of Los Angeles but it’s not the northern most point of California. If you travel a couple more hours north on I-5 you come into actual Northern California. This is where you will find The Labyrinth of Doctor Box! Ben and Audrey moved up to Fortuna (Humboldt County) and realized that there are no signs of tiki anywhere so took matters into their own hands and built their own.
I discovered The Labyrinth of Doctor Box which is Ben and Audrey’s tiki show on YouTube and I loved what I saw. So far, they have episodes discussing how different Orgeat syrups can affect the taste of a Mai Tai and the importance of your home tiki bar having a backstory. Great stuff! Speaking of backstories, here the backstory of The Labyrinth of Doctor Box…
Continue reading “Home Tiki Bar Spotlight #124 The Labyrinth of Doctor Box – Fortuna (Humboldt County) CA”
These days there appears to be a new tiki bar opening every week. Tiki Tom’s in Walnut Creek CA is one of those new bars — but it’s an old bar, too. Tiki Tom’s owners took what was a vaguely tiki-ish dive bar, and, with the help of Bamboo Ben & Son, turned it into a proper tiki bar. And what a tiki bar — an instant classic that feels like it’s always been there.
Continue reading “Tiki Tom’s – Guest Tiki Bar Review by Stephen Curran (Walnut Creek CA)”
I have a thing for small tiki bars…
Tiki Ti and Hale Pele are at the top of my list and I really love the intimacy that a smaller tiki bar gives. When Julian and his wife Katie decided to turn a backyard shed into an tiki bar, they truly created a tiki experience that is cozy and tiki cool! It doesn’t take much to fill up a smaller tiki space but the Lujan Lagoon is filled top to bottom with incredible tiki décor. Here is how the Lujan Lagoon came to be…
Continue reading “Home Tiki Bar Spotlight #94 Lujan Lagoon – Concord CA”
