Tiki Bars are drinking establishments with a distinctive, kitschy South Pacific theme for their decor and drinks menus. They specialize in tropical cocktails and often also serve food with a tropical flavor.
Decor
Tiki bars are decorated with an array of Hawaiian fabrics, woven grasses, glass floats, fish traps, South Pacific murals, tiki torches and beach paraphernalia.
Motifs
Tiki motifs that are featured in Tiki Bars include tiki masks, hula dancing girls in grass skirts, ukuleles palm trees and bamboo.
Drinks
Tiki bars usually serve a variety of rum and tropical fruit based cocktails such as daiquiris, mai-tais, mojitos, piña coladas and zombies. They are often served in decorative tiki mugs with paper umbrellas, plastic animals and tropical fruit.
Origin
The first tiki bar was called Don the Beachcomber. It opened in Los Angeles, California, in 1933, served Cantonese food and rum-based cocktails, and was decorated with artifacts from the owner's travels in the South Pacific.
Fun Fact
Tiki means "first man."
A thatched roof is an important part of any tiki bar plans for reasons other than appearance. While they are waterproof, thatched roofs still provide good ventilation, due to the nature of their construction. This helps to keep you cool by providing shade and necessary ventilation in the summer. In addition, thatched roofing will also provide good sound dampening qualities, reflecting less noise than traditional materials, and helping your tiki bar to have a quiet, relaxing atmosphere. If you're planning on building an outdoor tiki bar and a thatched roof is not currently part of your tiki bar plans, you should seriously consider adding one on. It will give your bar a much better appearance, create the right ambiance, and provide your guests protection from the elements. No tiki bar is really complete without one.
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