tiki doesn’t have to be tacky.
there’s a great new article over at the wall street journal about the resurgence of tiki culture in bar circles across the country. the piece was timed to promote the 8th annual bay area tiki crawl, which took place this past weekend.
organized by the online community at tiki central, the tiki crawl includes many landmark tiki bar/restaurants in and around san francisco, including trad’r sam (the richmond), the tonga room (in the basement of the fairmont hotel on nob hill), trader vic’s in palo alto and emeryville, conga lounge and the kona club (oakland) and the legendary forbidden island (alameda).
i have visited quite a few tiki bars in my travel research on themerica. aside from the above bay area meccas, my tiki destinations over the past two years have included two trader vic’s locations in dubai (an older one and a newer one), tokyo, las vegas, beverly hills (since closed) and san francisco (since closed); thatch (portland, oregon), the tiki ti (los angeles), kon tiki (tuscon, arizona), and ohana at walt disney world’s polynesian resort.
tiki culture is important because it represents one of the largest and long-lived thematic design trends outside of the amusement park and casino industries. belonging to the ‘tropical paradise’ archetype, tiki is a bizarre amalgam of half-baked western ideas about polynesian culture—with a liberal dose of very strong rum thrown into the mix. as such, it’s completely “made in america.”
the tiki trend in restaurants and bars grew out of interest in the south pacific after world war II, and reached a zenith in the 1960s following hawaiian statehood before hitting a decline worse than crash of disco music.
in the mid-nineties, there was a rivival in 50s and 60s “swinger”culture, including sinatra and his rat pack, the martini, swing and big band music, and everything vegas; a renewed interest in the near-forgotten tiki gods came right along with it. after lulling for a while, lust for rum-soaked bowls of exotic juices (often aflame) sipped under bamboo huts is once again on the rise.
what’s interesting is that, even though the entire tiki style is inauthentic with regards to the cultural source material, the theme still retains its own internal aesthetic criteria. the wall street journal article provides a solid perspective on ‘good’ versus ‘bad’ tiki along these lines:
“anything sleek and postmodern—say, a steel-and-glass totem—is bad tiki. anything you can find in the luau section of your local party store—think cheap plastic leis and cardboard cutout hula girls—is bad tiki. i’m also of the opinion that “camp” makes for bad tiki. ours is an irony-soaked culture, and camp is just a gaudy variety of the old, knowing wink-and-a-nod. campy tiki provides no escape at all.”
here are some pictures from my tiki travels, with a few notes on tiki thematic design.
trader vic’s – dubai, UAE (souk madinat). there are two vic’s in dubai, this is the newer location, so it’s a bit less traditionally themed (read: good tiki) and more on the upscale side. beautiful location overlooking the water canals of the madinat jumeriah beach resort. many of the latest trader vics locations resemble this one; it’s the current ‘format’—more elegant than gaudy.
trader vic’s – tokyo, japan. this vic’s is in a large hotel highrise, and doesn’t appear to be very busy. the interior is gorgeously detailed and very much done in the older style of trader vics.
a key component of any thematic environment is lighting, and tiki bars are no different. at trader vics, these usually fall into three categories; lanterns, which give a nautical feeling…
glass bulbs, which are designed after japanese fishing floats, and lamps fashioned out of blowfish. the tokyo vic’s has a bit of each.
ohana at walt disney world’s polynesian resort – orlando, florida. a key distinction between ‘good’ and ‘bad’ tiki is the TIPSY factor (tikis per sqaure yard). the larger the statues are, and the more of them are packed into the environment, the more traditionally themed (and thus better) the tiki bar is considered to be.
thatch – portland, oregon. another essential element of the tiki theme is relative darkness; in a tiki bar, it is always perpetually night. granted, most bars are dimmly lit, but the night-time vibe in these environments is accentuated by the types of light you would normally find outside.
trader vic’s – las vegas, nevada. many would consider this newest trader vics to be decidedly ‘bad’ tiki—it’s more glass, steel, and polish than bamboo and lava rock. this is an intentional shift away from the perceived ‘dorkiness’ of the tiki theme, and an attempt to draw a more flashy and trendy nightclub vegas crowd.
the tiki ti – los angeles, california. one of the oldest and most respected tiki bars in the united states, it is a top draw for the LA bar crowd. “the ti” contains all the elements of a classic (read: good) tiki bar; tons of knick-knacks, a very high TIPSY factor, strong drinks, appropriate lighting, a thatched roof, and a history stretching back to the golden age of tiki.
for further reading on the history and legacy of tiki culture, be sure to check out sven a. kirsten’s the book of tiki and tiki modern, both available from taschen books.