The best tiki bars in Los Angeles

Los Angeles has its fair share of tiki bars, but it doesn’t have anything as downright chill as this laidback tiki destination down in Long Beach. Home to killer tropical cocktails and vinyl nights, the Bamboo Club serves some of the most affordable, delicious-tasting tiki concoctions in L.A. County; most drinks run about $14, and man, are they strong. There are tiki classics, rum-free creations and a section of the menu devoted to coconut, which includes our favorite Bamboo Club drink: the Piña Verde, where a classic piña colada gets an upgrade from green chartreuse. The food menu is excellent as well, from the Thai tea-brined fried chicken sandwich to Hawaiian local food classics like loco moco and Spam musubi. Unlike many of the other bars on this list, the Bamboo Club opens before noon and has a roomy patio, making it friendly for dogs and kids—at least before 9pm, when the DJs normally come on.

When you enter the Tonga Hut, L.A.’s oldest operating tiki bar and our favorite of the old-timers, there will be, without fail, a drooling bastard there to greet you. We’re not referring to a sloshed patron slumped over the bar, but rather the Drooling Bastard, the North Hollywood bar’s unofficial mascot. The sloppy drunkard comes in the form of a lava rock fountain, where a tiki mask (the bastard) dribbles water (a drunkard, clearly) into a small pool. Across from the fountain, the bartenders whip up classic tiki cocktails, like mai tais garnished with large sprigs of mint or the always-popular flaming Scorpion Bowl. The Tonga Hut, which first opened in 1958, has a loyal following of patrons, some of whom have tried all 78 cocktails in “The Grog Log” (a famous tiki book); as a reward, they become members of the Loyal Order of the Drooling Bastard. For the mere mortals among us, we can be happy choosing our favorite tunes at the jukebox before settling into the Tonga Hut’s cozy booths or chatting up regulars at the bar. If you’re ever visiting Palm Springs, you can also visit Tonga Hut’s sister location, which serves a full food menu, as well.

Drive past Tiki-Ti in Silver Lake and you will almost always see a line out the door. Its popularity is a factor, but so is its size: Tiki-Ti is tiny. Finding a seat here feels like winning the tiki bar jackpot, but once you’ve settled in and gained some bearings, you’ll see that there are all the usual suspects—a menu filled with classic tiki drinks, tchotchkes galore, a mechanical bull trotting down the bar… wait, what? The bar’s unofficial mascot, a small robotic toy bull, often makes an appearance as the night wears on, walking past patron’s drinks as they cheer him on. This and many other unexpected touches seem to drive Tiki-Ti’s fandom. The limited occupancy might be a pain, but regulars will always return for the strong drinks topped with maraschino cherries. Newcomers come by to experience a Los Angeles institution—and wind up becoming regulars themselves.

One of L.A.’s hottest reservations at the moment isn’t even a restaurant—it’s the Lucky Tiki, a speakeasy-style tiki bar hidden away behind West Hollywood’s Tail o’ the Pup. Enter by buzzing the intercom within the pickle barrel on the patio, push through the beaded curtain and you’ll find an intimate space decorated with blowfish lanterns, one-of-a-kind tiki mugs and plenty of memorabilia from the original Lucky Tiki, which the 1933 Group’s Bobby Green first opened in the San Fernando Valley back in the early aughts. The second-floor space is also where the Doors recorded L.A. Woman in 1970, and the bar pays homage with a drink called the Ghost of Jim Morrison, which pairs Copalli rum with blackberry shrub and burnt rosemary. All of the drinks here are kitschy, strong and delicious—everything we’re looking for in a tiki drink. The only kicker? Reservations, released on a 30-day rolling basis on Resy, are hard to come by, and walk-ins aren’t guaranteed.

Next to a line of auto body shops on Lankershim Boulevard sits Tiki No, a darkened tiki bar where North Hollywood regulars come to sing their hearts out during Wednesday karaoke night and dance the night away on the weekends. On slower nights, feel free to chat up your bartender as they concoct a Toasted Marshmallow, one of Tiki No’s more popular cocktails. Made from overproof Jamaican rum, fluffed vodka and Licor 43, the drink’s cherry on top arrives in the form of a flaming marshmallow. It’s an impressive (and tasty) libation, as are some other staples on the menu—the Coconut Mojito, the Eastern Sour, the Suffering Bastard—and the bartenders make each one with admirable precision under plastic blowfish lamps and a thatched palm roof. While there’s no kitchen for coconut shrimp or other tropical delights, Tiki No welcomes outside food—so feel free to bring in takeout from elsewhere to soak up all that booze.

Does El Segundo conjure images of low-flying planes and plumes of smoke coming from the Scattergood electric plant? It should. There’s a heavy industrial feel to this city, but the Purple Orchid, a divey tiki bar just around the corner from Main Street, brings a lighter touch to the area. Pass by regulars smoking under the neon purple sign and enter a tropical mecca of fruity drinks and kitschy decor. There are the requisite bamboo-lined walls and tiki lamps, but the Purple Orchid also does tropical with a twist: yes, tiki masks hang throughout the bar, but there are Barbies dangling from their mouths as sacrificial offerings, and a cage with tiny heads hangs by a big-screen TV (nope, we don’t want to know their origins). The drinks don’t always take such a creative turn, but you can order a mai tai, scorpion, Blackwell daiquiri and various coconut-infused libations. You may or may not get an umbrella depending on who is working, but this longtime neighborhood haunt is a worthwhile destination for anyone seeking a boozy tropical escape in the South Bay.

The team behind the Roger Room and the Friend have transformed Marina del Rey’s Nueva into Gin Rummy, a Westside drinking destination serving impeccably crafted tiki classics, a small food menu and a five-spirit scorpion bowl(!) all but made for summer get-togethers. While it’s not a tiki bar in the traditionally dimly lit, kitschy sense, Gin Rummy is one of the few bars on the Westside serving rum-forward drinks in a laid-back atmosphere. The island-inspired contemporary space offers two separate bars and plenty of room to stretch out, though you can only order Gin Rummy’s specialty cocktails at the indoor bar (where a wait is practically guaranteed on weekends). Racks of leis, pinball machines and nightly DJ sets on the weekend mean most nights are a party at Gin Rummy—so if you’re seeking a tamer environment, head here during happy hour (daily 4–6pm) for $8 chicken wings and $10 margaritas and daiquiris.

Taking over an old Torrance dive bar, the relatively new Hula Hula Room is one of the only tiki bars in the South Bay—unless you count the intermittently opened Hale Hawaii Lounge, which opens only when the owner feels like setting up shop. The narrow strip mall space is fully decked out with a thatched roof over the bar and wicker panels, and the tightly curated drinks menus include a mai tai, Navy grog, a zombie and a painkiller. The house creations are delicious as well, from the bright blue Pali Highway Sunset to the booze-free Hawaii or Bust, a nonalcoholic version of a blue Hawaiian. The space isn’t the most over-the-top in terms of tiki decor, but the excellent bartending and relaxed locals’ crowd at the Hula Hula Room more than makes up for it, not to mention the relatively easy ability to walk in.