The basics of a tiki bar are simple: a low-hanging thatched roof, tropical fruit drinks with umbrellas and sculptures of Polynesian gods hanging around. They’re passion projects by people eager to recreate a picture-postcard experience of a far-flung place of coconut palms and white sand beaches.
Perhaps unsurprisingly, tiki bars got their start here in Los Angeles—after all, it’s the land of meticulously crafted movie sets where dreamers could convincingly design an experience that made them feel as if they’d stepped through a portal to a simpler time and place.
Now, a new documentary called “The Donn of Tiki” delves into the emergence, appeal and aesthetic of the tiki movement and the mysterious man who started it. The film premiered in Los Angeles at the Dances with Films festival.
Don the Beachcomber and the Tiki Appearance
When filmmaker Alex Lamb set out to make a documentary about the history of tiki culture in Los Angeles, he didn’t set out to focus on one person. “I started doing interviews and everyone was talking about Don the Beachcomber,” Lamb told LAist’s daily news show Air Talk (broadcast on 89.3.FM). “It seemed like he deserved to have his own documentary.”
Don the Beachcomber, it turns out, was a master embellisher of stories, so Lamb and his co-directors had to separate fact from fiction in addition to telling his tale. But that was part of Don the Beachcomber’s charm, and he used it to weave a colorful, fascinating tapestry of tiki.
So what exactly is Tiki?
“It’s very American,” Lam says, “The cocktails are based on rum and Southern Caribbean mixology, and the aesthetic is South Pacific with a Hawaiian flair. [and] Tongan.”
In other words, Tiki appears repeatedly in slightly different forms in many different cultures.
“The weird thing about Tiki right now is that it’s a copy of a copy of a copy of what a guy named Don did,” Lamb said.
So what exactly did Don do?
Don the Beachcomber, nee Ernest Raymond Beaumont Gant, opened the first tiki bar at 1727 McCadden Place in Hollywood, California. In 1937, Don was working as a bartender at the Hollywood Hotel.
Years before Tiki Oasis was completed, Don traveled to a remote part of the world where his dream was born.
“What Don was doing was very autobiographical,” Lam says. “He traveled a lot, he studied mixology, he collected a lot of stuff, and it all had meaning to him. He put things on the walls because he wanted to talk about the places he’d been, the things he’d seen, the things he’d learned.”
“The strange thing about Tiki now is that it’s a copy of a copy of a copy of what a guy named Don did.”
Alex Lam
But Don wasn’t just giving people another drinking hole in Hollywood, he was giving them a place to escape, Lamb added.
appeal
“If you look at tiki historically, they always seem to reappear when something terrible happens and people are trying to escape it,” Lamb said.
Don opened the tiki bar just after Prohibition was repealed, but it quickly became popular when soldiers returning from World War II came looking for refuge.
“Tiki really struck a chord with people,” says Kevin Murphy, co-owner of North Hollywood’s Tonga Hut, which opened in 1958 and is Los Angeles’ oldest tiki bar. Murphy notes that this postwar period saw the emergence of various theme parks, including Disneyland.
“Everybody needed an escape,” he said, “especially when it was cold in the Midwest.”
“If you look at tiki historically, they always seem to reappear when terrible things happen and people are trying to escape them.”
Alex Lam
Murphy was introduced to tiki culture through his father, who, like many others at the time of its emergence, built a bar in the basement of his home.
“There were lots of fake plants and luau parties,” he says. “We loved parties and we loved themed parties.”
While Lam’s documentary doesn’t attempt to answer questions about cultural appropriation or ethics, Murphy and Lam acknowledge that tiki history has been a part of it all along. “Capitalism is at the core,” Murphy says. “Hawaii is not the home of tiki bars. It’s a Southern California invention.” That invention has created a fusion experience. “The rum is Caribbean, the food is Cantonese,” says Murphy, co-owner of Tonga Hut in North Hollywood. “But it’s increased awareness of the South Pacific. People who come to our bar Google Tonga. It’s increased awareness.”
drink
According to many of the tiki bar owners and enthusiasts featured in the film, Don the Beachcomber’s influence on modern cocktails is immeasurable.
“I think the craft cocktail movement of the early 2000s was a big part of the tiki resurgence,” says Lamb. As the bartender began researching cocktails, he discovered Don the Beachcomber. Lamb adds that Don was the first person to mix any kind of rum with fresh juices.
“Tiki cocktails were probably the first craft cocktail,” Murphy says, “and the foundation of a tiki bar is still the tiki cocktail” — fresh juices, freshly made syrups, quality rums, quality spirits.
What’s your favorite tiki cocktail? It depends on who you ask and what day of the week it is.
“Ask for a Navy Grog,” says Murphy, which is one of the stronger traditional tiki drinks with a grapefruit base. He also recommends a traditional Mai Tai. “Start with that, and you’ll get an idea of what a tiki drink is like,” he says.
As for tiki culture as a whole, Murphy and Lamb believe there’s signs of a resurgence. “We’re seeing more and more people coming back from history to embrace tiki and enjoy it for the first time,” Murphy says. “Tiki is unique in that it never really changes, and that’s exactly what keeps so many people coming back.”
“Tiki cocktails are probably the first craft cocktails.”
Kevin Murphy
Tiki Talk — A Listener Favorite
We asked our listeners to tell us their favorite tiki bars in LA, and we’ve got some recommendations for you.
Tiki No (North Hollywood)
Jim, of North Hollywood, pointed to a popular neighborhood spot called Tiki No. “Their pina coladas are the best,” he said.
Tiki (East Hollywood)
Adrian, a Corona resident who collects tiki mugs and started tiki bar hopping after learning of the legend of Don the Beachcomber, pointed to Tiki’s in East Hollywood, which has called Sunset Boulevard its home for more than 60 years.
Damon’s Steakhouse, Glendale
A must-try is Floyd’s at Hollywood Damon’s Steakhouse in Glendale: “It’s like going back in time. The cocktails and steaks are amazing!”
Tonga Hut (North Hollywood)
Since we spoke to the owners for this article, it would be remiss of us not to mention Tonga Hut, the oldest tiki bar in Los Angeles. But this longtime staple is also a listener favorite. Ken from West Adams was one of several callers who mentioned the place. “I’ve been to all the tiki bars in LA, and Tonga Hut is my favorite,” he said.
Bamboo Club (Long Beach)
Not all great tiki bars are in North Hollywood. Arianna from Long Beach says her favorite is the Bamboo Club in Long Beach. “It’s still a hidden gem, but we love this place!”
Trader Sam’s Enchanted Tiki Bar (Anaheim)
Sure, it’s a Disneyland tiki bar, but it’s still a fan favorite. AirTalk listener José wrote that he and his wife try to go to all the tiki bars in Southern California, making it one of their favorite date nights, but they do frequent Trader Sam’s.
Listen to the story
The troubled history of LA’s Tiki culture
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