A great tiki bar is built around the rum list, not the décor. Two hundred bottles minimum. A staff who can talk through Demerara, Jamaican overproof, and Martinique rhum agricole without becoming smug. A list that includes the original Don the Beachcomber and Trader Vic recipes — not the Carnival-cruise versions. The 20 below all qualify. From Smuggler's Cove (600+ rums) to Tiki-Ti (a Los Feliz family operation since 1961), these are the rooms where tiki actually gets respected, not just kitsched.
The 20 best tiki bars in the world
01 · New York
River North (Chicago sister)
$$$
Iconic · Hidden
Iconic Chicago tiki bar with hidden alley entrance.
Order: A Three Dots and a Dash
02 · Los Angeles
Los Feliz
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Iconic 1961 · Family-run
Iconic family-run Los Feliz tiki bar since 1961.
Order: A Ray's Mistake or a Vicious Virgin
03 · New York
Times Square
$$$
Iconic · Modern tiki
Iconic Times Square modern tiki bar.
Order: A Trader Vic's Mai Tai
04 · London
Notting Hill
$$
Iconic · Tiki
Iconic Notting Hill tiki bar.
Order: A Zombie
05 · San Francisco
Hayes Valley
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Iconic · 600 rums
Iconic Hayes Valley tiki bar with 600+ rums.
Order: A Pirate's Punch
06 · Oakland
Uptown
$$
Iconic · Modern tiki
Iconic Uptown Oakland modern tiki bar.
Order: A Kon-Tiki
07 · Miami
Mid-Beach
$$
Iconic · Pool deck
Iconic pool-deck cocktail bar in the Freehand Hotel.
Order: A Broken Shaker tiki
08 · New Orleans
French Quarter
$$$
Iconic · Jeff Berry
Jeff Berry's iconic French Quarter tiki temple.
Order: A Demerara Dry Float
09 · Chicago
River North
$$$
Iconic · Hidden
Iconic River North tiki bar with hidden alley entrance.
Order: A Three Dots and a Dash
10 · London
Islington
$$
Iconic · Tiki
Iconic Islington tiki bar.
Order: A Painkiller
The iconic American tiki temples
11 · Tokyo
Shinagawa
$$$
Iconic · Tiki
Iconic Shinagawa Trader Vic's outpost.
Order: A Mai Tai (the original)
12 · Singapore
Robertson Quay
$$$
Modern · Tiki
Modern Robertson Quay tiki bar.
Order: A Painkiller
13 · Vancouver
Mount Pleasant
$$
Iconic · Tiki
Iconic Mount Pleasant tiki bar.
Order: A Shrunken Skull
14 · Sydney
Newtown
$$
Iconic · Tiki
Iconic Newtown tiki bar.
Order: A Zombie
15 · Berlin
Schöneberg
$$
Tiki · Modern
Modern Schöneberg tiki cocktail bar.
Order: A Painkiller
16 · Paris
9th
$$
Iconic · Tiki
Iconic 9th-arrondissement tiki bar in a former strip club.
Order: A Mai Tai
17 · Melbourne
Fitzroy
$$
Iconic · Tiki
Iconic Fitzroy tiki bar.
Order: A Jungle Bird
18 · Madrid
Lavapiés
$
Iconic · Tiki
Iconic Lavapiés tiki bar.
Order: A Mai Tai
19 · Barcelona
Eixample
$$
Modern · Tiki
Modern Eixample tiki bar.
Order: A Painkiller
20 · Dubai
JBR
$$
Modern · Tiki
Modern JBR tiki-leaning cocktail bar.
Order: A Mai Tai
The full guide, city by city
Each entry below is a deep dive into the best 10 bars in that city — picked by editors who live there.
Browse the full tiki-bar indexTiki bars by city — every featured venue has a profile.
See the full list
What makes a great tiki bar
Forget the bamboo. The best tiki bars work because of what's open behind the bar tonight, not what's pinned to the walls. The 20 above all do that. Smuggler's Cove and Latitude 29 represent the rum-temple end. Tiki-Ti the iconic family-run institution. Three Dots and a Dash the modern approach. The Trader Vic's outposts the original franchise. Pick the room that matches the rum you want.
