Editorial
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.
Each entry below is a a look at the best 10 bars in that city — picked by editors who live there.
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.
Senior US Editor — drinks his way through New York and writes about which bars actually deserve their reputations.
One email every week. The bars our editors are recommending right now, across 60 cities worldwide.