The Search for the Ultimate Mai Tai

We revisit Dec 30 when we visited tiki bars in the valley that we’ve never visited before. Intriguing to me due to their sushi offerings, we visited Kahuna Tiki and Kahuna Tiki Tu. Both are from the same team but there are significant differences in the restaurant type and cocktails.

Kahuna Tiki is in the NoHo Arts District not far from Tiki No and features a large outdoor space anchored by a very mature tree, water features, booth and gathering spaces, an outdoor bar, and a small indoor sushi bar with seating. It was cold so we ate inside the sushi bar. There are tiki nods throughout, though somewhat “tiki lite” in terms of density and quality. We loved our sushi and fried rice.

Kahuna Tiki Tu is a newer location connected to the Mikado Hotel and sandwiched by Riverside Drive and the 101 freeway. There’s a vast main dining area with Japanese touches, plus a large Moai to complement the “accent tikis” sprinkled throughout. There is a dark tiki bar off to the side, more traditionally decorated aside from the gigantic TV. There are few bar seats and some tables in the middle but we chose a bamboo booth. Food menu looked essentially similar to the sister location, though we were told some things are unique in each location. A patio overlooks the hotel pool and some decor elements borrow from Disney and other genres (yes. pirates).

Where the two Kahunas differ are the cocktails, since Kahuna Tiki has only a beer/wine license. As such they can’t use spirits but presumably more than enough of something to suit. I had the Majestic Mai Tai that was a fruit-forward refresher and Mrs. Mai Tai had the cherry-forward Stupid Cupid that uses a Red Vine as a straw. Both were fine, but things made more sense after we learned about their restrictions.

There are no such restrictions at Kahuna Tiku Tu, though their 1944 Mai Tai uses Planteray 5 and since they didn’t have an acceptable sub I went with it to some regret. Mrs. Mai Tai’s Headhunter Martini was a lot better, featuring vodka and banana/cinnamon notes that were really tasty.

We enjoyed the visits including some easter eggs that Arnelle gave us at the first location before venturing to the second. We hear good things from locals that the service here is usually great, so if you like sushi these locations demand some tiki attention.

Kahuna Tiki

Kahuna Tiki Tu

We had a fab time checking off a few “first visit” tiki bars up in the San Fernando Valley before New Year’s. Tiki No was said to be more of a dive bar in North Hollywood (the “No” in Tiki No) but we arrived shortly after opening on Monday to find that it was couples night as everyone in the venue was paired.

I was so pleased to see an elaborate bamboo palace inside with some nice booths, plus a seating area parallel to the long thatch-covered bar. It was cold but we admired the small patio as well. Lighting is very cohesive and while the tikis are off the shelf I did admire the collection.

We tried and liked two cocktails, including their juicy Mai Tai that includes some pineapple juice in modest amounts plus Appleton rum and Cachaca that I didn’t really get major notes from but overall felt balanced pretty good. Mrs. Mai Tai was impressed by her flaming Toasted Marshmallow that included rum, vodka, Licor 43, spices, and apple juice. This cocktail had a great visual interest and the taste was pretty good too. We spotted a few nice rums but a lot of the back bar was filled with rums I don’t normally see there (I see you, Captain and Kraken). I’d come back for more drinks on future visits to LA.

The music at Tiki No deserves special mention since the music spanned many popular genres (though not surf or exotica, sadly). It was like all of Spotify was on shuffle as we heard these artist in consecutive order:

• Hip Hop song (didn’t catch the artist)
• The Cure
• Motörhead
• Cher
• Delta Spirit
• Miami Sound Machine
• No Doubt
• Sixpence None the Richer
• Foreigner

Quite the collection, including This is Spinal Tap on the TV. Not really my preference for a tiki bar and I’d prefer pre-80s, but all in all not terrible. We enjoyed our short visit, though not as much as the couple in the booth next to us who were getting very… cozy.

We had a great time in West Hollywood at The Lucky Tiki’s first New Year’s Eve party. The ticketed event began at 9:00 and included all inclusive food and drinks. Food included hot dogs from the adjacent Tail o’ the Pup, sushi, and also some Chinese favorites such as chow mein and egg rolls. Drink orders for anything off the regular cocktail were at the bar or from a couple servers who circulated mainly to those seated. A champagne toast capped the evening at midnight.

For a first time event there were a lot of things done well here, especially the bar staff who worked very hard for that three plus hours making constant cocktails. We also salute Genesis and Shane for also keeping up with deliveries of the wild frenzy of orders and sticking to the script for some of Lucky Tiki’s signature display cocktails such as Elvis in Hawaii. Overall our drinks were of the same quality that we had on our previous visit, with one exception, and we were pleased to check out the expanded cocktail menu that includes some tiki classics such as the Three Dots & a Dash that I thought was pretty good.

For an inaugural event there are some things that could be tweaked. While there was an expansion of seating on a heated patio, there simply weren’t enough chairs for those in attendance. I suspect some might not have cared the least, but for a three hour event some of us really needed the chairs and I felt sorry for those who arrived too late to snag one. Having more passed appetizers would have enhanced the experience as well.

One of my Mai Tais was pretty bad, far too limey. It was replaced by another one (and later another) that were better but not really at the same level of quality as the other cocktails on the menu. I give a lot of leeway for the nature of the event but I suspect that the problem lies with the orgeat – and it needs to change. The rum needs to be bolder than Flor de Caña Eco too.

Given the quality of the event and all-inclusive food and drinks NYE was certainly a great value. We had a lot of fun hanging out with our impromptu table-mates and socializing with a few familiar faces. The tropical music was on point and again I must praise the staff for a great job on this event.