Tiki, abridged
A carved human figure in Polynesian cultures; in Māori tradition, the first man. Real, old, and belonging to people in the Pacific.
What Americans did with that word starting in the 1930s. A mash-up of Polynesian carvings, Caribbean rum, Hollywood set design and pure invention — torches, bamboo, ceramic mugs, exotica records, fake volcanoes. It has almost nothing to do with the actual Pacific and never claimed to, except when it was lying.
A bar built entirely out of the above. Started in Los Angeles, spread across America in the 1950s, died in the 80s, came back in the 2000s. There are now tiki bars in the United States, Canada, Mexico, Brazil, the UK, Hong Kong, France, Germany, Spain, Italy, the Netherlands, Japan, Singapore, Australia and New Zealand — a global culture based on a place that doesn't exist.
And now one in Rawai,
Phuket, Thailand.
So there was a bar that wasn't doing great, and the owner dressed it up with driftwood and palm fronds and called it a beach bar.
Then another guy thought that was a good idea and copied it, and that's how tiki was born. Later on people started adding fake Hawaiian and Polynesian artwork, mixing sweet cocktails with Caribbean rum, and selling it all to 1950s America. The 60s added surf music. The 70s added surf punk. The 80s killed the whole thing off, and now it's back, because retro.
Here at Lada's Takky Tikki we honor that proud tradition of ripping everything off and just having a good time. Our drinks are amazing and in no way authentic. We use local ingredients to give you the best buzz we can.
Come over. The drinks are strong and the food's really good too.