tiki bar

English

Etymology

From tiki (“carved talisman”) +‎ bar (“drinking establishment”). From Maori tiki (“figurine”).

Noun

tiki bar (plural tiki bars)

1. A drinking establishment or restaurant with an exotic tropical theme, serving elaborate cocktails.
   • 2016 September 7, “Let's Talk Tiki Bars: Harmless Fun Or Exploitation?”, in NPR.org‎^[1]:

     Say you want to escape the doldrums of daily life — but you can't quite afford a trip to Hawaii. Why not to head to your local tiki bar for a sample of the South Seas? These faux-Polynesian, palm-thatched rum palaces that were all the rage in the 1960s are now making a comeback.

   • 2020, Dan Nosowitz, “What the Heck is Crab Rangoon Anyway?”, in J. Kenji López-Alt, editor, The Best American Food Writing 2020, Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, →ISBN, page 227:

     The dish was probably invented by Victor Bergeron, best known as the namesake founder of the Trader Vic's chains of tiki bars.

See also

• tiki culture