RankTheBar top bar info
Mai-Kai Restaurant and Polynesian Show
Mai-Kai is less a bar than a tropical republic with its own weather system. Founded in 1956 and restored after a major renovation, it remains one of America’s great tiki cathedrals. The report highlights the Molokai and Bora Bora bars, flickering torches, theatrical garnish, the enduring Barrel O’ Rum, and the dinner-show engine that keeps the place from becoming merely a museum.
Why we ranked it a top bar:
Editorial rating: 9.5/10
Price: $$$
Best for: tiki pilgrims, theatrical dates, group celebrations, bar-history lovers
Best night: happy hour before 7 p.m., or later for full pageantry
Mai-Kai is less a bar than a tropical republic with its own weather system. Founded in 1956 and restored after a major renovation, it remains one of America’s great tiki cathedrals. The report highlights the Molokai and Bora Bora bars, flickering torches, theatrical garnish, the enduring Barrel O’ Rum, and the dinner-show engine that keeps the place from becoming merely a museum.
This is the Broward bar one visits for myth. The crowd includes tiki obsessives, celebrants, nostalgic locals, and visitors who understand that some rooms survive because they are too strange to die. The artwork is total immersion: carved forms, tropical shadows, glowing lamps, and the noble absurdity of fantasy taken seriously.