As animal prints are to fashion, tiki bars are to mixology: never entirely out of style, enjoying a revival every decade or so, sustained by built-in fans and goodwill in the years in between.
And so it is that The Tiki Bar opened Monday at Excalibur, the first-ever tiki bar in the MGM Resorts International portfolio in Las Vegas, according to the company. The new bar taps into the wider resurgence of tiki bars and tiki culture and the desire of today’s customers for a great pour with a chaser of escapism and atmosphere.
“We noticed the fast growth and the revitalization of tiki throughout the world, and we wanted to be part of that,” said James McBride, vice president of food and beverage at Excalibur.
“The timing felt right. Guest expectations have changed over the years. They’re leaning into immersive experiences or FOMO (fear of missing out) experiences. I think a tiki bar lands there for us. It’s not just a drink at a bar but the journey you have sitting at the bar.”
Vegas tiki history
Tiki establishments have a decades-long history in Vegas, going back to the Seven Seas Cocktail Lounge, a Polynesian-themed spot open for a few years in the early 1940s at the old Nevada Biltmore Hotel downtown and, more famously, to the Aku Aku, a restaurant in the Stardust, open from 1960 to 1980, where moai (giant Easter Island heads) flanked the entrance.
The Tiki Bar continues this legacy, McBride said. “We are staying true to what a tiki bar represents. We understand that people want the traditions when it comes down to tiki.”
Castaway cocktails
When you set out to open a tiki bar, a cargo of special glassware must be ordered, glassware that often can’t be used beyond the tiki. Where else, for instance, could a brightly colored parrot glass or one resembling a squatting, scowling island warrior be used?
At The Tiki Bar, these and other vessels contain a raft of castaway concoctions. Among the offerings:
• Whip Tai with Myer’s Dark Rum, Malibu Original Rum, orgeat, housemade pineapple whip.
• Tiki Time with Tito’s Handmade Vodka, pineapple syrup, pineapple juice float, unsweetened iced tea.
• Buzzed Tiki Torch with RumChata liqueur, Fireball Cinnamon Whisky, coffee liqueur, banana liqueur, simple syrup.
• Early Birdie Margarita with Bacardi Superior Rum, Casamigos Blanco Tequila, fresh lime juice, strawberry syrup, pineapple juice.
• Blue Hawaiian with Malibu Original Rum, blue curaçao, pineapple juice, sweet and sour, cream of coconut syrup — designed to be shared.
• Tiki Flight with three miniature versions of specialty cocktails.
“We spent probably 5½ to six months developing these cocktails,” McBride said. “It was so much fun. It was probably the best part. We wanted to stay core to what you find in a traditional tiki bar. We really just homed in.”
Happy hour runs 5 to 7 p.m. daily with $8 tiki cocktails, $8 frozen daiquiris, $5 domestic beers and $6 imported beers.
Dragon meets tropics
The Tiki Bar, previously a typical hotel bar, lies off the casino floor near the MGM Rewards desk. A thatched roof stretches across a three-sided central bar, a lounge and a performance stage. Folks make their way into the bar through a thatched entrance, beneath the glow of a lantern that casts the silhouette of a rampant dragon.
The image nods to Murphy, the dragon (and Excalibur mascot) who fought Merlin the Wizard in the animatronic battle once held on the moat outside the property.
“Murphy represents Excalibur as a whole,” McBride said, referencing Excalibur’s medieval castle — turrets, battlements, oriels, bastion towers, a portcullis — astride the southern Strip. “We have a tiki bar at a castle, and we’re pairing those two together: being true to tiki bar identity and to what Excalibur represents. They’re both transporting guests from the real world.”
Design details
The look and feel of the bar proceeds with seating upholstered in tropical patterns, lizard green velvets, and exotic prints like leopard and peacock; carved wood tables provisioned with flickering tiki votives; and above, lighting fixtures fashioned from repurposed flotsam and iron chandeliers tangled in wild flora.
Lava walls and flowing magma drapery frame the stage used for live musical performances. Scenes from old movies set in the tropics will be projected onto walls. The place seats about 150 across the lounge and the front bar.
Planning for The Tiki Bar began a few years ago, McBride said, with the property deciding on the concept about a year ago. The bar is part of ongoing refreshes at Excalibur.
Central bar hours are 11 a.m. to 1 a.m. Sundays through Thursdays and 11 a.m. to 2 a.m. Fridays and Saturdays. Lounge hours are 5 p.m to 1 a.m. Sundays through Thursdays and 5 p.m. to 2 a.m. Fridays and Saturdays, with live entertainment from 9 p.m. to 1 a.m. Visit excalibur.mgmresorts.com.
Contact Johnathan L. Wright at [email protected]. Follow @JLWTaste on Instagram.