Bikini Lounge

This was my #53 tiki bar I’ve visited. Thought this place was great. It’s got good bones that have withstood decades of bar patrons. It’s got character and a dark moodiness only a truly old, classic tiki bar can have. We hit every place in Phoenix and this and Undertow were my favorite. Yes, it’s a beer bar and plays GnR but that’s why it’s still standing since 1949. The drinks were nothing special but chatting with the bartender Mike about the place’s history and aliens made up for it. Don’t miss this diamond in the rough. It’s a piece of tiki history.

I have to say that I loved this place. It was unexpectedly and amazingly tiki. So, yeah - maybe not full of tiki people, but I love the vibe of a good everyday bar.
The bartender was great. I appreciated her annoyance at some people who put a bunch of money into the jukebox and kicked some other patrons music back. ( pretty righteous bar etiquette held up to high standards) I know most people wouldn’t agree, but this is a place I would go to everytime i’m in Phoenix. No snobbish attitudes here, just real people... And our Lyft driver had nothing but good things to say about it too.

I walked into BIKINI LOUNGE not expecting much at all. In fact, I almost skipped it (especially after a rotten experience at the nearby GILIGIN'S in Scottsdale). However, BIKINI LOUNGE was the oldest tiki bar in town (1947) even though it was apparently only tiki in appearance and just a beer bar. I decided to have a look-see. WOW! It was love at first sight.

Don't get me wrong. The place IS run down and dive-y. But it also has a charm about it. Age has given the place character. Despite it being a neighborhood dive bar that locals frequent for beer and a game of pool, the tiki aspect of it is ripe and just waiting to be savored.

Apparently the revitalized interest in tiki has had tiki tourists coming out to the place more and more (thanks, in large part I am sure, to sites like Critiki). That new-found interest has had the bar step it up a notch or two to bring back its tiki former glory and add to it. There is a small but decent list of tiki cocktails available. The owner has taken it upon himself to create tiki mugs of his own for the place. Vintage tiki booths are available for lounging and enjoying quiet conversations. (They remind me of those at Trad'r Sam's in San Francisco, just a little less ornate. ) The place has so much hidden and underutilized charm. It is a shame it isn't more widely regarded.

My experience was totally enhanced by the cool bartender serving us that day. She had a decent handle on the re-emerging tiki thang and had kind of gotten into it a bit herself. She'd made trips to Tucson to sample cocktails at tiki bars there to help with the creation of them back at the lounge. And she did well in reproducing them for our visit.

There was so much coolness tucked away here and there, everywhere you looked. They were little bits of the bars history (such as an etched window that had been discovered behind a wall after several years) that had you wondering and guessing. For a closer look at my experience (with lots of photos and a look at other Phoenix-area tiki locations), feel free to take a gander at my blog HERE:

https://monsterago-go.blogspot.com/2019/01/im-freaky-for-tiki-18-by-time-i-get-to.html

CHEERS!