Small bar in the middle of the San Fernando Valley with some absolutely fantastic tiki decor, with a bamboo-ridged drop ceiling, lovely green booths and some great carvings � but currently overcoming many years of decline as a generic dive bar (and not the cool kind), with blinking electronic dart boards and a large glowing jukebox filled with terrible music.

Ownership of Tonga Hut changed in February 2004, with no noticeable changes. The Tonga Hut changed hands again in November of 2005, and now things are looking quite a bit tiki-er, with the removal of beer signs, and vintage fountains running again after many years of dryness.

The new owners are dedicated to continuing improvements, and turning it back into the classic tiki bar it can be. In 2013, the owners opened a second location in Palm Springs

Tonga Hut

Palm Springs, CA

Bar & Restaurant

8.5

Comments

auntangi

auntangi has visited Tonga Hut.

July 16, 2018, 10:24 AM

My husband and I visited Tonga Hut in May and really enjoyed ourselves. It is an incredible dark space and as I looked around I could practically see the Mad Men-esque clientele that visited it in the 60's. We sat at the bar and I was initially put off by the brusqueness of the bartender. In a hurry to order so as to not annoy him I went for a Mai Tai. It's important to understand that when given the opportunity at a tiki bar, I order an original cocktail. I love to experience new flavors and flavor combinations. There were several originals written on a board above the bar, but again, I rushed myself. The Mai Tai was good. Excellent really. But then we were able to chat with the bartender, Syd, and the whole evening opened up. He was very knowledgeable and open to chat tiki. He then described some of the originals (his creations) and I was sad I was limited to a single cocktail (designated driver). When we go back in September, we are taking a Lyft and I am going to enjoy some originals.

20th Century Man

20th Century Man is a semi-regular at Tonga Hut.

February 20, 2018, 8:21 AM

I'm here with a buddy at least once a month, usually on Friday and Saturday nights. Love this place. Drink quality is mixed, as others have said, though overall it's still good. And if you don't drop at least a few dollars on the jukebox for lounge, exotica, or Hawaiian music, your ears may be concussed with R&R, hipster disco or something equally inappropriate. I guess that comment makes me an old man.

And since Tonga Hut has no food service of its own, their saving grace is hosting the amazing Ede of Durango's Tacos in the rear parking lot. She cooks up delicious carne aside and barbacoa burritos and street tacos under a set-up canopy. We look forward to our Tonga Hut visits and Ede's food allows us to stay longer and enjoy more drinks.

TikiD

TikiD has visited Tonga Hut.

November 19, 2017, 6:35 PM

I just visited the Tonga Hut for the first time last night (11/18/2017), and had an amazing stay there. The bartenders were great and made awesome drinks. They also were very knowledgable about the history of the place along with the drinks. I purchased the fireplace mug there as well, and the one bartender packaged it up real nicely and threw in some extra tidbits as an added bonus. I will be back there soon.

View all 19 comments