As I mentioned a few years back in a review of Tiki Underground a few years ago, “Tiki” in the United States had an interesting history: starting in the early 20th century in California and Hawaii (e.g. Trader Vic’s and Don the Beachcomber), the nice cuisine grew in the 1940s through 1960s until most major metro areas had a handful of Polynesian-inspired (like Americanized Chinese Food, it bears only a casual relationship with it’s initial inspirations) restaurants and cocktail lounges. Unfortunately, while Tiki itself has recently had quite a revival (along with craft cocktails), this revival came too late, and entirely too many classic bits of Tiki Americana started to close (most of the Trader Vic’s locations, Ohio’s Kahiki Supper Club, and Chicopee, MA’s He Ke Lau have all closed). But some classic joints still remain. One of these, the Mai-Kai, in Oakland Park, Florida, remains one of the United States’ oldest still-operating Tiki establishments, serving up Tiki drinks and Polynesian shows since 1956.
The Mai-Kai came close to joining many of the other classic Tiki spots in history. After weathering the early business downturn of the Pandemic in 20202, the Mai-Kai had a devastating roof collapse in late 2020, which pretty much destroyed the place, requiring almost four years worth of repairs. Reopening in late 2024, the Mai-Kai did an excellent job renovating and refurbishing the place, with a nice balance between performing much-needed repairs, while not adversely affecting the unique ambiance. The eight dining rooms (one with performance stage), two customer bars (one inside, one out), service bar, gift shop, and kitchen were all nicely restored, with just a handful of areas (like the vintage Chinese ovens) being cordoned off for a future phase of restoration. The gardens outside were also nicely updated and refreshed, so while you are enjoying your beverage or waiting for your dinner reservation, you can have an enjoyable stroll through the nicely sculpted outdoor gardens and indoor grotto.
Back in the hey day of mid-century Tiki, a lot of places would offer an entire immersive experience of cocktails, dinner, and a Polynesian show of musicians and dancing, but without going to Hawai’i or Tahitit, it is getting to be pretty rare to find a place that does all three, and even more rare to find a place that does all three well. In fact, for year-round operaton, the Mai-Kai is pretty much the last of the great old-school Tiki that still has a dinner show. And while you can go to the Mai-Kai without doing the dinner show (you can get much of the menu at either of the on-site bars without experiencing the show), you should probably book tickets for one of the evening shows (in 2025, these start at $28 per person for the show, with an additional 1 entree per person minimum). For our visit, it was actually a group outing as part of the Fraternal Order of Moai‘s FOM-Con (“Hello, we’d like to book 170 people for dinner…”), but we had a great dinner and show.
But if you just show up at the Mai-Kai and head in for the show, you’re really missing out, both the Molokai (indoor) and Bora Bora (outdoor) bars are top-notch Tiki bars with a solid selection of both classic and modern variations on Tiki drinks, served up by some capable and friendly bartenders, so you can have a great cocktail in a pleasantly-themed bar. And a pro-tip here: by current “craft cocktail” standards, the Mai-Kai’s drinks are bit expensive, but their happy hour is particularly good, with 50% off drinks from 4-7pm. So book an evening show, arrive early, and enjoy high-quality, discounted cocktails.
If there’s a single, classic “Don The Beachcomber” era Tiki drink, it’s a classic Mai Tai; it’s pretty much the canonical Tiki drink. Interestingly, it’s a relative newcomer to the menu at the Mai-Kai (dating from 20128), but it’s a classic variation on the “Don The Beachcomber” version. Like most of the drinks at the Mai-Kai, it’s a proprietary recipe, with two rums (one of them identified, Appleton 8), at least three fruit juices, orange liqueur, falernum, bitters, and a light spritz of club soda. A bit sweeter than most classic Mai Tais (and my own recipe), but nicely composed, with good fruit, rum, and spice notes, meticulously prepared and served up with a fresh orchid and mint as garnish. It’s a great drink, and a great introduction to the good cocktails of the Mai-Kai.
While the Mai Tais are good and classic, if there’s a single signature drink at the Mai-Kai, it’s their take on another Tiki classic, the Rum Barrel. You’ll see more of these than any other drink at the Mai-Kai, even accounting for the fact that for FOMCon they had arranged for Rum Barrels to be waiting for everyone at arrival. Again, the exact mixology here is proprietary, but you can taste all the basic notes: at least three rums (Demerera, Puerto Rican, and Jamaican), a trio of citrus juices, a bit of pineapple, honey mix, falernum, pimento dram, grenadine, bitters, and even a hint of anise-y Pernod. It’s a great combination of sweet, sour, and rum notes, well-combined and presented in a classic barrel. If you aren’t sure what you want to order at the Mai-Kai? Go with the crowds and get a Rum Barrel
After an introductory hour cocktails at the Bora Bora, it was time to head in to the main dining room for the main show. Seated with 6 of our friends, we had a great table in the Tonga dining room, which is essentially mezzanine level dining with a good view of the main stage. While everyone was deciding on their entrees, our table decided to share a Mystery Bowl. The Mai-Kai’s largest drink, brought to you by a dancing wahine in a sarong, entering the room to the sound of a gong, and putting a lei on the primary recipient. The presentation and dance were excellent, and the drink itself? The ingredients in this are, well, a mystery, but I got notes of white grapefruit juice, fresh lime juice, passion fruit syrup, and several rums. And, this is easily one of the highest-test cocktails of the Mai-Kai.
Ordering a handful of appetizers for the table, the kitchen at the Mai-Kai would deliver them as soon as they were fresh and ready. First out was a “Scampi Singapore”: shrimp with garlic, tomato, and lime, served with sweet chili sauce and shrimp crackers. While I had some high hopes for this dish, this was actually a bit underwhelming. Some shrimp (which were, at least, properly cooked and not at all rubbery), a few crackers, and a lot of sweet chili sauce. It ended up mostly being shrimp swimming in sauce; nothing bad, but not worth ordering again.
But things picked up immediately with the next appetizer to arrive, the Hawaiian Tostones. These were classic Cuban-style plaintain tostones, which were cooked perfectly (hey, this is Florida, you expect a place to be able to make some good tostones), with just the right thickness, and right amount of crisp. Tossed with a bit of garlic, and served up with a sesame-shoyu mayo, these were flavorul, garlicky, and refreshing.
Steamed chicken and vegetables and fresh herbs in a Panang curry sauce, with a side of jasmine rice. Pretty good, but the fresh herbs suffered in a delayed delivery from kitchen to table.
For my main course, I originally ordered the “Smoked Beef Rice Pot”, but they didn’t have the smoked beef that night, so they talked me into the Mai-Kai Tenderloin. I’ll have to say, once this arrived, this was one of the better dining options I saw at our table: a wok-seared charred tenderloin (with a rather good sear on it), scallion, shishito, red pepper, soy, tamarind, and sprouts, served with rice. Basically, a nicely-done beef-forward stir fry, and an overall good combination of flavors. A bit pricey at $32, but this was probably the most enjoyable dish of the evening. I’d get this again if I was going for for another dinner and show.
Which brings us to the start attraction. While the various cocktail bars and gardens are neat, and the food is pretty good, the main reasons you come to the Mai-Kai is to see the Polynesian Show. These used to be relatively common in some areas (particularly, I’ve seen similar shows at the Tiki Resort in Lake George, and at the now-gone Hu Ke Lau in Chicopee), Among the few places that still do a dinner show, the Mai-Kai is the venerable old mainstay, having been doing theirs for pretty much the entirety of their existence. And it’s a well-done show: three-piece band onstage, a half dozen dancers, and soloist, working through a nice repertoire of Hawaii, New Zealand, and Tahitian dances. The performers are good, and while they do a few acts where they bring audience members up on stage, they are doing classic dancing moves and having a good time, and not doing some of the “hokey” things I see in a lot of Polynesian shows (“Fruit salad! Shake your hips!”). They run a rather classy and elegant show, and put their heart into it.
And after the first few acts, the last two acts were both fire dancing. This was a particularly-well done routine, and impressive for the amount of flame used in such a confined space (I sure hope those palm fronds, while looking authentic, are at least somewhat flame-retardant!).
Overall, I think the Mai-Kai is a must if you find yourself in the Ft. Lauderdale area. It remains not only one of the last, great mid-century Tiki joints that’s still in operation, but it’s still Polynesian-owned as well. The cocktails are top-notch (and, during happy hour, reasonably priced). The Polynesian show at dinner is a great set of well-performed musical and dancing acts, and the ambiance is second to none. It truly is a unique and wonderful spot. I wouldn’t go their just for the food, but really, why would you do that (and miss out on the show)? But it’s great if you’re looking for either a full-on dinner and Polynesian show, or even just for dropping in for cocktails. It is on my “all but mandatory” list for a repeat visit if I find myself in the area.
