I seem to have a soft spot for anything tacky tiki. Before we went on our trip to Hawaii this year we saw the No Reservations episode on Oahu. The one where Tony Bourdain drops thousands on a vintage aloha shirt, but also manages to find a gem of a tiki bar by the Honolulu International Airport. Like all good dive bars, La Mariana Sailing Club is a little hard to find and in an unexpected location off Sand Island Access Road. Your main problems will be finding a parking space and getting home after drinking these potent cocktails. Below is the signature Mai Tai.  We went at lunch time after flying in from the Big Island and it was very quiet. There were just a few locals having lunch and a few military guys off-base and engrossed quiet conversation. I can imagine this place gets rockin’ at happy hour.
La Mariana is the real deal.  If you’re looking for a true tiki experience in Hawaii… this is it! Wow, your probable thinking these are some super grainy, blurry photos!  They’re from the point and shoot G10, but somehow I still feel they capture the spirit of La Mariana.I got excited earlier this year when I heard that Painkiller was opening in the Lower East Side of Manhattan. I’m sure that the drinks are amazing, but on examination of photos, it looks a bit too NYC hip for me. While I sit on the the fence about visiting this tiki bar, Eater has helpfully compiled Tiki Bars of New York’s Past, Present & Future.