The Shameful Tiki Room

The bar at the Shameful Tiki Room. The Shameful Tiki Room

Details in every corner heather arment (Own work.)

The bar, where the magic is made. heather arment (Own work.)

Menu. Note the "Mystery Bowl", which arrives announced by the banging of a gong. heather arment (Own work.)

Front of the lounge. heather arment (Own work.)

Shameful. notoriousFIG (Atlas Obscura User)

Dining arrangements at The Shameful Tiki Room. The Shameful Tiki Room

Tiki shelf and bamboo thrones heather arment (Own work.)

The Beachcomber's Creed. The Shameful Tiki Room

An escape to a Polynesian paradise in the middle of Vancouver.

The owners of the Shameful Tiki Room do their very best to recreate the tropical escapism of the 1960s tiki fad, and they succeed. Their emphasis is on over-the-top South Seas decor, quiet exotica lounge music to set the mood, and of course, authentically sugary tiki cocktails like the Zombie, the Hurricane, and the Mai Tai.

The walls are adorned floor to ceiling - a hallmark of any good tiki joint - with Polynesian decor of varying authenticity. There are pufferfish lamps, Tapa cloths imported from Tonga and Fiji, and tiki carvings both old and new. The Shameful Tiki Room also features live music that is always appropriately tropical - mostly surf rock and gentle ukulele music. A second location has opened in Toronto, so Eastern Canadians don’t have to miss out on the fun.