I’m all about anyone or anything that takes a theme and runs with it; and with The Golden Tiki, Branden Powers (with partners Jeffrey Fine, Seth Schorr, and Joe Cain) has definitely gone deep with his new tiki bar’s backstory.  The tale of “Captain Wm. Tobias Faulkner” (affectionately known as “Captain WTF”), and his quest for the eponymous Golden Tiki, is told through a series of black velvet paintings that were created in Mexico, to Powers’ specifications.

As one proceeds deeper and deeper into the recess of the bar, clever mises-en-scène and prop-stylings – including props from the set of Spielberg’s ‘80s cult-classic, Goonies; the animatronic skeleton of the aforementioned Captain Faulkner; a hunting knife owned by Hunter S. Thompson; a carved pipe of bone in the shape of a skull; giraffe bones; shields, masks and grass skirts; and original Tikis sculpted by the renowned Billy the Crud – share the stage with digitized underwater scenes behind broken portholes, and a ceiling featuring a nighttime sky complete with LED shooting stars, comets, and lots of twinkling stars.

There are nods to Disney (most notably, the Enchanted Tiki Room and Pirates of the Caribbean), as well as legendary restaurants such as Trader Vic’s (after the venue’s namesake cocktail, the first few drinks on the menu include TV classics the Mai Tai and the Navy Grog) and Don the Beachcomber (the next drink down, is the DtB fave Three Dots and a Dash).  There’s also a Dole-Whip dispenser, providing the deliciously artificial tasty treat that was first available exclusively at the Enchanted Tiki Rooms at Disneyland and Walt Disney World (for which Dole has been the sponsor since 1976, after taking over sponsorship from United Airlines), after which it was also served at Hawaii’s Dole Plantation.  Whether imbibed via the potent but yummy Painkiller libation, or straight-up in a ceramic coconut; it is a soft-served smile you can eat!

An immediate hit with patrons is the large clamshell, with a built-in bench; upon which guests can pose for their #Shellfies!

Like most venues of this sort, it’s already a magnet for hipsters, rockabilly types, burlesque performers, and lovers of all things tiki.  As such, I had a fantastic time taking-over the DJ booth for an unannounced, last-minute set, a few nights earlier, because I was able to play everything from exotica (Martin Denny, Les Baxter, Arthur Lyman, Yma Sumac), and Rat Pack classics (Dean Martin, Frank Sinatra, Sammy Davis, Jr.), to jazz standards (Julie London, Ella Fitzgerald, Mrs. Miller, Dame Shirley Bassey), Lounge (Sergio Mendes, Herp Alpert, Paul Anka, Walter Wanderley & Astrud Gilberto, and Xavier Cugat) and the occasional punk anthem (Dead Milkmen, Jayne County, and the Clash).

In a very un-stereotypical twist, it’s simultaneously become all the rage with a swath of the “cool mommies” whose kids are enrolled at such prestigious local enclaves of learning as the Alexander Dawson School, the Meadows School, and the Adelson Educational Campus; as well as a few noted envoys representing Staton Elementary.  And despite being smoker-friendly, the incredible ventilation system makes this a non-issue for non-smoking patrons.  Meanwhile, the lighting-story makes everyone look marvelous (which is especially vital at a 24 hour venue that packs ‘em in, as the Witching Hour bleeds into the hour when one begins to resemble a melting witch).

So, what does this mean for all of you, darling readers?  It means that The Golden Tiki, located in Chinatown*, is the most fabulous thing to happen at a strip-mall since the advent of the happy-ending massage parlor!

The Golden Tiki
Chinatown, Las Vegas
Click HERE for info

Get into it!

[Editor’s Note: In true Las Vegas fashion, “Chinatown” is not so much a neighborhood, as a series of strip-malls, located just west of the Strip, on Spring Mountain Road]