My TripAdvisor name is "South China Sea" for reasons I won't get into, but suffice it to say I KNOW a Tiki bar when I see one. As I write this I am surrounded by various carved wooden idols from Hawaii and Polynesia, bead necklaces...from the Indian Ocean, and a genuine vintage Trader Vic's ashtray and books on the South Seas and Tiki culture going back to the 1940s. Innumerable vintage Hawaiian shirts are behind me in my cupboard. And I almost bought a resort in the Solomon Islands some years ago So when I say the Glasgow Tiki Bar is pretty authentic, I feel reasonably qualified to say so.
So I found myself in Glasgow recently on shore leave with time on my hands, and sought out a place I would feel at home, did some Googling and OMG Glasgow has a Tiki Bar! Who would have thought! Although it seems to market itself locally as a place to get blotto with work buddies in the evening, the atmosphere doesn't get a lot of acknowledgement but I gotta say they did a great job on the decor! Unfortunately the night I was there it was COLD, in the middle of the week, and pretty early in the evening, so it was pretty dead. Maybe 3 or 4 other patrons.
On entering, visually 5 stars with all the Tiki stuff. Looks like a Trader Vic's. The Drinks menu is pretty good too, but sadly when the drinks came they were disappointingly weak. YES they looked authentic, YES they were served in mostly authentic glasses/mugs with an intriguing option to purchase locally-made ones, and YES they were very flavorful, but WOW they were weak. For a city that is internationally notorious for drinking, I really would have expected the drinks to have a little more kick. Possibly it'll be different when you visit - and you ABSOLUTELY SHOULD - but after several drinks we left without much of a buzz. Hopefully it'll be different for you.
The food on the menu comes from a Thai place upstairs (which actually isn't bad and most people there wouldn't know Polynesian food from Thai food) so if you're hungry YES you should order something. Good menu and reasonably priced.
ANYWAY if you are in Glasgow and you want to experience something other than the Scottish pub/bar scene, I would recommend you pop in to the Tiki Bar for an hour or two. Thousands of soldiers and sailors passed through Glasgow on their way for the very long trip to Imperial outposts ranging from the Sandwich Islands to the South China Seas, and many of the ships built on the Clyde spent their working lives in the South Pacific, and what better way to recognize all that than a concotion or two at the Tiki Bar and Kitsch Inn?
OKAY one last thing - the owners could make a FORTUNE selling T-shirts. The Scots connection and the South Pacific is STRONG. Read up on the history of HSBC and Jardine Matheson. Scots wha hae!More