Island Vacation: Tiki Underground

A cedar door carved with a tiki is the gateway into a tropical oasis at Tiki Underground, which looks like a shipwreck inside.

“The far side is the side of the volcano the ship ran aground, and the other side is the ship itself,” says co-owner Sean Coffey of the cocktail bar that opened in Hudson in 2017 and relocated to Cuyahoga Falls in 2022.

Arched wooden beams and portholes showing fish at the National Aquarium create the illusion of the design by “Doktor” Bill Lynn, an artist and Kahuna Kings drummer who has played the bar. Lynn made a molten concrete wall with skulls to emulate volcanic rock that backs the thatch roof-covered bar. And a hallway becomes the jungle with hanging plants and a giant skull with glowing red eyes.

“The idea for any tiki bar is escapism,” says Coffey. “You lose track of time. That’s the idea of forgetting about your troubles.”

Tiki Underground tells stories of the tiki movement through gallery-worthy memorabilia, including a large wooden tiki from Cleveland’s former Kon Tiki and tiki mugs, including a red one from Hades Hula House in Australia, from Coffey’s home tiki bar collection.

“Within tiki culture … you learn about different cultures from the South Pacific,” says cocktail creator “Tonga” Tim Harnett, who teaches cocktail classes and released a cocktail recipe book. “There’s nearly a century of history behind these drinks.”

The drink menu pays tribute to historic tiki recipes, signatures and riffs on classics. It also serves small plates like scallops and short rib empanadas from One Bite Kitchen. Newcomers often start with the 1944 mai tai ($11), with a base of dark rum, Curacao and lime, and compare it to the TU mai tai ($11), which swaps orgeat for falernum, creating a spicier and sweeter version than the citrus-forward original. An eye-popper is the Blue Eyed Sailor ($9), a riff on a blue Hawaiian with fresh pineapple, blue Curacao, traditional St. Lucia spiced rum and coconut cream, which gives it a foamy texture. Bring a friend to share the potent 1958 luau scorpion bowl ($12-$24) that has orange and lime and packs a punch from 5 or 10 combined ounces of gin, brandy and rum — but the shocker is that it’s set on fire.

Coffey shares that Tiki Underground has converted about 15 to 20 customers into tiki enthusiasts, including two who have traveled to every U.S. tiki bar.

“It’ll take over your life if you’re not careful,” Coffey says with a smile.  

1832 Front St., Cuyahoga Falls, tikiunderground.com