Getting all tiki-ed up in Portland: THE ALIBI, HALE PALE, DA HUI, and THE PALMS MOTOR HOTEL

Portland is a great place to visit. It puts the fun in funky and prides itself on having a “weird” reputation. I seem to find myself there every year or so. During my last visit in late October, I thought I’d re-visit some old favorite tiki haunts…and explore a few “new” ones.

DA’HUI:

Da’Hui? I’d never heard of it. It was only when I knew I’d be visiting Portland that I chanced to Google tiki bars near Portland that it happened to come up…and it was several listings down. I knew I wouldn’t have much time to visit this place once I arrived in Portland. I had to drive down the 5 to Eugene and then head west to Florence, Oregon on the coast. I hoped to arrive in Florence by dark. But… Why not stop? It wouldn’t take that long and it might be worth a look. Right?

The place was in an extreme southeast corner of Portland and took me quite a bit of time to reach. Located in the Foster-Powell area, Da’Hui (“The Club”) turned out to be a nice, little neighborhood bar. But a tiki bar? Hmm. I was undecided.

The placed seemed to really want to be tiki. There were budgeted Polynesian flourishes and tiki-tacki knick-knacks all throughout; nudes on black velvet, bamboo mat walls, lighted floats, and at least one puffer fish lamp that is de rigueur in any tiki bar. Toss in a few Don Ho album covers and a few other interesting light fixtures and you’ve got yourself a decent little hideaway.

The guy who waited on me was friendly and very enthusiastic about the place. While I don’t think he was the owner, he was very boastful about the food they served there and its freshness. They were known for having the best Kalua Pork in town. While the tiki cocktail menu was limited (the place is definitely more of a beer joint than cocktail), it was adequate, as was the “Hawaiian food” menu. I started off with a ChiChi. Later, when my Teri Burger (with macaroni salad and french fries cleverly served in a Spam can) arrived, I enjoyed it with a Lava Flow. Both drinks and the food were tasty enough.

The place is small, be decent sized. There are restrooms and a small section of gaming machines in the back.

Although there were not souvenir tiki mugs to be had, the place had plenty of other swag for sale.

Da’Hui may not be the best tiki bar on the planet –but it will do in a pinch (and it’s better than the NOTHING we have in my town). While it may be stuck being a neighborhood dive bar with unfulfilled aspirations of being a proper tiki establishment, the folks in the Foster-Powell neighborhood are lucky to have this little gem in the rough. Besides, any bar with a Sleestak picture proudly displayed has to be cool. Right?

The Da’Hui logo says, Suck ‘Em Up. I would be doing just that if I lived closer.

This isn’t a bad little place at all–but The Alibi and Hale Pele have no fear of competition. It’s still a nice place to visit off the beaten tiki path.

Da’Hui
6506 SE Foster Road
Portland, OR 97206
(503) 477-7224
Website: http://dahui.bar/

THE PALMS MOTOR HOTEL:

On my last visit to Portland, I was traveling alone and I was only going to be there one night. I thought I’d stay at the Palms Motor Hotel / Palms Motel – just to see what it was like. The sign out front is beautiful and it’s just a few walkable blocks from The Alibi, which I knew I’d be visiting. As a budget hotel, I could save some money, too. (Which meant more cocktails. Ha!) So, I booked a room.

And then I read the reviews on Critiki. Oops! What had I done?

The reviews said it was a “hooker motel;” that it was filthy and there were bed bugs. I looked on other travel websites and someone wrote that the police were there almost all of the time. It was too late to cancel and get my money back. So, not wanting to waste the cost of the room, I thought I’d dare it and see how it really was. The bad reviews had to be an exaggeration. Right?

When I pulled in, oh my stars, the police were there. Yikes!

I parked and walked to the office. I asked what was going on. The motel is undergoing refurbishment. One client, who had been staying there a while, had been told about the need for workers to enter his room several days before the actual work was to be done.

According to the manager, the police were called when the customer refused to let the workers in on the designated day. That was it. No big crime involved. No shooting. No dead bodies.

But what would the inside be like?

The motel, as I said, is undergoing refurbishment. My room was one of the ones that had already been worked on. While it was no show place, it was nice. The room and sheets were clean.

I really had no complaints (with the exception of some long hair on the shower wall, which I can see how the cleaning crew missed. I didn’t even see them until I was in the shower, standing right next to them).

The proximity to The Alibi was wonderful. There was free WiFi and ample parking, a refrigerator and a microwave. It was a pretty decent stay over all.

Of course, the real attraction to the Palms is not the rooms or the reasonable rates. It is the vintage sign out front. Despite the fact that many of the neon bulbs are burned out, the sign (which dates back to 1954, I believe) is stunning.

The owner told me that when the city of Portland expanded Interstate Avenue a few years back, they did not want to risk damaging the sign to move it. Instead, there is a slight curve in the road in front of the hotel.

It’s awesome that the city of Portland realizes what a jewel they have in this old sign.

The Palms Motor Hotel
3801 N. Interstate Ave.
Portland, OR. 97227
(503) 287-5788
Website: https://www.palmsmotel.com/
Critiki page: https://www.critiki.com/location/the-palms-motor-hotel-portland-209/

HALE PELE:

Beyond the doors of its drab, strip mall-like exterior, the amazing faux-tropical wonderland that is Hale Pele awaits tiki adventurers looking for a great experience. Opened in 2012, Hale Pale quickly dominated the Portland tiki scene. It has been on numerous “Best Tiki bar” lists since its inception, and deservedly so. Simply put, Hale Pele is a great bar.

Hale Pele, or “House of the Volcano Goddess,” has an incredible interior that makes great use of it’s small, narrow space. On one side is a long, sunken bar. The opposite side is the seating area. In the rear there is a small semi-private “Chieftan’s Hut” that seats up to 12 people.

All of it fantastically done up as a wonderful, idealized tropical paradise with great lighting, tiki-appropriate music and amazing set pieces to set the place off.

There is something fresh in Hale Pele’s take on the tiki experience. It’s not an old school tiki haunt, but it isn’t modern tiki either. It’s a skillful blend of the two. There are lightning effects (for whenever someone orders a volcano bowl) and, on one visit, a machine briefly belched out thick tendrils of fog that quickly evaporated. Between the imaginative color palate, creative props and the special effects, one might think this bar would fit nicely in at Disneyland (if Trader Sam’s weren’t already there, that is). There is definitely a wow-factor at work here.

Of course, a bar isn’t a bar without cocktails. Hale Pele prides itself for serving up tiki classics as well as putting a new spin on proven favorites and creating its own exotic concoctions.

There are also various pupus available, such as the wonderful crab rangoon dip with chips.

Tiki aficionados will be delighted that Hale Pele does sell mugs, glassware and other merch.

Hale Pele is truly deserving of the accolades it has received. It is a must visit on any trip to Portland.

Hale Pele
2733 NE Broadway Street
Portland, OR 97232
(503) 662-8454
Website: https://www.halepele.com/
Critiki page: https://www.critiki.com/location/hale-pele-portland-815/

THE ALIBI:

Most tikiphiles will point to Hale Pale as their favorite tiki bar in Portland. Hale Pale has a lot going for it. I like it a lot. It is fun and it has been deservedly named as being among the top tiki bars in the world several times. However, although comparing Hale Pale to The Alibi is almost like comparing apples to oranges, in my book The Alibi is the one to favor.

The drink selection is not as extensive as Hale Pale’s and The Alibi is known for its karaoke nights (which I have thankfully and amazingly been able to avoid every time I’ve visited. Whoo hoo!) . The music they do play during non-karaoke hours clashes with the vintage tiki vibe. Despite that, there is just something about the place being so old school and so nicely preserved. Opened in 1947, it is one of the oldest tiki bars still in existence.

Inside, it is an amazing snapshot into Pop Polynesia’s past. You enter the room from the inside of a giant drum-shaped hut.

The big red vinyl-covered booths provide most of the seating and remind one of the old steak houses from back in the Mad Men era. Dangling above these booths are vintage light fixtures, providing some of the only colorful light sources within the dark confines of the place.

Blacklight-lit hula girls adorn one wall.

There is a back seating area that is usually blocked off on slow nights. This room also features its own bar.

There are items all throughout the place waiting to be discovered, such as a ukulele playing hula statue, a water feature with a color-changing light, a giant tiki, a large aquarium and even a fireplace.

The cocktail menu is not nearly as large as Hale Pele’s, but it is decent and filled with some good drinks. There are also some pupus, burgers, and even brunch (on weekends) available.

Occasionally, the bar has a signature tiki mug available.

Sure the place is dated (and it has morphed into a glorious dive bar — complete with slot machines). That datedness is a big part of it’s charm. This is tiki as it was originally experienced back in the day by your grandparents. This is a tiki classic.