When tiki enthusiasts flock to the East Bay, they tend to settle at Alameda’s Forbidden Island or Trader Vic’s flagship location in Emeryville. The Kon-Tiki is an adventure-themed tiki bar that took over the old Longitude location in 2017 and is still growing its fan base. All of these places are quite popular and with many good reasons to be so. However, there is one bar that is often overlooked or dismissed that is actually quite the hidden gem; The Kona Club.
Opened in 2005, Kona Club’s reputation is that of a dive bar. Well, it is a dive bar. But if you look beyond the college-aged crowd, the pool table in the back room, and the music selections that are sometimes more pop that exotica, you will see the true awesomeness that Kona Club really offers.
Kona Club was built out by the legendary Bamboo Ben, with tikis carved by Crazy Al Evans. The place is filled with bamboo, tapa cloth, thatch, and exotic paintings on black velvet.
Once inside, your hostess and constant companion in this pop Polynesian paradise, is a life-sized bronze hula girl, whose hips are in constant, swirling motion.
The bar itself features tiki carvings, a sometimes smoldering and smoking (!) volcano, and several de rigueur puffer fish lamps of various colors overhead.
The Kona Club is also far larger than it first appears. There is a large room behind the bar filled with seating areas. A smaller room at the rear of the bar houses the pool table, keeping it isolated from the rest of the place for those who truly want to soak up the tiki aesthetic.
Cocktails are the name o’ the game, and here Kona Club excels. The drink menu features all of the classics. The bar also offers seasonal and creative specialty cocktails to keep things interesting. There are even bowl options for sharing. The drinks are good, not sparing on the spirits and very reasonably priced.
Dive bar? Sure it is. But a very comfortable one with a relaxed vibe. Any bar needs customers to stay in business. Kona Club has a nice, little neighborhood bar feel to it. Instead of seeing the pool table, music choices, and bar TV as weakening the tiki spirit of the place, I view it as elevating the “normals” with a taste of tiki culture. (They don’t come to the Kona Club for nothing…)
The bar is also under the watch of the tiki gods. Kona Club is literally a short walk from the final resting place of one them , Victor Jules Bergeron (aka Trader Vic), at the Mountain View Cemetery. That tiki mojo must be powerful. While the Kona Club isn’t a Trader Vic’s by a long shot, it really is a lil’ tiki classic in its own right.
Kona Club
4401 Piedmont Ave.
Oakland, CA 94611
(510) 654-7100
Critiki page: https://www.critiki.com/location/kona-club-oakland-543/
Website: http://konaclub.net/
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Monster A GoGo - The Tiki Tourist 
Ahhh, look at you, you lush. That tiki drink sure looks delicious! I hope you got some sleep last night, but if you didn’t, at least you created a great tiki blog post! Cheers!
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That drink was completely NON-alcoholic, I am sure. What ARE you insinuating? SHOCKING!
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Can’t believe I never went there when I lived in the Bay Area! Next time I visit, I’ll for sure be making a trip there. Great review and photos as always. Thank you!
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Thanks for visiting the page. In my opinion, for the best tiki experience at Kona Club, go early on a weeknight. The later it gets and on weekends, the more crowded and noisy it becomes. But I truly love this little place. It is my current favorite in the East Bay. CHEERS!
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