Tonga Hut Tiki Lounge

(Drank 01÷20÷16 W @ 5:30pm and many times before): A warm breeze blew me into this tropical hut which was once my local watering hole when I lived in the area!
After a relaxing day of working and dining in this «seedier» part of North Hollywood, I decided to surf into The Tonga Hut for some Happy Hour libations and chillaxation. I last lived in the area almost 10 years ago, and during the time I lived here let’s just say I think I left a butt imprint on the far-​left bar stool! And since I seemingly used Unilocal as a living online calendar of my daily travels to and fro, it’s been more than five years since I last set foot in here and grabbed a drink. Well, this Island Boy returned home, but did it still feel the same as how I remembered it then?!
Unlimited Pretzels (Complimentary) — FREEEEEEEE — ’nuff said.
Passion Storm ($ 9.00) — A cocktail mixed with passion fruit, rum, and ginger beer, this was an easy-​breezy «I-​wished-​I-​had-​a-​Cover-​Girl-​with-​me» kind of drink as we rocked together in a hammock a la Corona Beer commercial rip-​off. The spritz from the ginger beer was a nice touch, and I appreciated the heavy-​handed pour of rum which happened to be my favorite of all liquors. There definitely was a storm of passion one sip at a time!
Latin Liver ($ 9.00) — This elixir had a sassy, saucy, spicy attitude such as the handful of Latinas I personally knew — smack! With habanero lime syrup and Martinique rum, I felt like I should’ve been wearing some linen clothes, a Panama hat, leather sandals, and a fat Cuban cigar stuffed in my mouth! I was a lover of this Latin liquid libation!
Service — Simplicity at it’s best: I was greeted by a beautiful charming young female bartender who gave me her undivided attention since they had just opened and only a handful of patrons were there. I ordered and watched each of my drinks being made, she offered a bowl of pretzels, she gladly refilled said bowl, and once it was time to settle the tab and head out, she was on it like white on rice; wham, bam, thank you, ma’am! All was good in the «No ‘Wood»!
Parking (Free) — They had a small private lot in the back. Otherwise, there was plenty metered and non-​metered parking along the main drag of Victory Blvd. and surrounding side streets.
Atmosphere, décor, ambience — It was like a tropical volcano spewed-​up mass amounts of Hawaiiana paraphenalia such as a human-​sized «Dum Dum» tiki head
, wood carvings, framed nude Polynesian women paintings, with 50s/​60s-​style avocado green pleather booths, and an amusing drink umbrella wall display
, but all the ash from such explosion has stuck in the air and darkened everything. Now I knew how the dinosaurs might’ve felt! But fret not as there was a firepit
, battery-​operated candles, flaming drinks, and the flicker of glowing cell phones that helped to guide you to a seat or your drink to your mouth. Absolutely no natural lighting entered into this vampire hula den! A great place for a rendezvous, if you knew what I meant! There were no TVs. However, a slamming jukebox with a great selection of rock & roll music (The Smiths, baby!) or on those magical nights when a live band played filled the hut with smashing tunes.
Attire — Totally casual, so I would normally be in a t-​shirt (aloha shirt!), boardshorts, and flip-​flops.
Overall, I felt right at home with some kama’aina love at The Tonga Hut. Like a worn t-​shirt, an old pair of jeans, and a pair of broken-​in Doc Martens, this boozy dive bar fit me to perfection. The drinks were strong, the workers were friendly, and the patrons were usually easy to chat with so much so that I made a new acquaintance which seriously was par of the course in my history with this place. They allowed outside food, but they needed more craft beers. Their Happy Hour was decent but wasn’t in the mood this particular time. I found total value based on the prices, service, and experience noted above (TOTAL paid experience was around $ 18.00 BEFORE tip). And, they accepted my credit card of choice… AMEX! 5.0 STARS

Hum… Cute dark spot with a definite Tiki bar experience but ordering a drink can be tricky. Good luck kiddos…

I was invited here for a tiki loving friends birthday party. I decided to wear a tropical print tank top to dress in theme. Parked in the back lot and made my way in passed the taco stand and door guy. Once I was standing at the crowded bar, I was overwhelmed with humidity and took my leather jacket off. Within 3 minutes the door guy came up and told me to put a shirt on. I was not allowed to wear my tropical print tank top! Like seriously!!! It’s a fucking tiki bar in the valley! Tonga Hut is listed undeer «Dive Bars, Lounges» on Unilocal!!!Every other female was dressed in bra tops, tank dresses and halters. Some guys wore shorts and flip flops for fucks sakes! Not exactly a klassy joint, especially with the fried onion smell coming from the back parking lot taco stand. Sheeeesh! Drinks were mixer style watered down, not even properly mixed by a mixologist.
After a while I had to leave because I was drenched in sweat from being forced to wear my leather jacket the entire duration of my stay. Ugh!!! This would not happen at Tiki No, in NoHo! This place is pretentious and muthafucking sexist!!! I guess the owner of Tonga «Dive» Hut considers men’s shoulders and arms exposed in tank tops too risqué like it’s the 1800’s.

I’m confused, this place has 4 stars. WHY?
My boyfriend was in the mood for a michelada at 11:30 pm and we had no desire to drive to LA for our usual spot. A friend recommended this place for micheladas, ALSO Unilocal said this was the spot to go to. We went, got shitty service, also a shitty michelada and left within 10 minutes. Honestly, the only reason Tonga Hut is getting 2 stars is because Tacos Rico is down the street.
PASS on this bar unless you want to hunt for a wild boar to take home.

Take a step back in time. This place is a blast from the past-​so awesome! If you are into old school, themed, hole in the wall, local dive bars-​then this place is for you!
A friend told me that they have or changed the décor since the beginning!
The story: from what I was told the «Tiki style» was very popular in its era and with different historical events happening around its time, many looked for a tropical refuge at a island/​tikka bar.
This place is iconic and has withstood the time making it the oldest tiki bar in LA! Now that you know all this, kill this random knowledge with a few shots and go see the taco lady!

Wow! I’m a local of 3 years now and never have I had any sign of disrespect at this place but tonight’s events have definitely shown otherwise. First of all I have experienced the upmost disrespect by the male working at the bar. He explicitly expressed that due to the activity of the night (really slow) he had the right to refuse service to anyone he chose. I can immediately say that this bartender is completely full of it. As a business owner and fellow bar owner I have never experienced this type of treatment. Thank you for the wonderful years of service but tonight I feel this service was indeed in need of a review that showed otherwise!

Fuck tunga hut ! It’s 1:25 am and I’m trying to get a drink with my boyfriend and cousin and that douche of a bartender denied us drinks because according to him if it’s slow he has the right to call last call for drinks early ! Wtf first time someone does that ! Well you lost customers mr. Owner thanks to your douche ass bartender !

Sometimes a gal just wants a girlie cocktail!

Tonga Hut used to be one of our favorite bars. Several years ago, the joint was awesome. Unfortunately, the creepy owner, Jeremy Fleener, likes to sexually harass just about any pretty girl that walks through the door … and it tends to make people feel very uncomfortable. Keep that in mind if you visit the bar with your wife or sister, etc. The place has been there since 1958. Good location with very interesting decorations. Mellow place for a couple of drinks. I’d happily raise my rating if there was a new owner. We just simply refuse to spend any more of our money at Tonga Hut, as long as «The Creeper» is in charge. You have been warned.

Maybe it’s the Cannibal Cooler talking but this place freaking rocks! Thank you mixologist working tonight whose name I didn’t catch… this drink absolutely amazes. If you feel like pretending that you are on an episode of Gilligan’s Island or revisiting the Sixties or simply having some fantastic drinks in the tropical vein, this is the place for you. Open since 1958, it’s a great place to drink a little history. Plastic accepted. Street parking.

This bar as my little getaway spot… Nostalgia is the perfect word to describe my experience… I don’t know if it’s the strong drinks «Scorpion» is good to share .or the Juke Box with cool 80’s playing in the back… or the private seating around this place or the yummy tacos after in the back …but I have had quite a few special «moments»

I feel like this place has changed owners, the security guard/​bouncers are aggressive and rude, I got kicked out before i stepped into a bar.

Came in with friends, on a Saturday afternoon at 430. There were maybe 8 people in the bar and 7 of us coming in, sober, after a movie across the street. The room and atmosphere is fantastic but our bartender was horrible.
The bartender ignored us for 10 minutes. When we tried to order drinks he questioned why we were ordering what we asked for. Finally those of us who bothered to wait got our first round and sat down and the bartender comes over to question why the rest of our group didn’t order. When they asked if they could order with him he said no and walked away.
He also told us it was a «bar, not a restaurant» when ID-​ing us, even though no one objected to this. I’m 30, it’s not my first time in a bar.
Our group went to order and he seemed to ignore us again, so everyone sat back down. Eventually I went to get a second round, and all the drinks my friends asked for were sitting there because he refused to at least tell us they were coming up or ready to go.
Every time we tried to wait and engage with him he would walk away and begin talking to someone else, literally telling people next to us that he loves to talk about the speciality drinks and how he makes them, yet wouldn’t even speak to us or show an ounce of kindness.
Every step of the process we felt like we were completely unwanted and an annoyance to the bartender. Considering the place was half empty and we had 7 people willing to spend money, I’ve never been to a bar where someone was so rude to us and not interested in taking our money.

Bottom Line: Small, intimate, divey space that isn’t necessarily «crowded» but has very little seating. Drink varieties solve your mixed drink fix, and they have cool creations depending on the season. Don’t worry if you haven’t eaten, because there are delicious tacos in the back.
Food: Tacos in the back that were good for dinner.
Drinks: The drinks were really good! I want to give this place another chance before saying they were «weak»…but I did feel like they were.
It didn’t hit the spot like some others claim in their reviews, but it was a nice little place.

Best Barbacoa tacos in the back of the bar, and they are there til late. #hiddentreasure
We had the Scorpion Bowl for 2 and it wasn’t as strong as we had it somewhere else. The place is chill on Thanksgiving Friday night, surprisingly.
Like the tiki bar décor on Lankershim better.
The five star is for the taco in the back, bar … I would give 3 ½ for the service being slow and so so friendliness.

The Tonga Hut is the epitome of a dive, but it you get this amazing 70s feel when you walk into it. I am not a huge Tiki fan, but, my best friend is, so she asked me to come. I will say this place is super popular because we had a hell of a time trying to find seating and it took a while to get drinks. I will agree that when you walk into this place it is SUPER DARK! You can barely see where you are walking, but I guess the lack of light is what adds to the lounge-​ish appeal or that the place is in desperate place of a face lift. Anyways, our bartender was a doll and man does he have a heavy hand! My light weight of a best friend was super smiley and I was nice and relaxed. The prices were standard for mixed drinks so if you are in need of some serious libations then this is the place for you!

This is a classic tiki bar which should blossom in time. The drinks are creative, but always a bit over sweetened and on the weaker side. The atmosphere is quaint. It can get quite loud but it adds to the energy of the bar. The prices are on the higher side compared to bars in the area. Service. Well, if you’re a regular, I’m sure it’s impeccable. That said, I’m not impressed with attitudes in service. «Just be nice,» like James Dalton said. I’m willing to wait for a drink, but there is no need to act like my order is an inconvenience to you when the bar is barely full. Yes, I will go back to meet up with friends at their request. No I will not arrange for people to meet me there for drinks.
Overall, as NoHo improves, I hope this bar does as well. Word on the street is this bar has some «hip» things in the works.

Tonga Hut is an unique and extraordinary experience. And on Sundays, when Syd is working, everything you thought a tiki was or should is wrong, till you have Syd make you one. The Dole Whip, which Syd is the originator of, makes me feel like I’m back at Disneyland, but with an adult beverage. And the Blue Hawaiian makes me feel like I’m at the Lava Lounge 90s, Swingers style. Tonga hut is «So money, they don’t even know it.» Or do they?

I’m kind of a lush and they have amazing mixed drinks … So it’s a match made in tiki heaven ;)
No wimps allowed as they are not for the faint of heart. If you want fruity drinks that pack a punch then please proceed into the Tonga. If you can’t hang at least buy some Mexican grub from the taco lady in the parking lot. Yum!
Just go, and enjoy.
P. S. Keep your eyes peeled for the white menu.

Delicious cocktails, amazing bartender, dark divey atmosphere-​everything one would expect from a tiki bar. Tons of seating, and great little private tables with velvet Hawaiian paintings. VERY dark.
I had three drinks. First, the pineapple daiquiri, which was incredible-​sweet pineapple with mint and cinnamon. One of the best tiki drinks I’ve ever had. The second was good, but unremarkable. Last I had the tonga punch bowl-​a great blend of rums and citrus juice, and it’s on fire! Fantastic cocktails.
I feel that their menu lacks variety, and I was slightly disappointed that their happy hour didn’t include any tiki drinks. However, this won’t stop me from returning-​this place is great.

Came in on a Thursday night and was hit with a strong smell of throw up through out the entire bar along with a slightly depressing décor for what you would have thought to be a tiki bar.
There was no music playing when I walked in so it made the whole feel of the bar feel worse. there was no seating available and the place seemed kind of dirty. My group made it’s way to the back because we could not stand the smell. Out back there was a taco stand set up.
FOOD! I started to feel better. We decided to try to overcome the smell but as soon as we walked in we realized that we couldn’t. It was as if they hadn’t even tried to clean the throw up! By that time at least the music was back on. We decided to leave and go to Tiki No down the street which did not disappoint. Sorry Tonga Hut :(

My friends did a Tiki pub crawl and stopped here, so I was happy to hear my friends wanted to meet up here after a show. Really cool you are greeted by a plastic Easter Island statue. It’s very dark in there. There’s some innovative drinks on the neon chalkboard and a menu which you’ll need to read by the jukebox for the light.
Problem is there’s only 1 bartender, and the wait for a drink is forever. Seriously. The party energy just dissipates when everyone is just standing and standing, waiting and waiting. Uh, folks, we want to sit down and chat. And the wait is longer when the bartender starts flirting. Really, we all agree flirting is fun, but flirting so that the wait now becomes 30 minutes for a costly drink is NO fun. Do you want customers to return? Because I’ll tell you after waiting interminably for an overpriced drink, no one really wants to get back in line on the same night.