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    Republic Bar & Lounge

    5.0 (1 review)

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    11 years ago

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    Tiki-Ko - Inside decor - Tiki-Ko

    Tiki-Ko

    4.5(286 reviews)
    0.0 mi
    $$

    Nobody plans to spend an evening in Bakersfield. You pass through it on the way to somewhere else…read more-- Mammoth, the Sequoias, the long flat grind up the 99 to Sacramento -- and if you stop at all, it's for gas or a bathroom or because your BMW's brakes have decided, somewhere around the Grapevine, that they'd rather not. Thank you, Weatherford BMW of Berkeley, for the near-death experience and, inadvertently, for one of the best nights out I've had in years. Stranded and waiting on repairs, we checked into The Padre, the only hotel in Bakersfield that feels like someone with a subscription to Dwell had a hand in it, and set out walking through a downtown that time has treated with more kindness than reputation suggests. There's a Woolworth's luncheonette still hanging on. There are old brick facades and wide sidewalks and the particular quiet of a Central Valley evening when the heat finally breaks. And then, on 18th Street, there is Tiki-Ko, and suddenly you are no longer in Bakersfield at all. You are, instead, inside someone's magnificent obsession. Tiki-Ko is a proper tiki bar -- not a tiki-themed cocktail lounge, not a place that bought some bamboo at a craft store and called it atmosphere, but a genuine, committed, floor-to-ceiling shrine to mid-century Polynesian fantasy. The carvings are real. The lighting is correct -- which is to say, barely there. The mugs are serious. There are pufferfish lamps and carved totems and the whole glorious taxonomy of tiki ephemera, accented here and there with a skate-culture edge that keeps it from feeling like a museum. It's reverent without being precious. The drinks are the real thing. Mai Tais built with actual orgeat. Zombies that earn the name. The bartenders make them with the kind of care and enthusiasm that tells you this isn't a gig -- it's a calling. They want you to be here. They want to talk about rum. They want you to try the Painkiller. In a city that most Angelenos regard as a punch line, somebody built a world-class cocktail bar and filled it with joy, and the regulars clearly know it. You will not plan a trip to Bakersfield. But if you find yourself there -- by mechanical failure, by accident, by the peculiar mercy of a bad brake job -- walk downtown. Find the tiki bar. Order a second round. Stay longer than you intended. Bakersfield has been underestimated, and Tiki-Ko is the proof.

    Haven't been in here for probably 15 years. It's changed- a bit. I love Tiki bars and I go to every…read moreTiki bar I can find. It's tiny- like a lot of tiki spots. Decor is nice. Little hidden gems. Lighting is dark with bits color and neon popping through. The Bar Top curves around the bar- there are two booths that seat 5-6 and two short tables next to them- one seats 4- the other will comfortably seat two. There are a few bench style seating areas at the front with some short coffee tables. Think- skater tiki bar. The drinks were good- small menu if you're not sure what you want or are new to tiki. Both sides of the menu are the same menu. There are some nice mocktail options as well- you don't see that often. The service for me is mixed- it wasn't busy- steady but not busy- 1/4 full. I ordered two drinks to start for our table- (no cocktail servers here/not unusual for a small Tiki bar) I asked for a soda water- the bartender looked at me without a word- popped open a can of soda water and walked away. When he walked back by, I asked for a glass of ice- he said nothing and I got an eye-roll huff. I almost left. I don't think providing a glass with ice to pour your canned room temp soda water in, is too wacky an idea to be perturbed by the request. The female who took the order was friendly, smiled and was professional. We got a third cocktail- the Mai Tai. The grumpy bartender was friendlier this time. So, that helped. Maybe he felt overwhelmed and I threw off his groove by asking for water- then a glass... either way- being annoyed wasn't cool. The music.... Wasn't Tiki- it threw off the "Tiki Vibe" and made it feel typical small local bar that serves only Tiki drinks with some Tiki decor. It didn't take you to the land of Tiki- disappointed. Drinks were good.

    Photos
    Tiki-Ko - Interior booth

    Interior booth

    Tiki-Ko - Sunken Ship

    Sunken Ship

    Tiki-Ko - Interior. bar area

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    Interior. bar area

    Republic Bar & Lounge - danceclubs - Updated June 2026

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