Best-of list · Tiki Bars
The best tiki bars in New York for 2026, a thinned scene led by Otto's Shrunken Head and the Polynesian, with rum lists, hours and what to order here.
The short answer
2 ranked rooms follow. How we picked is at the end of this guide.
NYC tiki bars range from kitschy 1950s holdovers to the Polynesian's Times Square modernism.
The Polynesian is Major Food Group's rooftop tiki bar above the Pod hotel on West 42nd Street, with one of the city's biggest rum collections and drinks served in fishbowls and pirate ships. Brian Miller built the program. Some listings now flag it as shut, so call ahead before you trek over. Best early on a warm night for the terrace, before Midtown finds it.
Full listing & hours →Otto's Shrunken Head buries a punk tiki bar in the back of an East Village dive on East 14th Street, with live bands, cheap-ish mai tais and zero pretension. It has held on while flashier rooms folded, which tells you something. Yelp logs over 500 reviews. Best late on a band night when the back room fills and nobody cares what you are wearing.