Tiki Time

A couple of weeks ago, I had some friends visiting who were staying in Waikiki and asked to meet up for a drink. Well, of course! But when they suggested we go to the last real tiki bar in Waikiki, my reaction was a little bit like …”What are you talking about?”

When I arrived at my destination, 339 Saratoga Road, I was looking at Arnold’s Beach Bar. Admittedly, it didn’t look like much more than a dive bar from the sidewalk, but I was happy there was an empty paid parking lot across the street and I didn’t have to fight for a stall on the street or navigate my car through a parking structure. That is definitely #winning for Waikiki.

Walking into Arnold’s is a bit like stepping back in time. There’s an outdoor terrace with a palm canopy and thatched roof, as well as a small indoor space that houses a full bar and a space for live music. The band was just warming up when I arrived!

I love a good cocktail, so I was excited to see they offered $6 specials all day on drinks including Mai Tais, Tiki Teas, Blue Hawaiis, margaritas, mimosas and Bloody Marys. If beer is more your style, you can get $3 drafts and $4 bottles. Unfortunately, though, their tap wasn’t working while I was there and they were out of bottled cider. Bummer!

I settled on a margarita for my first round. I’ll be honest — for $6, I wasn’t expecting to be blown away. But when my drink arrived and I took my first sip … not bad at all! What I really enjoyed was that there was no shortage of alcohol. Sometimes I feel that cheaper drinks mean weaker drinks, but this was not the case at all. Our bartender hooked us up!

Our next round was a $5 Bacardi Beach Bum, a tropical infusion of Bacardi, orange juice and Sprite. I loved the orange-citrus flavor of this one (and it shared the same boozy benefit of my margarita).

It started to rain, so we headed out, but I will definitely be back after a day at the beach. Arnold’s is the quintessential beach bar — ocean air, sunshine, great drinks and affordable prices.