Honi Honi Tiki Lounge

This is a cool little hidden place with an excellent cocktail menu. They have some fun drinks here with great presentation, and they taste great too! We just went for drinks this time, but next time I'll try the food too

We may be one of Canada's sunniest cities, and the most populated Northernmost City in North America (over 1M) but that is precisely why we needed a Tiki Bar.Edmonton is land-locked but our minds here, are always dreaming.Honi Honi is a dream.It is intimate, under 45 seats. This means book your (up to table of 4) weekend visit WEEKS in advance.While they always try to save room at the bar for walk-ins, it is always steadily booked up.This is good news, it means the doors are going to remain open for a while.The music is a fun mix of Martin Denny Exotica, Tikiyaki Orchestra, to Enchanted Tiki Room classics, and a fun mix of cult classic movie soundtrack hits.Food is from the Smoke Bar Yeg in the same building.Beer Battered Fries, sliders, wings, all steeped in the most mouth-watering flavours.Finger food mostly. Fun to pick at over your conversation about what's your favourite thing about this place.The highlight truly is the drinks -whether with or without alcohol, nobody should miss out on the tiki experience because they are steering clear of liquor, beer or spirits.I have had many a virgin cocktail here that made me feel like I was not missing out.While they have a few on the menu, they are currently developing an extensive alcohol-free menu to meet the demands of the ever-growing number of those skipping the booze.That said...Owner Scott constantly scours the globe for special ingredients and rare, hard to come by bottles for the most seasoned tiki cocktail connoisseur.Those in the tiki cocktail know can come to Honi Honi and test the mettle of the award winning mixologists and will not be disappointed.There is a reverence for both the origins of the cocktails and maintaining classic recipes, to a love of the Modern Tiki Pop culture that is enjoying its recent resurgence. That said, there are drinks that while harken back to simpler times, do bring a modern crispness to the genre without making a mockery of it.Did I mention everything is freshly squeezed and they make their own in-house syrups?The decor is simple. Not to say underdone, but like any tiki bar owner will tell you...it's always developing...and never finished. The decor is enough as is, but additions pop up from time to time.Opening week saw a beautifully appointed bar. All the right elements, carefully chosen pieces of art on the wall, and of course a big welcoming carving (by local Calgary carver Butchers Tiki Works) greeting everyone as we enter.It has all the elements you would expect: bamboo, matting, intricately carved trim, fish floats, mood lighting, and lively bartender's expertly mixing up all the required flavours and liquors to transport you away from here.It is like no other, and that's the best part. Honi Honi Tiki Lounge stands alone in a long line of those that opened before. It is a labour of love of one man, his connection to pop culture, and the desire to put it all on the line to bring us all into a place that is unique to Edmonton.It feels like a place we have been at some point, even if it was just watching movies with scenes in imaginary places. A place we have been missing but never been to.And walking in feels like being welcomed back again.With each drink hand-crafted, the experience can be a sharp departure from the local sports bar.That's the pointAdd to that the fact that some of these classic recipes can pack a punch with their ouces of fabulous rums in them...and it stands to reason it has an entirely different feel and pace.It's genuinely like no other bar in Edmonton. Come for the word-of-mouth recommendation, stay for the ambiance and sense of welcome.But only for 2 hours at a time...to make room for the next guest reservation.

Was bummed to get seated at the bar when we reserved a table, but it was a blessing in disguise! It was a lot of fun to watch the bartenders in action.There isn't a ton of seats, it's an intimate space that is decorated very well (love the vibe), so be sure to make a reso if you want to go.We loved all of our drinks. The fries were also outta this world.

Wife and I stopped in for their semi official opening night. It was empty when we arrived, but quickly filled up as the night went on. If you're looking for a Mai Tai this is the place to go! It's the OG Mai Tai, well as close as you can get without Wrey & Nephew 17yr old rum. The head bartender knows his rums, just take a look at their rum wall, and the Appleton blend he's made for the Mai Tai is perfect. They're even using house made orgeat. The other cocktails we ordered were also delicious and well thought out and we'll definitely be returning to try all the drinks on the menu.The food is provided by Smoke BBQ next door and was good. We were a little disappointed as we'd hoped for some tiki themed food like taro chips, huli chicken, maui ribs, spam musubi, etc. but seeing as they don't have their own kitchen space it's a good work around.Overall we loved the atmosphere, décor, and the staff were very friendly. This is a great place to escape the -20 below weather for a while. While it has a solid tiki vibe hopefully they'll grow and evolve into the true tiki experience and theatrics that define all of the great tiki bars.

Honi Honi is magical! Edmonton hasn't had a tiki bar since the 80s and it's everything we have all been waiting for.The decor is fantastic. The staff and service was phenomenal. The drinks! The drinks were so good!! Honi Honi is a must see/stop if you are Edmonton. I can not wait to go back and try more of their drinks. You may want to make reservations as I anticipate it will be busy for time

This place is definitely hard to find but great for some fancy drinks. Note that the food is brought over from Smoke next door but that's not a bad thing as Smoke has great food!The staff were fantastic and I highly recommend asking them to surprise you with a drink of their choice. The menu offers some great options but they are pretty creative with coming up with their own drinks to suit your taste.

Honi honi was great!! Our server was really lovely, all the drinks we tried were awesome to at least one of us (there's options for all tastes!) And the food was really good bar food! Great vibes and would recommend.

This is a true tiki bar with strict observation to classic recipes and decor. Service is great despite working out a few kinks since opening. The food menu while limited is super tasty and has all the best accompanying flavours to their cocktail menu. There's something for everyone. If you're not into traditional tiki cocktails they also have a beer on tap and some wine. Strongly recommend the house wings which are smoked next door.

A perfect wee Tiki bar with perfect Polynesian vibes and wicked cocktails. My Mai Tai was delicious, so was the Zombie, and the staff were wonderful.