Don the Beachcomber

Tiki bar in Sunset Beach carrying the name of the original 1930s LA institution

Address 16278 Pacific Coast Highway, Sunset Beach

Tiki bar in Sunset Beach in a long thatched-roof building on the inland side of PCH. It carries the name of Donn Beach's original 1933 Hollywood bar, which invented the genre. The current incarnation leans heavily into the dark-and-stormy era: bamboo, lanterns, flaming Scorpion bowls, a thirty-strong rum menu, and live music most nights.

The food (Polynesian-American: pupu platters, pork ribs, coconut shrimp) is incidental. Come for a Mai Tai at sundown and stay for the band.

bars and cafes bar sunset beach
A story
The original Don the Beachcomber opened in Hollywood in 1933 and is widely credited with inventing tiki bar culture — including the Mai Tai. This Sunset Beach outpost, with thatched roof and rum-heavy menu, is the closest surviving descendant of the original concept.