VenTiki – Ventura, California

Ventura is a great little seaside town just north of Los Angeles. If you’re passing through, make time for a stop at VenTiki. VenTiki is a tiki bar located right on the main street in Ventura, just a few blocks from the beach. It’s a relative newcomer to the SoCal tiki bar scene, since they opened in 2013, but they’re are doing everything right and have build up a passionate following over the past few years. The bar not only has an fantastic atmosphere – with all the bamboo accents, rum, and tiki mugs you could want – but they have a great staff mixing up both old and new tiki classics.

The bar is not huge inside, but there is plenty of seating and when the weather is nice – which it usually is – you can take advantage of the great outdoor patio, which has lots of additional seating and a huge fire pit.

Of course, we’re all about the cocktails and the drinks are what keep up coming back. They do drinks very well at VenTiki and you’re sure to find plenty of drinks that you like. They make a great Mai Tai (and have a $25 Mai Tai, if you feel like a splurge) and Nicole really likes the gin and rum-based ICC of ’73, a vintage drink that you don’t see on too many tiki menus. They have an excellent rum selection if you feel like going neat, as well.

When we’re in town, we try to come in early for happy hour (they have a delicious and diverse food menu, in addition to all their drinks), partly so we can have a snack and partly so that we have time for an extra drink before we have to head back home.

If you’re visiting during the day, there is also a great shop above the bar where you can pick up some cool tiki gifts and gear. Rumor has it that they’ll be stocking our new cocktail book when it comes out – so we highly recommend putting VenTiki on your “must-visit” list for the summer.

VenTiki
701 E. Main St.
Ventura, CA, USA