Kon Tiki

August 18, 2025

Quick Review

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After KCDC wrapped up, 2 colleagues and myself found ourselves walking to Kon Tiki to grab a drink and catch up. The vibrant space and atmosphere were inviting, with nothing too loud to prevent conversation. It was a pleasant stop that I’d happily revisit, but perhaps not themed as well as some other tiki bars.

The Longer Version

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Key Info:

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• Location: Kansas City, MO
• Date Visited: Aug 15, 2025
• Visited with: 2 colleagues

Our Visit:

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We visited Trader Sam’s about halfway through a longer trip to the Disney parks, something that my family does roughly every year and a half. With my growing Tiki obsession, along with it just being something new to do, I was anxiously awaiting this stop. Both Trader Sams locations are notorious for long waits, and do not accept reservations so I had hoped to get there a bit before opening to avoid the wait.

We ended up getting there a bit later than planned, and waited for roughly an hour and a half before being seated. The wait was made a bit more difficult by the fact that we had our 2 year old daughter with us, and coupled with another restless party member and the awkwardness of bringing a smaller child into a bar setting, we didn’t really make the most of the experience. Additionally, we had just learned that my wife was pregnant with our second child, so she was limited to mocktails and non-alcoholic options.

The Drinks

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I personally sampled Kon Tiki’s

• Mai Tai
• Saturn
• Zombie

Kon Tiki prices all of their drinks the same, at 14 USD which is a few dollars less than the other tiki bars I’ve visited. Any of the drinks can be made in a souviner mug for $34, or you can purchase the mug separately for $20. I was happy with the taste and flavor of each of the drinks that I received, but a bit dissapointed in the overall presentation of them. The saturn and mai tai were both served in the same glass, where a saturn would normally be served up in a coupe or similar, and garnish was a bit lacking. For the saturn, it had the signature garnish of the lemon peel wrapped around the cherry to look like Saturn’s rings, but it was tightly wrapped around it so some of the look was diminished. This probably sounds like nitpicking, but its a small touch that helps to elevate the drink.

Decor + Theming Elements

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Kon Tiki’s decor was a bit more modern and well lit than some of the other tiki bar’s I’ve visited, but it still had plenty of tropical elements and charm to keep with the theme. Of note, topless women are featured a bit more heavily than some would be comfortable with but its not overly explicit or distracting, just a bit more than one would likely anticipate.

Floating lanterns replace the traditional fishermans floats, but give the same feel with some sharper edges. Shelves over the bar contain some nautical elements to aid with the overall theme.

Tiki Rating Table

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Placing Tiki bars in the table is a bit of a struggle for me, as I have two competing criteria in mind.

• The objective ratings of the drinks recieved, decor etc
• The subjective experience that we had that day, which often comes down to who was with me, the conversation we had etc.

Kon Tiki felt like a “fine” tiki bar, but nothing was particularly outstanding or memorable about it. The drinks were good, the decor was nice, but it didn’t quite reach the level of some of the other tiki bars I’ve visited and overall I’d place it at about average.