Mai-Kai Restaurant and Polynesian Show, Fort Lauderdale

The spirit of the retro American tiki bar lives on at Mai Kai Restaurant, which has been serving up Pacific Island vibes since 1956. Inside its tropical sanctuary, dinner guests dine overlooking lush tropical gardens, tiki torches, and cascading waterfalls, while others sip Mai-tais on the deck of an 18th-century ship. Praised by NPR for its authenticity, the sprawling lounge and venue embodies the Pacific Islands kitsch of the 1950s and 60s as well as an appreciation of real-life Polynesian culture. The decor in each area of the restaurant represents a different region of the islands, and the food—which includes house specialties such as Peking duck, rack of lamb, and bourbon-flamed lobster—draws on the culinary styles of Polynesia, China, and the Pacific United States.

Mai-Kai's Polynesian-born owner, Mireille Thornton, began working at Mai-Kai in 1961 as a dancer. Today, she choreographs the Polynesian Islander Revue. During their near-nighty performances, dancers dressed in flowers and hand-painted tapa cloth twirl balls of fire, perform acrobatic leaps, and move to the sound of drums—a showcase inspired by the traditions of rural Polynesian life at the turn of the 20th century. Dancers often invite the audience up on stage to share in the performance by learning new dance steps and tricks for signing autographs on coconuts. Guests can also enjoy dinner without the show in the secluded Tahiti or Samoa dining rooms, or outdoors in the Lanai dining area.