Tiki Bar Kanaloa Is Coming to Downtown This Summer

When Kanaloa opens this summer in the former Market Square Bar and Grill at 311 Travis Street, the plan is to provide a full-on tiki experience. “We want this to be a hidden oasis in downtown,” Kanaloa’s Keith Doyle told Eater. The new tiki bar is from the owners of the super adorable bungalow and garden bar, Wicklow Heights.

Doyle along with partners Roland Keller and Tyler Barrera have traveled around the country checking out tiki bars, and they’re currently hard at work sourcing tiki gear for the restaurant (think custom-made treasure chests). The hope is to open at the beginning of May within a completely transformed space featuring an outdoor patio and an event area upstairs.

The menu is going to be great for groups, with shareable cocktails for up to eight people and a full menu of shareable plates like chicken skewers and tropical shrimp. There’s going to be a huge emphasis on rum obviously, with plans for nearly 100 different options. Chalk it up to Houston’s rum renaissance — Kanaloa will join tiki bar Lei Low and the rum-focused High & Dry.

“With a city the size of Houston we think there’s enough room for another tiki bar,” Keller says.

• Kanaloa HTX [Facebook]
• Downtown’s Newest Bar Wants to Bring a ‘Rum Renaissance’ to Houston [EHOU]
• Take a Look Inside New Bar Lei Low [EHOU]
• Houston’s 11 Hottest Cocktail Bars [EHOU]