The Polynesian-themed Islander sounds like it was a lot of fun!

Opened in 1959 at the corner of La Cienega Blvd and Westmount Drive in Los Angeles, California, the restaurant featured Polynesian architecture designed by Robert Mavis and seated 300 people plus another 150 in the Hukiluau room.

The two-storey building was set on simulated coconut tree stilts with a five-storey paraboloid roof and to enter guests had to cross a suspension bridge overlooking tropical waterfalls and gardens and then go up a ramp decorated with tiki gods, shells and netting.

There were also capucin monkeys and brightly colored toucan birds living in a ‘controlled’ environment.

Rickshaws were parked outside, and guests would line up to be taken around the block in one.

Flaming torches marked the entryway and guests were draped with flower leis on arrival as they finally got inside.

The interior featured individual dining rooms ‘suspended’ in coconut trees, 17ft waterfalls and a sunken cocktail lounge overlooking the gardens.

Seated at tables, guests would be surprised by impromptu thunder and lightning displays and there was nightly entertainment with hula dancers and fire dancers.

Even the subterranean parking lot had Tiki touches and was supported by hand-carved poles brought back from the South Pacific Islands and the Far East by owners Bernard and Janet Tohl.

There was a substantial food menu with sections such as barbecue and roasts which were described as being ‘ From the Ovens of the Ancient Goddess of Bora Bora, Pele, Mistress of Flame.’

The classic Tiki theme restaurant, much loved by generations of Los Angelenos, was transformed into an Acapulco restaurant in the 1980s and the location was demolished in 2012.

This food menu is from the 1960s.

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