Ventiki Tiki Lounge and Lanai

I’ve seen all the multiple checkins fellow Unilocalers have posted here (Anna/​Rene) so I figured it was time I dropped by for a visit.
Met up with my friends along with my niece for dinner. We got there after happy hour, but I wasn’t too bummed. We sat outside by the corner overlooking the rest of the tables.
I started off with the blonde which was on tap and my friend got the IPA. I wasn’t a fan of both. The blonde tasted like bud light and the ipa was too hoppy.
Food wise, I decided to get the Loco Moco with spam. My friend got the ahi sliders, my other friend got the loco moco with pulled pork and my niece got the mussels. The loco moco was SO good. I prefer it with the spam. The pulled pork wasn’t salty enough for me. I didn’t get to taste the other dishes because I was too busy focusing on my own plate. I will say though that next time I will definitely ask for the hot sauce on the side. There was too much smothered all over my plate.
My niece was still hungry after she finished her mussels so I decided to get her an order of the scallops. The scallops was the highlight of the night. Luckily, my niece only ate half of the plate so we finished off the rest.
Since the beer was a let down I decided to get a Lapu Lapu. Holy shit that was the best drink. It’s my new jam. Definitely making that my new go to.
Our server Bacon was awesome. Very attentive and friendly. We weren’t even mad that the food took a little longer to come out.
I already can’t wait to come back.

So … I’ve been here for a solid 15 minutes AFTER placing my order for a trader Vic’s mai Thai. I’m still waiting. My boyfriends Ventiki Mai Thai arrived promptly … And now It’s watering down with melted ice. Delicious Quality classic drinks … But they don’t do service well. It’s beyond slow. I’m hungry also but apparently they’re out of food menus so … Suck it.

Nice outdoor seating area. The staff is always very nice. Please take into consideration that things may have changed since I was last there. I was hoping for an easygoing IPA and most of the beers were specialty with VERY high alcohol percentage. (Many people will dig that, I am sure!) However, the food took a very long time and I nearly cancelled my order. I will return at some point though because it is pleasant!

Put aside any negative perception through the door and savor some excellent food and laid back atmosphere, which typically is mutually exclusive of one another in most places. The place appears kitschy but totally over delivers and impressed a couple food snobs.
We were in town visiting family and needed to find a place to relax and have a late night dinner. Most places were closed at that point in the night, especially ones with something fresh, ocean originating and with greens.
The menu stood out despite the small tiki bar look raising some caution. As we sat there, looking at others wearing fake mustaches for a promotional night (that I totally appreciated that they do) I began to doubt I made the right choice since we really wanted something healthier. My wife and mother in law were more suspect but we were all so tired from a long night we rolled on.
Needless to say after the food came I was immediately asked whether I was going to leave a Unilocal review… Because it was that damn good.
Totally blew us away and we hadn’t even left yet before deciding we would return the next time we were in town.
The food was fresh, particularly the poke and sashimi despite it being 10pm on a Monday night. One dish was ordered in a way that couldn’t be executed and the chef came out and walked us through why that was which we appreciated. He came back after the meal to check in on us. The guy runs an excellent kitchen while the cocktails and service was really great as well in the front.
If we lived near the place we would be regulars.

Great Tiki bar in Ventura County. If you’re into Tiki bars this place should be on your list. Great selection of traditional Tiki drinks combined with some local favorites. If your looking for food, their food selection is pretty good too. Sushi is great and compliments the drinks. Put it on your list!

The food was ok, but it took for ever! Our waitress was really friendly though, and did her best.

Love you guys! I tell people if they’re visiting Ventura for the first time, to hit up Ventiki and order the Mai Tai first. That is just an unwritten rule that us locals have to reinforce lol.
It can get crazy packed, but I mean, that tells you something… umm bomb drinks. Love Ventiki; I think disney’s Trader Sams comes in second place for me.
Also, be warned. There are lots and looots of rum and liquor in these drinks and I’ve seen many folks get pretty fucked up with just 2 drinks. Just an FYI.
Overall, my Fiancé and I love this place, even before it open ;p
Staff is great, easy going and love to chat. They have great promos throughout the week, but I never seem to have the time to go because of life (work)
Their food is also pretty good! I had their salmon burger with potato chips, perfection.
And if you ever want to take a memorabilia home, they have a gift shop next door.
One of the many, great places in Ventura!
Saludos a Skipper Scott!

I’ve been hearing a lot about ventiki for quite a while now and decided that it was time to give it a try. Initially we were supposed to go on Saturday night but that didn’t work out so we decided to spend our Memorial Day Monday there which turned out to be our best idea this weekend.
I must admit I was expecting the place to be much larger and didn’t know the patio was actually right on the street. It was packed but we we’re able to find a double table which we turned out making friends with the couple right next to us. They were regulars and kind of guided us thru the large variety of drinks on the menu all of which seem really fun and had its own theme. Theres a drink called the Jet pilot where they play the topgun theme song every time its ordered, kind of fun! Our server Chris was awesome and really liked how he treated everyone.
I heard the drinks here were quite a hit but never did I expect to be so impressed with the quality of food. We ordered the divers scallops on a bed of garlic and wasabi mashed potatoes which is right off of the appetizer menu. We just decided to give that a try and see how they were before ordering anything else. You can smell everything in the kitchen and it just makes you all the more hungry. I was so excited to get the scallops, and they were delivered by the master chef himself. The chef was so cool and took the time to up date us on recent changes to the menu. The scallops were absolutely phenomenal and even though there were only 3 it was more than enough to feed both my boyfriend and I. We both ordered the mai tai as our new friends had told us that it was a must-​have for a first-​timer and boy were they right. The drinks were a little pricey but definitely worth the $ 11 as I was feeling tipsy after drink number one. I had a great time and a wonderful afternoon meeting new friends, sitting on this cute little Polynesian style patio. I can’t wait to go back!

Nice place to go on main street if you are looking for tropical drinks and a casual outdoor setting, the indoor seating is limited.
Ventiki is dog friendly, I would not have gone there if I knew that in advance.
Four or five dogs make the limited seating area seem even smaller.

it! It’s my favorite weekly hangout! The best Tiki bar experience
in Southern California (including L.A.) with a killer patio, good drinks and tasty pork sliders. Order the Altar of Sacrifice and the Shrunken Head for surefire (literally) winning cocktails. A must when in Ventura!

Loved the food, we had the scallops and the Pele roll, delicious, beautiful presentation. I got the lapu lapu drink and it was amazing. No host so you kinda wonder around until you find an open table. We got lucky to get «Thor» as our server, he was super nice and on top of everything. The other girl was not very friendly and ignored us while we looked for assistance. We will come back and look for Thor :)

I really like this place. I met up with a friend for some drinks and appetizers.
The Mai Tai’s are amazing, especially during happy hour since they are part of the happy hour menu.
The staff are friendly and the food is good. Their chips are sooooo yummy.

LOVE Ventiki! Really cute fun place to grab a drink & bite to eat. Tsunami Tuesday’s feature happy hour all day & my favorite California Roll is ½ price. Seriously, best Calj roll ever!!! The drink menu offers something like 85 – 90 drinks. something for every taste.

Cute place-​poor service. The servers seem to have a hard time figuring out or remembering who they served or didn’t serve. I didn’t even get charged for what I ordered as part of a large group. Don’t ask for separate checks ever-​that requires too many brain cells for them and something will go get missed-​but I suppose that can work in your favor.
Some guys came up and randomly started talking our ears off and I thought they were drunk guys walking by from another bar, but then I found out one or both of the are the the owners. Here’s a tip — don’t drink all the liquor when you own a bar/​restaurant.
If you want to get sloppy drunk but are willing to wait 30 minutes until your server comes back or just want to hang out and pretend you have food and beverages this is your place.
There is huge potential here, but again like many in Ventura the service sucks!

Ventiki is a wonderful gem in downtown Ventura that serves up classic and inspired cocktails and delicious bites. The outdoor patio is lovely and the service is top notch. I enjoyed a Mai Tai and the California Rolls.
I would definitely return if I’m ever in Ventura again.

This tiki spot was recommended to me by some friends, so I figured I’d check it out. Very glad I did!
Stopped in on a Monday afternoon for some pupus and a drink. Wound up going with the coconut shrimp skewers, California roll, and ahi sliders with a zombie to wash it all down. Everything was amazing. The vibe was super cool and classic tiki, and the service was timely and helpful. Can’t say enough about the place.
One thing I want to check out later is the themed happy hours. For example, on Mondays they do Magnum Monday. In addition to the regular happy hour pricing, anyone with a mustache (real or fake, and they’ll give you a fake one if you want) gets specials all day. Sunday has specials all day for anyone who works in the service industry. Really cool idea.
Overall, great experience. I’ll be back!

Been here a few times at different times of the day. It’s a neat tiki bar with a well– themed, yet divey atmosphere. Appears to be frequented largely by locals who know each other WELL. Had a nice time chatting with the regulars when we came here in the late afternoon/​early evening.
The place is small. Very small. But with all the tacky tiki decorations, it will keep your eyes moving around. There’s 8 or so bar stools, with a tiny squeeze of an area at one end with two leathery looking chairs a’la the I Dream of Jeannie days. There’s a long strip where people lean against the wall. It’s not a comfortable place to stand, because the servers have to use that as their hallway from the kitchen to the outside. If you end up in the upright position (and in all likelihood, you will, because your chance of getting a seat diminishes greatly as the day turns to night), prepare yourself to spend a most of your time continuously moving out of people’s way. The outside is only slightly more spacious, but not as tiki’d out as the inside.
Drinks are higher priced than most places, but they are also somewhat larger and more complicated (and tasty — if sweet, colorful, highly decorated drinks are your thing). The price is actually reasonable when you consider the time and ingredients that are involved in producing all of these wonderfully crazy, colorful concoctions. This isn’t the kind of place one would come to order a beer or something normal like a Vodka and Cran or a Margarita. Although they might pour you something straight off the shelf. Never bothered to ask, and it confuses me why someone would want to come to a tiki bar with such ordinary expectations.
Some of their more specialized, «special» drinks are served up with unique theme songs and custom lighting, others with simpler thunder sounds and lightening flashes. My personal favorite is the Jet Pilot. I’ll let you order one for yourself to see if the theme song brings back any younger-​day memories. Haven’t tried their food. The fastest drink served is the Mai Tai, and the others require a longer wait. Sometimes a much, much, much longer wait (totally depends upon how busy they are).
I wouldn’t consider myself a tiki bar aficionado in any way, but I have been to Trader Vic’s (the newer one in Arizona, which is not the olden days classic you hear people talking about) and the Tonga in SF. The difference is that Ventiki feels independently owned and it is not corporate in any sense. It’s leeeiiiid back and that’s what I like most about it.
If you’re older, it’s a very unique and kitschy-​cool place to do some laid-​back day-​drinking with your visiting out of town friends – provided you can all get a seat. Your guests will leave happy, with a good impression of the place, and wanting to come back again for another taste of the kooky-​in-​good-​way vibes of Ventura’s kitschiest drinking spot. If you’re younger, you’ll probably have more fun there on weekend nights. Overall, I dig the place. So 1960’s tiki.

Service is lacking. In a big way. I LOVE the drinks here, but the service is almost bad enough to make me not want to return.

Ventiki has become my favorite place to hang out and have a drink in Ventura. The ambiance is casual and welcoming. The staff are friendly, and knowledgable about Tiki drinks. The owner, Scott, and his entire team raise the Tiki culture to new heights. I have been to Tiki bars all over the US and in several countries. Ventiki ranks in the top of the bunch!
Ventiki serves drinks concocted with the best ingredients. Read the menu and each drink is spelled out. You can see exactly what brands of alcohol go into each drink. Many of the special ingredients are made on site. The menu includes a great mix of classic Tiki drinks (each attributed to their source) and a wonderful selection of fresh drinks brought to life right here at Ventiki.
The kitchen offers a selection of treats to keep you on your feet after imbibing the great cocktails. I am particularly fond of the CaliPoki bowl. A delicious mix of marinated ahi chunks and feta cheese over rice. The pulled pork tacotinis and sliders are also very filling and tasty!

I really enjoy the drinks, food, and the bartenders here! They’re fun, not too serious, and know how to make bomb-​ass food and drinks.
Come on a Tuesday for all-​day happy hour. Pay for your fare inside if you order there. Snag a seat outside as fast as you can because its first come, first serve. Have a Mai Tai if you’re a Ventiki virgin… Fill out a passport if you plan on coming back– well worth the work!
Have fun! Thanks Ventiki for a great time :)