Next time you head up to the Kings Cross Hotel's rooftop, you'll find something a little different to normal. The sixth-level space has transformed into Tupu's Tiki Rooftop Rumshack complete with flaming cocktails and poke bowls for two months.
Running from Friday, October 16 till Saturday, November 28, the island-inspired space provides Sydneysiders with an inner city island getaway as we head into the warmer seasons.
To drink, you'll find mai tais ($20), pandan coladas ($19), tonka old fashioneds ($22) and a smoking cocktail titled Tūtū Pele ($35), which is made with passion fruit sorbet and can be shared. You can pair these with the likes of salmon ($22) and vegan ($19) poke bowls, and traditional bar goodies like chicken drumsticks ($16) made with Bacardi spiced rum and pork cubano sandwiches ($20). DJs will also be spinning vinyls on weekends.
The pop-up comes at time when the City of Sydney is pushing to rebuild Kings Cross's nightlife, which was dealt a hefty blow by the lockout laws.
Tiki bars, however, are not without controversy. The concept has been often scrutinised in the past for leaning on cultural appropriation and colonial nostalgia. Critics of the tiki bar have labelled it exploitative and offensive as it reduces the Tiki, a deity in many Pacific Islander communities, to a kitschy drinking vessel.
Tupu's Tiki is open 5pm–12am Thursday, 5pm–1am Friday–Saturday and 12pm–12am Sunday.