SKULL & CROWN TRADING CO.

62 N Hotel Street, Honolulu, HI 96817

Opened in 2019 in Honolulu’s Chinatown, Skull & Crown Trading Co. from Noa Laporga and Angelina Khan is not a tiki bar – though the exotic decor and flaming, smoking (and beyond) tiki-inspired cocktails and classics might hint otherwise.

Known for their special effects company Black Box FX, their work in Hollywood (just look at the creepy characters around the bar), and Halloween events at Haunted Plantation, the couple has a unique eye for the macabre and creepy, but at their bar, transporting enchantment via nets, buoys, massive tiki sculptures and mermaids contrasts with elegant pineapple lamps and floral wallpaper. The leafy back courtyard’s picnic tables, fire pit and lights are downright magical. Noa’s cocktails are rum-forward and balanced, featuring rums from Hawaii’s own KoHana and Kuleana distilleries. Stand-out house drinks include Voodoo Dreams (El Dorado 12-year-old rum, Green Chartreuse, Creole Shrubb, pineapple, coconut, lime, Angostura and Peychaud’s bitters), while reservations are needed to secure a spot in the bar.