Arnold's Beach Bar

The pitch.

The smallest, oldest, weirdest tiki bar in Waikiki — a tin-roof dive on Saratoga Road that's been pouring $10 mai tais since 1992 and looks like the set of a 1962 surf movie. Lauhala walls, hula-girl photos, tiki totems, free popcorn, a corner stage for whatever local musician shows up. No pretense, no dress code, no view, no menu past hot dogs and chips. If you want to drink where the locals actually drink, this is the address.

What it actually is.

The bar tour guides keep secret on purpose. Exterior is a green-painted shotgun shack you'd walk past three times before noticing it; interior is lauhala-lined wall-to-wall, hung with vintage hapa-haole hula-girl photos, lit by colored Christmas lights and tiki totems. The building was reportedly a horse stable before being converted to a bar in 1992. Drinks are dive prices — $10 mai tais. The room has a long-standing reputation as "Waikiki's Cheers" because the same regulars are on the same stools every night. Free popcorn, $2 hot dogs, local musicians plug in for tips.

Happy hour: what to get.

Outside happy hour, it's known for…

Being Waikiki's last real dive tiki bar; the "Cheers of Waikiki" reputation; surviving while every other old-school joint nearby has been demolished.

Best time to actually go.

4-7 PM on a weeknight — golden-hour light hits the lauhala walls, a musician usually shows up, you can still get a seat before the regulars fill it up.