Fort Lauderdale’s Historic Mai-Kai Returns After a $20 Million Glow-Up

After a four-year closure and a $20 million restoration, the Mai-Kai, Fort Lauderdale’s longstanding Polynesian restaurant and dinner theater, will reopen this Thursday, November 21. The historic venue will return with its immersive experience intact — complete with tropical gardens, Polynesian dance shows, and plenty of rum-filled cocktails.

The Mai-Kai originally opened in 1956 when brothers Bob and Jack Thornton spent $350,000 — making it America’s most expensive restaurant project that year — to bring Polynesian culture to a quiet stretch of farmland near Fort Lauderdale Beach. The ambitious venture paid off, as the restaurant became an instant hit, helping put South Florida’s dining scene on the map long before the region’s current restaurant boom.

Mai Kai.

“We are not a tiki bar and don’t consider ourselves a tiki bar. We are a Polynesian venue,” says managing partner Bill Fuller. “Our goal has been to honor and preserve the rich culture and traditions that the Mai-Kai has celebrated over the last 50 years. Every detail is authentic and tells a story that is respectful and appreciative of these traditions.”

Working with cultural arts and entertainment director Teuruhei Buchin, the venue aims to celebrate rather than appropriate Pacific Island traditions. The twice-nightly performances showcase traditional music and dance that tell stories from various island cultures, with performers representing Hawaii, Tahiti, Samoa, New Zealand, and the Philippines.

Mai Kai.

The menu at Mai-Kai showcases Polynesian cuisine, blending longtime classics with new dishes inspired by Southeast Asian flavors. Classic dishes like the Mai-Kai Pupu Platter, with Shanghai chicken, crispy pork and snow crab egg rolls, cheese tangs, and crab Rangoon, return alongside barbecue ribs, Peking duck, and Shanghai chicken. New additions include a wagyu strip steak inspired by the restaurant’s former beef, broccoli, beef, and mushroom dishes and a Kona beer-glazed short rib, incorporating ingredients common in island cooking. Desserts highlight tropical influences with options like Asian pear upside-down cake with Vietnamese coffee ice cream, Mauna Loa macadamia nut pie, and the Angry Tiki Tower, with mochi, macadamia ice cream sandwiches, lychees, and grapes.

At the Molokai Bar, Mai-Kai’s cocktail program has been refreshed under bartender Cory Starr, previously of Chicago’s Three Dots and a Dash. Drawing inspiration from Mariano Licudine, Mai-Kai’s original bartender and a protégé of tiki legend Donn the Beachcomber, Starr has crafted a 57-drink menu that honors the classics, including the mai tai and Black Magic, while introducing his creations to the nautical-themed bar.

Mai Kai.

The space remained intact over the decades, with most of its 1950s relics still in place when plumbing issues forced Mai-Kai’s closure in October 2020. That’s when Fuller — fresh from revitalizing Miami’s storied Ball & Chain — partnered with the Thornton family, and they assembled a team of theme park veterans to modernize the space while preserving its history. The 26,000-square-foot venue’s eight dining rooms have all been restored, each themed after a different Pacific island with artifacts from its namesake region. The renovation team, led by Tom “Typhoon Tommy” Allsmiller and artists with backgrounds at Disney and Universal, preserved features like the venue’s mid-century A-frame structure while adding modern upgrades like DMX-controlled lighting that allows customized spotlights for each table.

“Each guest that walks through the door will feel the energy that Bob and Jack Thornton originally created,” says Fuller.

Mai-Kai reopens on Thursday, November 21 at 3599 North Federal Highway in Fort Lauderdale. Reservations can be booked here.