The LuWOW

I am a sucker for a good tiki bar, and the LuWOW hit the spot!
Totally kitschy, tacky, colorful– LuWOW puts the fun in funky!
I love me a good tiki drink, and LuWOW definitely delivered. Next time I’m in Melbourne, I want to order a ‘big kahuna’- essentially a very large bowl of cocktail for you and 3 of your friends!
Try the Blue Hawaiian — so good and tasty!

What is better than a themed tiki bar? In my mind, very little. This place is such an adorable place, perfectly devoted to Hawaiian décor. There were tons of people working on this Friday night, and all were very polite and friendly. Bookings can be made for the tables, which is helpful for larger groups. We did sit at one table and then were asked to move because it had been previously booked, but that was not a problem for us. The rooms are broken apart into two rooms via two hallways that you can move through with some ability. One room is strictly a bar and the other is the bar/​dance floor with a small stage. We arrived before they set up security and I believe a cover charge, so we got to enjoy «happy hour». I ordered a mai tai for $ 10, but although it tasted good as all Mai raid generally do, it wasn’t done quite right. They don’t offer any cool sort of perk like drinking out of a pineapple or monkey glass, but it’s already cool enough. It’s hard to find a bare spot on the walls, everything is covered in vines or tiki heads or flowers. Didn’t get to see the club with a DJ or band, but it had people inside both the club and bar area when we left and seems like it could be a fun place to party!

I’m straight up giving The LuWow an A+ for the effort they’ve put into making sure this joint is on theme. It screams tacky tiki but tacky tiki is definitely awesome in this case. Think bamboo. Think palm trees. Think giant tropical beverages. It even comes complete with GoGo dancers side of stage.
If there’s a band playing, make sure you’re there early because tables are limited in the band area. But there is a second room that’s ever so slightly more subdued with a bunch more seating. There are people with cocktail glasses the size of their heads everywhere and others dancing wildly all over the place. Everyone seems to be having a really good time here and there’s no specific target age group. There are younguns and there are Mum & Dad types, but the music appeals to everyone and there’s no bad vibes going around.
The only real downfall I could point out is how the main bar is set up. Access to it is hard to navigate and waiting room is minial because you’ve got a raised seating area directly in front of the bar. It helps if you’re a tiny person (like me) so you can weasel your way through, otherwise it’s elbows out all the way.
Good times await you so get you midriff out, pop a flower in your hair and get the hell down here because you’re definitely going to enjoy yourself!

They clearly went above and beyond with the décor here. Sure, it was a lot to take in, but I rather liked everything they put into this place. It was such a fun atmosphere, take note of the staff’s costumes when you go, the getup just adds to the fun!
It’s very groovy, even the music is kind of old-​school. The drinks were good and I can easily see people spending a whole night here. We got in before 11 p.m. but after leaving saw a line on the outside, so just be weary of what time you are going.

Wow! Wow! Wow!
This place totally blows my mind
Every time we come to melbourne we make sure to pop out to Fitzroy for some tiki, cocktail, groovin times at the luwow!
Even when you walk past during the day it’s impressive! With a huge tiki carved door, and posters of the GOGO dancers.
Yes. You read correctly! This place has two GOGO dancers either side of the stage, all glanced up in fierce jungle print, dancing almost all night long!
The music can’t be beaten! We saw a great Big Bang there at the 2014 Pre Greazefest party, think they were called Lucky Seven?
And if there is not a band on the DJ is pumping out some groovy tunes.
There’s two bars I hear, one hidden beside the stage through a little door, but I haven’t seen it yet (I hear it’s amazing!) and the main bar which always has $ 12 specials for the more sedate cocktail, and it goes up to some huge «share» cocktails (sharing not mandatory)
If your in Melbourne city, take a tram up to Fitzroy and check it out, you won’t be sorry

What’s not to like? $ 5 house spiced rum all the time, and you get to feel like you’re on a tropical holiday for the night.

The LuWOW is a fun place. Full of cool decoration, lots of room, awesome cocktails and themed dancers.
It has a not to bad happy hour with $ 10 maitais, and also has a good rum club night where you can go and try all the rum at a discounted price.
I enjoy going here and always good to start the night and have a few drinks to kickstart.

WoW!
I’ve only been to two tiki bars in Melbourne and this one is my favorite. They have an extensive drink menu that tastes as good as it looks. The decorations are crazy and I learnt from meeting a regular there the owner carved and created the giant tiki carvings himself!
I got to meet the gogo goddesses who dance in the temple of doom. Hip chicks that have to dance a weird sort of surfy hippy style.
The LuWoW caters to an older, sophisticated and eccentric crowd. Lots of great bands performing, and burlesque shows too!
They’ve also recently opened up a restaurant. The food isn’t THE BEST, but it’s pretty yummy. I ordered the Island fries, which is topped with bits of pulled pork, cheese and pineapple pieces. Delicious!
Best of all, they have a hula floor show every friday night! With authentic and professional dancers. LuWOW!!!
Free before 8 and after that there is a cover fee.

Hilarious Elvis Hawaiian Movie set feel. $ 5 cover charge but who cares, its worth it to see the décor. Has two sections, the backroom has a stage for bands and accompanying area either side for some wicked go-​go dancers. Awesome for a group of peeps not so much a date venue, unless that person is already taken. Cant explain why this is just my review and its what I think. Date venue no. group of peeps tick.

I’m big fan of the tiki aesthetic so I was pretty excited to check out the Luwow. We were there for happy hour which meant no cover charge and giant mai tais for 10 bucks a pop. Also, there were free pretzels, which is always welcome. Service was friendly, if a bit harried, and the décor was your standard OTT, 1960s influenced riot of colour and kitsch.
A pretty groovy dj was spinning old school reggae and ska which added to the retro ambience. The only drawback was that they start charging a cover around 9pm… Stick to the great happy hours and get «very» happy on cheap mai tais instead.

The LuWOW is a re-​vamped version of it’s former occupant and i have to say is kind of gimmicky. Even though you have the whole Tiki-​thing going on, you feel as if you have somehow crash landed on an island like LOST with the difference that you have this cosy bar.
Now, all HBO references aside, the venue is «cosy» but also large enough to host a dance floor, outdoor smoking area and have a main front bar that serve delicious (have a 20 dollar note ready) cocktails that will send your taste buds into Tiki-​cocktail heaven.
The music is truly funky, your elvis infused remixes and playlists that will take you back in time (Well that’s what i could remember on my drunken rampage through here).
All-​in-​all a good spot to start the night off but you cant help but feel that a trip abck to civilisation is due before the night is over!

I hate paying cover charges to get into a drinking establishment, and was not keen when I saw there was a $ 5 charge to get into LuWOW… still you only live once and all that, so I paid up and stepped inside… I have to say I was impressed — the décor and concept is stunning and the attention to detail is incredible.
The cocktails are strong but expensive — I only had one. The cover charge is ostensibly to pay for entertainment, and there were some go-​go dancers performing in front of an Elvis movie at the back bar when I was there, but to be honest I spent more time looking at the décor and fixtures!
I had a great night, and this is certainly an improvement on the bogan bars which have previously been at this address.

The theme is cool. The décor is cool. There’s definitely a ‘cool’ factor. What’s not cool? Not serving cocktails at 11pm.
Hopefully, I’ll have a better experience next time around. What’s the point of ordering beer at a bar that prides itself in making quality, top shelf cocktails?

Any place with Go-​Go Dancers and plastic finger puppets in the cocktails gets my vote. this place sounds tacky beyond all belief, but they pull it off to perfection.
I keep coming back, and enjoy it just as much every time I do.

Tacky? YES
Fun as all get out? of course!
The motif alone is worth going. You won’t believe all the tchotchke that they’ve found.
The $ 60 cocktails are fun (as long as you have friends help you drink… they’re fishbowls).
The DJ plays some of the best music. It’s neverending dance-​inducing.
There’s a term my friends and I have to refer to ‘too much fun and drinks’ that sometimes makes memories a bit hazy: TIME TRAVELING.
Luwow is the best Time Machine ever. Period.

When I heard that I was being dragged to a Tiki bar, I have to say, I wasn’t thrilled, but LuWOW actually turned our to be awesome.
LuWOW’s tiki styling is kitsch to the point of ridiculous, but it takes itself just seriously enough to pull off the act. The bar is packed full of Hawaiian and 60’s surfer bric-​à-​brac. There are gogo dancers (barely) dressed in feathers and bones, dancing on podiums surrounded by skulls. All of this creates a pretty wild party atmosphere that LuWOW pulls off really well.
LuWOW has an impressive cocktail menu, and the colourful and showy presentation of their drinks is another really fun aspect of the place. My favourite (that I tried during my visit) was the ‘Bikini Bottom’.
It would be hard to have a cheap night out at LuWOW, because it would be a downer to sip beers all night while watching everyone else drink giant technicoloured cocktails. But if you do have some cash to spare, this would be the perfect place to party with friends on hot summer nights.

This place looks better than a lot of movie sets I’ve seen. It’s like walking into a little slice of the tropics. The attention to detail is off the scale, with fake creeping vines suffocating the place and amazingly dressed staff rockin’ a real tropical vibe. Cocktails here are the go and the menu’s kind of rad in itself. I don’t usually drink a lot of cocktails, so they seem rather pricey ($ 15 to $ 60 ish) but I’m told that’s kind of normal. They plonk eyeballs and tentacles and the likes in your drink, which makes you feel kind of special. But then they booted us out of our booth due to a double booking, which made me feel less than special. Still, it’s worth a look just for the aesthetic. And when they start booking decent music, the band room will be a hit.

It’s hard to believe this place exists. No, really — you’d expect a Hawaiian-​themed bar to be tacky, yes, but to be this knowingly tacky while serving all-​class tropical cocktails and pumping out seriously cool 50s rock’n’roll… Melbourne, I’m in love.
The massive wooden totem-​face doors (with lights for eyes) promise excessive decoration and that’s what you get: sitting in one of the booths (luckily we went early as most booths were booked out after 10pm), we overlooked a scene of wooden barrels, palms, more totem poles, hanging ocean buoys and a huge plastic shark over the bar. There was a mix up with my drink and with the bill, but I couldn’t fault the Cuba Libres I downed, made with golden rum and garnished with a plastic palm swizzle stick and a rubber frog.
I escaped before I started seeing swirling Gilligan heads, but I am definitely booking my crew in for a long-​haul in this bar.

I must admit, when I first heard about LuWow I think I had a heart attack. Or I passed out… The point is, this was the bar I thought I had been looking for my entire life.
I had finally found ‘the one’.
LuWow is where Tiki madness has come to die. On the walls you will find fake sharks, a naked green woman riding a veloceraptor, giant totem poles and Hawaiian dancers shaking their booties. It really is a venue that has to be seen to be believed.
Behind the bar, a group of very talented bartenders can shake you up any one of their exclusive cocktails, and don’t let the high price frighten you, no expense is spared in these drinks.
The first drink I ordered at LuWow included several swizzle sticks, a giant piece of pineapple, way too many maraschino cherries and a finger puppet in the shape of an alien (not a joke, every cocktail comes with a finger puppet.)
But most importantly, I’m surprised I wasn’t on the floor after one sip — these drinks are strong.
The prices at LuWow mean that you might want to save up for a few weeks before heading there, and the smoking area is one of the saddest I have ever seen, but this is still a place you have to go to at least once, just to experience it.
Tiki time!