A Polynesian paradise once existed in Boston’s Chinatown. In the ’50s the place was known as Bob Lee’s Lantern House, but in the ’60s it became Bob Lee’s Islander.
Now unfortunately I never went there, but the legacy of Bob Lee’s restaurant looms large among Tiki fans. Back in the day, college students and locals would cozy up on a tropical peacock chair near an exotic fish tank. Once settled, an order for a Scorpian bowl and shared pu pu platter would be placed. And the sounds of Martin Denny and Arthur Lyman would waft through the air. Bob Lee’s Islander was a technicolor, tiki, hippie heaven.
But alas the party had to end. Bob Lee ran into financial trouble in the ’70s and made his way back to China.
The photo above is from a 1963 issue of the Boston Herald Sunday magazine.