Post #301055 by SouthBamaTiki on Sun, Apr 22, 2007 2:31 PM

OK, I went to the Trader Vic's in Destin over the weekend. First, let me say that the food was good, the service was wonderful, and the drinks were excellent. They are definitely trying to uphold the standard of TV. That being said, someone had mentioned earlier "this is not your father's Trader Vic's." That definitely seems to be the case. There were a good many tikis spread around, but overall the atmosphere was much more light and airy than the other TV's I have been to. They have an outrigger canoe on the ceiling, a carved hostess stand, tribal fabric on one wall, carved fish on the wall, and several floats and fish traps hanging from the ceiling. The outdoor Mai Tai bar is really great, if you ignore the big screen televisions broadcasting sports programs. There are more tikis outside than inside, and the bartenders are among the friendliest I have come across. The bar sets under a patio next to a lagoon where they plan to have concerts including some pretty big names. Unfortunately, I seem to have no skills as a photographer, so none of my indoor pics turned out, but I will attach a few from the Mai Tai bar. It was a nice night, especially at the Mai Tai bar, but I would not make a special trip just for the restaurant again. The one in Atlanta has much more of a tiki atmosphere to me. Of course, if Destin starts doing mug nights like the one in Atlanta, I might make an exception! :)

One really cool aspect of the night was that Trader Vic's grandaughter, Eve, was still there helping to get things established. Talking to her was quite interesting! Apparently, the owners of this restaurant wanted the restaurant to blend in more with The Palms decor, which explains the lack of tiki. She also said the current trend is for each TV to reflect the locale, which does make sense. She also told us there is a Mai Tai bar scheduled to open next in CA, then there are 5 TV restaurants slated to open in Hawaii. For those in Dallas, she was also very complimentary of the new TV there. That owner tried very hard to be true to the original TV there, including having the carpet and wallpaper duplicated and obtaining decor from the original restaurant.

If you head to Destin, be aware there are 2 road side carvers on Highway 98 that sell tikis. One is Tiki Charlie. His stuff was very nice and priced lower than the second spot (starting around $65), but his were not as detailed. The other location is probably less than a mile away, on the same side of the highway, and called Beaver Pond Artist. Their prices were a bit higher, but the guy working there was willing to negotiate. We picked up two tikis for $125 each. Mine is a 44" Moai that I will attach a pic of. Their website is http://www.MyCargoShip.com.