Post #561424 by tikitonga on Mon, Oct 25, 2010 12:29 AM

Had the honor of watching the SF Giants seal their World Series bid at Trader Vic's on Saturday. The remodel is a great update while keeping enough of the classic decor to make you feel the history of the place. It's much more open and the bar area, especially, is much more "group friendly" with lots of much needed seating. The drinks ARE still great. The "1944 Mai Tai" is basically what used to be the off-menu "San Francisco Mai Tai". I noticed a couple of drinks from the "old days" were sadly no longer on the menu while there were quite a few new ones. I stayed away from the Mai Tai Flight which is a cool surfboard holding 3 mini Mai Tais, unfortunately the 3 Mai Tais are their fruity twists take on the classic...so they are probably too fruity for my taste. The food was still very good (at least the bar food was...haven't done dinner yet). I was very sad to see that the hostess who has faithfully greeted us for years was no longer there. I wasn't sure if she simply had the night off or was a casualty of the update. She was a great ambassador of Trader Vic's and it would be a bad move to let her go. The one HUUUUUUUUUUUGE gripe is the music. Now I have nothing against Salsa or Cubano music....but this is a Polynesian themed place and the constant Samba music was a big distraction. We even asked our waitress to mention it to the manager because it was a big turn off. Oh, there's a Saturday Happy Hour from 5-6 where all the Mai Tais are $5 (but the 1944 Mai Tai is $6). A handful of other drinks were also $5 and about half of the bar menu is half off. A great deal! Oh yeah, did I mention the Giants are going to the Series? Here's a clip of the final pitch......not great quality but you can feel the vibe.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YcywiF4EB-k