Tiki Tolteca (Pop-Up), New Orleans, LA (restaurant) - Locating Tiki

M mikehooker Grand Member (3 years) Austin Joined: Jul 17, 2014 Posts: 1211	M mikehooker Posted posted on Sat, Sep 20, 2014 8:46 PM Popped in last week. Was greeted by a 3 or 4' Moia going up the stairs and the sounds of Patsy Cline. Entered the main room and thought the new decor was done tastefully and created a good ambiance. The soundtrack for the evening was 50s and 60s country, which I enjoy, but didn't feel was entirely suitable for the environment. At one point the bartender changed to a doo wop channel which is also fine, but it seems like a traditional Hawaiian or exotica playlist would be easy enough to make and better set the mood. The menu looked nice with many of the standards you'd expect and pretty pictures of the drinks. I was about to order an Aku Aku Zombie when I noticed they had a $5 happy hour Mai Tai. I asked the bartender what rums she used and she said El Dorado 5 and Appleton V/X. Sounded good enough so I went with that to start. I couldn't tell what she was putting in the drink but after two quick shakes, she poured the contents into a double old fashion glass and served it with a teeny lime wedge on the rim and no mint. I asked if I could get a sprig and she replied, "oh yeah, that should have mint, hold on." She looked around and couldn't find any, explaining their mint keeps turning black. Well, so much for the aromatic experience, let's see how it tastes... Not good. Mostly tasted of rum and curacao. Don't think there was any orgeat in it at all or the proportions were so off it couldn't be detected. Chelsea had a "What Aspirin is for" or something like that (their version of a Painkiller) which was served in a tiki mug and quite delicious. Wish I had ordered that instead. I intended to get a Zombie next but the Mai Tai was so unenjoyable and took me so long to drink that I didn't have confidence in her ability to make such a complex drink correctly so we decided to split. The place definitely has potential and if their other drinks are mixed as well as the Painkiller they should do fine. But with that bad of a Mai Tai I'm not sure how they will stand up next to the Bum's place which will be practically next door soon enough. Sorry no photos.

Popped in last week. Was greeted by a 3 or 4' Moia going up the stairs and the sounds of Patsy Cline. Entered the main room and thought the new decor was done tastefully and created a good ambiance. The soundtrack for the evening was 50s and 60s country, which I enjoy, but didn't feel was entirely suitable for the environment. At one point the bartender changed to a doo wop channel which is also fine, but it seems like a traditional Hawaiian or exotica playlist would be easy enough to make and better set the mood. The menu looked nice with many of the standards you'd expect and pretty pictures of the drinks. I was about to order an Aku Aku Zombie when I noticed they had a $5 happy hour Mai Tai. I asked the bartender what rums she used and she said El Dorado 5 and Appleton V/X. Sounded good enough so I went with that to start. I couldn't tell what she was putting in the drink but after two quick shakes, she poured the contents into a double old fashion glass and served it with a teeny lime wedge on the rim and no mint. I asked if I could get a sprig and she replied, "oh yeah, that should have mint, hold on." She looked around and couldn't find any, explaining their mint keeps turning black. Well, so much for the aromatic experience, let's see how it tastes... Not good. Mostly tasted of rum and curacao. Don't think there was any orgeat in it at all or the proportions were so off it couldn't be detected. Chelsea had a "What Aspirin is for" or something like that (their version of a Painkiller) which was served in a tiki mug and quite delicious. Wish I had ordered that instead. I intended to get a Zombie next but the Mai Tai was so unenjoyable and took me so long to drink that I didn't have confidence in her ability to make such a complex drink correctly so we decided to split. The place definitely has potential and if their other drinks are mixed as well as the Painkiller they should do fine. But with that bad of a Mai Tai I'm not sure how they will stand up next to the Bum's place which will be practically next door soon enough. Sorry no photos.

Post #727995 by mikehooker on Sat, Sep 20, 2014 8:46 PM