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

Name:Tiki Tolteca (Pop-Up)
Type:restaurant
Street:301 N Peters St (above Felipe's)
City:New Orleans
State:LA
Zip:70130
country:USA
Phone:504.267.4406
Status:operational

Description:
Just wanted to let everyone know that New Orleans has a new tiki location: Tiki Tolteca!
Right now this is a pop-up that only opens on Tuesdays and Thursdays and occasionally some Fridays & Saturdays. They specialize in Latin American tiki drinks and tapas. They specialize in mezcal and pisco drinks as well as traditional tiki drinks.

OK I am going to say it, this is the antithesis of Tiki
but that doesn't mean it won't have good food or drink

Latin Tiki drinks? never heard of such a thing.

who wants to try it out & report?

Actually I've been and it's surprisingly delightful, and not just because New Orleans is tiki starved. The drinks are mixed well and are "craft" style, if you can imagine! They really did their homework and emphasize moai and other tiki from Chilean Polynesia. It's small and because it's a pop-up, they are limited to decor that can be removed but you'd never notice. I for one enjoy it and hope they do well! Here is a photo I took of our drinks from our first visit. We will be going back!

Saw this news today:

Tiki Tolteca is Closing in June To Beautify & Add Kitchen

Tuesday, May 13, 2014, by Gwendolyn Knapp

French Quarter tiki haunt Tiki Tolteca (above Felipe's in the Quarter) is closing in June for major renovations, with plans to reopen in July. According to booze whisperer Laura McKnight, the revamp will include "a kitchen serving Polynesian and South American-inspired dishes and a more tiki-ified look that includes a tiki hut over the bar."

Tiki Tolteca plans to roast (a la Comedy Central style) New Orleans' legendary grumpy barkeep/Broussard's Paul Gustings before closing. The free event happens on May 21 at 10 p.m. with "15-percent discounts on drinks and a special $4 Gustings Punch" made by bar manager Maxton Kennedy, who tells The Times-Pic that the bartender roasts will likely continue after the bar gets its facelift.

Going to Nola in 2 weeks. Will bring back a trip report and 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.

mikehooker, thanks for the trip report. what is "the Bum's place" that is practically going next door?

Latitude 29
At the Bienville House Hotel
321 N. Peters St.New Orleans, in the French Quarter.
Should be open by the end of May.

[ Edited by: Atomic Tiki Punk 2014-09-22 21:22 ]

The Bienville House website says Latitude 29 is "Opening in late October 2014".

http://www.bienvillehouse.com/dining-entertainment/

Well that's much sooner then earlier reports, so yeah!

I am in NO for the night and went to Tiki Tolteca. Nice little tiki bar, and great tiki feel, upstairs from a Mexican restaurant. I had pre-drank elsewhere so wasn't looking to drink a lot. Had their aku aku zombie, it was delicious. Very well made. Talked with the bartender who knows his stuff. They had a lone bottle of LH151 half full. I asked which drinks they're putting that in and he said none, and that it was $20 a shot. :) I don't blame them, but who shoots LH151? I asked if I could sell one of my six bottles of LB151 for $10/oz! :)

Nice place. Honestly it's hard to say "go here instead of latitude 29!" When its freaking Jeff Berry thst owns latitude 29, and they are thirty seconds from each other walking. But if L29 is closed (Mondays) or too busy, tiki tolteca is a fine place to go.