Tag: Trader Vic’s

And I’ve realized that, for me, there are only three kinds of cocktails: classic, magic, and a waste of money.

This bar beneath the Hilton Hotel isn’t just an Atlanta gem; as one of only two remaining Trader Vic’s locations in the country, it’s a national treasure, too, especially among tiki purists.

Atlanta’s Trader Vic’s is a living museum to a bygone era in American dining as tiki culture and its breezy libations are rebranded for the modern drinker.

Tiki, the Polynesian-inspired aesthetic, which first sprung to life as a sort of postwar escapism in the mid-century, is in the throes of a modern resurgence—and few Atlantans know it as thoroughly as Paul Senft, a Georgia Tech administrator by day and self-described tiki historian by night. Here’s where Senft likes to drink in Atlanta, including Bon Ton, Trader Vic’s, and SOS Tiki.

Atlanta is home to one of just two Trader Vic’s left in the country (there used to be 26), and this location has shaken up more than 45,000 Mai Tais since opening in 1976. Sip among cosplay witches and superheroes; the bar is a major Dragon Con hangout.

Our fave spot to eyeball the Dragon Con crowd: Trader Vic’s, a festive tiki bar located on the lower level of the Hilton.

“Location, location, location”—preferably with street visibility and plenty of parking—is one of the tenets of restaurant success. Ideally, though, a city should also have secret haunts where urbanites can hide from the maddening congestion and cruel glare.