Dangerously good: This tiki-inspired bar is bringing a tropical paradise to Louisville

The world needs tiki right now, says Shawn Cantley.

He just opened South Seas, 1301 Story Ave., and after just a couple of the colorful drinks concoctions and a fried cauliflower taco I can’t stop thinking about, I can say the surf fan is right.

Cantley, a familiar name in Louisville from his time with the The Silver Dollar and El Camino, has transformed a sprawling building between the Lynn Family Soccer Stadium and the Butchertown packing plant into a mini tiki-inspiried getaway inside a 8,400 square foot two-story space with an additional 1,600-square-foot outdoor deck.

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Island vibes are what tiki is all about, he says. Pulling from Hawaiian, Jamaican, and Mexican beach and surfer culture, he’s created a happy, colorful oasis. In fact, it felt like we were on vacation when my friends and I gathered on the back deck around a table of tacos and tiki drinks last week.

In land-locked Kentucky, we’re about as far geographically and culturally from surfer culture as can be, but Cantley, who lived in Southern California, and has caught his share of waves, has brought a tribute to that world, and brought in in style. As he previously told Courier Journal reporter Dahlia Gabour, this isn’t some Disney’s "Jungle Cruise" theme restaurant.

Nor is it a stereotypical tiki bar (especially once the second floor opens. Think more vintage, mid century southern California vibes than tourist luau.)

Cantley designed the space himself, and you can’t help but feel happy surrounded by the bright teal and yellow color scheme outside, even before sipping one of South Seas' signature Painkiller cocktails. Little touches abound, like wallpaper in the men’s room that channels sailor tattoos, and yes pink bathroom grout offsetting inky blue tiles. The indoor downstairs space, which he has dubbed the cantina, offers nods to Mexico, but a chill Mexico, not the primary colors that might be expected.

Be prepared that the cocktails here are not the frozen daiquiris you’ve seen and slung back on package vacations. No way.

“An all inclusive resort isn’t running pineapples through the robot coupe every morning and fresh squeezing five kinds of juice,” Cantley says.

But that's exactly what's happening in this Butchertown bar.

While it must be a little bit of a challenge to make umbrella drinks for a city where a boozy, dark liquor Old Fashioned is the official cocktail, the attitude of Cantley's bar is approachable for all drinkers, even people who would never order a frozen cocktail (Hi, that would be me, until now).

The menu shows that even if drink names don’t take themselves seriously, they can still be a serious drink. And don’t even think about high fructose corn syrup and artificial colors. The team at South Seas is making syrups from scratch and putting love and attention into every element of these drinks in the same way we can expect from any bar serving more classic cocktails.

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And its guiding principle of hospitality runs through the bar. As someone who recently recovered from COVID-19, I’m experiencing altered taste, especially with alcohol, and Cantley happily and patiently helped guide me to drinks I would still enjoy in this weird new world of an altered palate.

And he wants to help all of us find a new favorite cocktail.

If you’re new to the tiki scene, a good starting drink is the margarita, Cantley says. A lot of people have never had the quintessential tequila cocktail made properly with 100 percent pure agave, fresh squeezed lime juice, and curacao. He’s so convinced that it’s a gamechanger that South Seas is serving it at its satellite bar at nearby Lynn Family Stadium.

“We’re trying to have the best cocktail of any sports stadium in America, and I think we’re doing that,” he says. “The best cocktail you will get in any sports stadium in the United States is in Louisville right now.”

The Pain Killer is another good introduction, he says. Judging by how easily my Miami Vice (half Pain Killer, half Daiquiri) went down, I can vouch for that. The slushy, umbrella-topped drink of Jamaican and Puerto Rican rums, pineapple, orange, lime, and coconut creme is a direct ticket to a beach paradise. Dangerously good, in fact.

A nice thing about tiki drinks, though, especially for those of us more used to stirred, high-proof drinks, is that a lot of them are a little less boozy. All that ice tames them enough that having a couple won’t leave you reeling like, say, a Boulevardier can.

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If you do like something a little closer to a Negroni, and are venturing into tiki, the Jungle Bird is the ideal intersection of sweet and bitter with Blackstrap rum and Campari,

“It balances out perfectly," Cantley says.

And what about the food? With chef Tyler Powell at the helm, also previously with The Silver Dollar, approachable and delicious Mexican-influenced fare is on tap. Tacos sized for sampling a few (don’t miss the red chili cauliflower), tortas, and a Hawaiian inspired brunch make up the bulk of the menu, along with salads and sides like esquites (roasted corn) and chips with creamy guac. Family style pig roast dinners are on tap soon, along with punch bowls meant for sharing.

And how wonderful is it that we can think about family style and sharing again? As we head into our first summer of whatever normal is now, I can’t think of a place more inviting for a couple hours of island vibes.

“The whole idea of South Seas is I’m gonna go to this place for two hours, it’s an escape from whatever else I have going on,” Cantley says. “It’s all about having fun and I do think the world needs that now more than ever.”

Cheers to that.

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South Seas will be open from 10 a.m. to midnight Tuesday through Thursday, 10 a.m. to 2 a.m. Friday and Saturday, 10 a.m. to midnight Sunday, and 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Monday. Brunch will be served from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.

Tell Dana! Send your restaurant “Dish” to Dana McMahan at thecjdish@gmail.com and follow @bourbonbarbarella on Instagram.

This article originally appeared on Louisville Courier Journal: South Seas Louisville tiki-inspired bar brings tropical paradise