Where to get tropical Tiki drinks in Austin

Earl Hopkins, Austin American-Statesman
·4 min read

Wouldn't it be nice to experience the refreshment of a summer breeze? In Austin, you can at least find the tropical flavors of a Tiki drink to transport you to a white-sand beach on a Polynesian island. Well, until your cup is empty.

There are plenty of Austin bars and restaurants that craft these sweet, fruity cocktails. And with Texas Tiki Week (launched by the U.S. Bartenders Guild in 2012) returning in person from Sept. 15-18, there’s no better time to explore drinks filled with rum, passionfruit, pineapple and more.

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To kick off the annual celebration, Phoenix-based cocktail bar UnderTow will pop up at Roosevelt Room's Mezzanine Bar to serve Tiki cocktails from 4 p.m. to 2 a.m. on Thursday. Tickets start at $30 and are available at Eventbrite.

On Friday, guests will be decked in tropical attire while enjoying Tiki cocktails inside Tiki Tatsu-Ya. Each guest will get three cocktails, mouthwatering food fare, a Tiki Tatsu-Ya and Texas Tiki Week-themed cocktail glass and a handful of other surprises. Tickets are $185.

Saturday involves two events. The first is a sip-and-shop event filled with marketplace vendors, food, frozen cocktails and a pop-up from San Antonio’s Hugman’s Oasis from 11 a.m. to  4 p.m. at Kitty’s Cohen’s. The event is free. In the evening, three Dallas bars (Swizzle, Tarantula and 4 Kahunas) will take over Kitty Cohen’s for a pop-up event. Doors open at 7 p.m., and tickets, $30, are technically sold out.

To wrap up on Sunday, Houston’s Lei Low will lead a three-hour cruise on Lady Bird Lake. The ship will leave the dock at noon. Tickets, $100, are technically sold out. For more information and event tickets, go to texastikiweek.com.

But you don't have to buy a ticket to anything to enjoy a good drink in Austin. We've narrowed down a few places you might find a Tiki (or generally tropical) drink in town.

The Hot Buttered Painkiller from Tiki Tatsu-Ya is made with rum, hot tea, a special whipped cream and a sweet butter batter.
The Hot Buttered Painkiller from Tiki Tatsu-Ya is made with rum, hot tea, a special whipped cream and a sweet butter batter.

Tiki Tatsu-Ya

The fantastical Tiki Tatsu-Ya is adorned with, yes, Tiki-themed and technicolor décor, and its flavorful drink menu brings out that oceanic feel. Before this restaurant from the Tatsu-Ya brand opened last year, Statesman dining critic Matthew Odam wrote, "I’m comfortable saying that Tiki Tatsu-Ya will be the most transportive and surreal food and beverage destination to ever open in Austin." Ease into the evening with the bar's Jungle Crane, made with rum, bitters, lime and pineapple.

(tiki-tatsuya.com; 1300 S. Lamar Blvd.)

The Roosevelt Room

Known for its innovative cocktail program, the award-winning downtown bar is also home to a short list of Tiki drinks. The Roosevelt Room has traditional options like the mai tai, the painkiller and others that were created in the midcentury heyday of the Tiki drink. That includes the zombie, first made in Hollywood in 1934 and crafted with RR Tiki Rum blend, Donn’s Mix, falernum, lime, grenadine, angostura bitters and caramelized absinthe, all served in a skull-shaped glass with flamed cinnamon powder.

(therooseveltroomatx.com; 307 W. Fifth St.)

East Austin bar Nickel City also has its own Tiki drink menu.
East Austin bar Nickel City also has its own Tiki drink menu.

Nickel City

One of East Austin’s most beloved watering holes, Nickel City also boasts a Tiki menu with four cocktails. You can get any Tiki drink in a scorpion bowl made for three. One of the menu's most popular drinks is the Singapore sling, made with ingredients like hibiscus-infused Gray Whale Gin, “magic” pineapple, lime, dry Curaçao, blackberry liqueur, Benedictine, angostura and bubbly water.

(nickelcitybar.com; 1133 E. 11th St.)

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Zanzibar

Austin’s Zanzibar feels every bit like an island paradise, with an assortment of Tiki drinks to complement the picturesque views of the city skyline. For a taste of the tropics, try the bar's Tradewinds, made with rum, coconut, peach, Aperol and lime.

(zanzibaratx.com; 304 E. Cesar Chavez St., Unit 700)

Pool Burger

Along with its good post-Deep Eddy bites, Pool Burger has sweet and finely crafted Tiki drinks, swimsuit not required. While there's no sign of David Hasselhoff, the Baewatch is made with 1876 Vodka, coconut water, lemon, honey syrup and Chartreuse liqueur.

(poolburger.com; 2315 Lake Austin Blvd.)

Wu Chow

This farm-to-table Chinese eatery has a shortlist of drinks with a couple Tiki-style options. The restaurant's My-Tie consists of Bacardi rum, orgeat syrup, freshly squeezed lime, pineapple, coconut milk and Bacardi Black.

(wuchowaustin.com; 500 W. Fifth St., No. 168)

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Anthem

Along with the restaurant's assortment of Tex-Asian plates, Anthem has tropical cocktails worth sipping and savoring. The Pina Old Fashioned 2.0 is one co-founder's favorite, according to the menu. The drink is crafted with Plantation O.F.T.D. Rum, Plantation Pineapple Rum, demerara, Tiki bitters and the option of Misunderstood Ginger Spiced Whiskey.

(eatdrinkanthem.com; 91 Rainey St., Suite 120)

This article originally appeared on Austin American-Statesman: Where to get tropical Tiki drinks in Austin