The neighborhood surrounding the Frenchman Hotel just past the French Market in the tip of the Marginy triangle is a little rougher than the tourist areas in town, but we had a grand time relaxing in the hotel’s tropical patio called Tiki Tock. There’s a nice entrance off the street and inside there are covered tables and some seats at the bar, very pleasant and shady for us on a dry afternoon.
The “tiki” in the name refers to the cocktail menu, inspired by historical cocktails from Don the Beachcomber and Trader Vic’s, but there aren’t any actual tikis here so it technically isn’t a tiki bar. But we really had a great visit and some quality cocktails. In addition to classics there are some house cocktails including the very good Tally Me Banana that comes in a cool banana mug. The standard Mai Tai comes with Don Q Silver and Zaya 16, so I knew it wasn’t going to be my favorite, so instead I spotted a bottle of Hamilton New York blend asked for a Mai Tai with that instead. That Hamilton expression featuring Jamaican and Demerara rums played just great in the Mai Tai that was well balanced.
There’s even a tropical wall that worked great with some “prom photos” with our friends David and Amy.
The music was very relaxing here and we saw several groups come and go during our hour plus stay. Being completely shut out from the hustle of the streets of New Orleans was quite a change of pace and indeed is quite escapist even with the modest theming and limited roof. I’d definitely recommend trying Tiki Tock the next time you’re in New Orleans.
