Trend Alert: Tiki is back, so get on board – throw on a lei and drink up pirates. Arrrr
Lost Lake
3152 W. Diversey Pkwy. (Logan Square)
This is the second Tiki bar started by Paul McGee, he is the one that opened Three Dots and a Dash. You could call it the younger, hipper sister bar; this one feels more intimate and with a better crowd. Just be warned that tiki drinks are powerfully boozy and often very sweet but complex. This means you will drink them down quickly and hangovers are inevitable. The rum list here is extensive – don’t like rum? They have beer but why are you at a tiki bar for beer? The attention to detail is impressive, from the flowers in your drinks to custom glasses, it almost make syou almost feel like you are somewhere tropical. Added bonus: the Ameri-Chinese takeout counter right by the exit to fill your late night cravings for food. And the food is actually good. lostlaketiki.com
This is the second Tiki bar started by Paul McGee, he is the one that opened Three Dots and a Dash. You could call it the younger, hipper sister bar; this one feels more intimate and with a better crowd. Just be warned that tiki drinks are powerfully boozy and often very sweet but complex. This means you will drink them down quickly and hangovers are inevitable. The rum list here is extensive – don’t like rum? They have beer but why are you at a tiki bar for beer? The attention to detail is impressive, from the flowers in your drinks to custom glasses, it almost make syou almost feel like you are somewhere tropical. Added bonus: the Ameri-Chinese takeout counter right by the exit to fill your late night cravings for food. And the food is actually good. lostlaketiki.com
Hours: Daily 4 PM-2 AM
Three Dots and a Dash
35 N. Clark St. (River North)
This is the original and its much larger than Lost Lake but be warned, due to it’s location, you get a crowd that can be a bit douchier – business men in suits and all that riff raff. If you can find the back alley entrance, and if you can get past that, you will be rewarded with some deliciously sublime Tiki drinks. The menu offers 16 cocktails—eight classics, sourced to various historic tiki bars and/or tiki culture’s forefathers, and eight modern cocktails, created by mixologist Paul McGee. All of them served in custom glassware – glassware you would be tempted to steal. But buy yours instead, cup pirates are made to walk the plank. My drinking mate, Lady Tiara Corona, enjoyed Bunny’s Banana Daiquiri and PainKiller no.3. This place also serves food but book well in advance – finding an open table after 6:30pm on a Monday is next to impossible. Is the food good? I don’t know, I just went for the drinks but the banana in the bunny drink was yummy. threedotschicago.com
This is the original and its much larger than Lost Lake but be warned, due to it’s location, you get a crowd that can be a bit douchier – business men in suits and all that riff raff. If you can find the back alley entrance, and if you can get past that, you will be rewarded with some deliciously sublime Tiki drinks. The menu offers 16 cocktails—eight classics, sourced to various historic tiki bars and/or tiki culture’s forefathers, and eight modern cocktails, created by mixologist Paul McGee. All of them served in custom glassware – glassware you would be tempted to steal. But buy yours instead, cup pirates are made to walk the plank. My drinking mate, Lady Tiara Corona, enjoyed Bunny’s Banana Daiquiri and PainKiller no.3. This place also serves food but book well in advance – finding an open table after 6:30pm on a Monday is next to impossible. Is the food good? I don’t know, I just went for the drinks but the banana in the bunny drink was yummy. threedotschicago.com
Open late: Saturday till 3, other nights till 2
