Dallas Trader Vic's

My favorite place in Dallas...I'll spare you the company history. Suffice to say that Trader Vic's was a staple in the era of mid 20th century tiki/Polynesian pop culture. Tiki heaven for sure.

The Dallas location of Trader Vic's originally opened in 1967 at the Dallas Hilton. Polynesian style restaurants were just at the height of their popularity...as well as the strong rum concoctions served in crazy looking mugs. At this time these places were a common sight in every major US city. Dallas was also home to Ports O' Call on the 37th floor of the Dallas Sheraton and Dobbs House Luau at Love Field.

The 70's brought a period of tiki-devolution, and these once frequented establishments were now considered tacky and out of date. Business slowed, service suffered, and people just forgot about them. Dobbs House Luau closed in 1974 and Ports O' Call closed in 1978. Trader Vic's however, lingered on for quite a number of years. Finally, in 1989, the Dallas Hilton was sold...to the Maharishi! They had plans to turn the Hilton into a transcendental meditation center and had absolutely no interest in running a bar/restaurant. So, Trader Vic's was essentially mothballed and the space was occasionally rented out for private parties. The amazing thing was the interior, complete with tiki decor from the classic tiki period, remained intact. Beautiful carved poles by Oceanic Arts still brought the sense of escapism to a long gone era, not to mention the moai carved by famed carver Barney West that still stood guard out front for many years after the restaurant officially closed down.

Flash forward to 2005. The hotel, now called the Sante Fe, was sold to a couple of investors who had plans to rebuild, reshape and revitalize that old building into something new and trendy. They must have been amazed when they pried opened the doors to Trader Vic's and found a treasure trove of tiki artifacts that could be a centerpiece of a tiki museum (if there was such a thing). Plans soon began to breathe new life into the old space.

While the hotel was being remodeled into what is now the Palomar, Trader Vic's went through some renovations. First, anything that was still usable and up to current building codes was kept in place...right down to the lamps on the ceiling that had a few holes but otherwise were still usable. The sunken dining room area was brought back up to ground level, and the old carpeting was reproduced with the exact pattern that it had before. The bar was extended, the windows hidden, and paradise was reborn.






I was fortunate enough to attend a "mock service" at the restaurant before they officially opened and was in awe...here was a living time capsule of a slice of American pop culture from the 50's-60's. Never before had a classic tiki establishment reopened in the same location with the same decor. It was simply amazing. The old Barney West moai that stood out front had eroded to the point of unusablity, but I was led down to a secret room (in the parking garage) where he was temporarily housed so I could see him one last time.

Dallas Trader Vic's officially RE-opened on March 1st, 2007. It remains the ONLY real tiki establishment in the state. You're likely to get an experience there you won't get anywhere else. The food is exceptional, the drinks are fun and well made...no free pouring and always a top notch presentation. But, the MAIN reason I go to Trader Vics is the atmosphere. It's all about escapism, and Trader Vic's is the ultimate escape. Trader Vic's is located at the Hotel Palomar at Central Expressway and Mockingbird Lane in Dallas.