Bamboo Room by Trader Vic’s Opens in Miami Beach
Bamboo Room by Trader Vic’s Opens in Miami Beach
South Beach gets a proper tiki bar at the Esmé Miami Beach Hotel
In 1934, cocktail history was made when Victor Jules Bergeron, Jr. — better known as Trader Vic, opened a small bar in Oakland, California. The bar, originally named Hinky Dink’s, would soon transition to the now-household name, Trader Vic’s.
Trader Vic’s, along with Don the Beachcomber, would become synonymous with tiki cocktails — those potent potables that channel sunny skies and faraway locales.
Today, Trader Vic’s Hospitality Group owns and operates dozens of establishments around the world, serving classic libations like the Mai Tai, Navy Grog, and Scorpion — along with inventive riffs on those iconic drinks.
Last week, Miami Beach received its own proper tiki palace with the opening of Bamboo Room by Trader Vic’s at the Esmé Miami Beach Hotel, in the heart of South Beach. Florida-based tiki site Atomic Grog broke the news last week. This lounge channels classic tiki culture in an intimate 1,000 square foot space that seats up to 50 guests indoors and out.
The Bamboo Room is decorated with authentic, vintage artifacts such as glass floats from Tokyo and Osaka, tiki masks, and glass tiles from Thailand. “It’s part of the experience to discover items in every corner. Everything is authentic,” says Rhett Rosen, CEO of Trader Vic’s Hospitality Group.
The lounge offers a cocktail menu designed to transport people into the past, present, and future of tiki culture, and gives several atta-boys to Trader Vic’s locations throughout the world. “These drinks have a story. They take you on a journey to London, Tokyo, and Dubai. We’re staying true to all of the pillars of success of Trader Vic’s, but we;re putting a little spin on them to create a new experience that I think has been wildly well received,” says Rosen. The Park Lane, for instance, pays tribute to the iconic London Trader Vic’s and is made with Earl Gray-infused gin.
The most intriguing cocktail on the Bamboo Room menu, has to be the Hinky Dinks. Named for Trader Vic’s first ever establishment, it’s a clarified Mai Tai that brings the classic tiki drink to a more sophisticated level.
Tiki purists will also be sated with nearly a dozen classic tiki drinks. “We weren’t actually planning on having any of the classic Taer Vic’s drinks on the menu, but we realized there were no official Trader Vic’s in Miami and people will be asking for some of the iconic cocktails,” says Rosen.
Rosen stressed that the Bamboo Room isn’t Trader Vic’s, but has its place in the Trader Vic’s universe, if you will. “As the world gets bigger, we can’t have ten-thousand-square-foot restaurants in every city. In order to keep Trader Vic’s at the standard we want it to be, we had to create other concepts to fulfil the needs. The Bamboo Room is more of a lounge, but because we have such dedicated fans, we wanted to have a place where we can experiment with new drinks.”
The Bamboo Room definitely has its DNA firmly rooted in Trader Vic’s, however. The Hinky Dink cocktail, for instance, is a nod to a Bergeron “exclusive ladies’ lounge” called “The Bamboo Room by Trader Vic’s at Hinky Dinks”. And the very name — Bamboo Room — is a tribute to Bergeron’s origins.
Rosen said there wasn’t a real game plan for Trader Vic’s Hospitality to open a Miami Beach bar, but when the opportunity arose at the Esmé Miami Beach Hotel, he jumped on it. “I got a phone call that there might be a cool space at this great, cool hotel. I flew down, didn’t tell anyone, and it couldn’t have been more perfect.”
Rosen said that the hotel’s history aligns perfectly with Trader Vic’s legendary story. “This is a landmark building in Miami Beach. Al Capone had his gambling ring here. It’s everything we love at Trader Vic’s.”
The Bamboo Room shares the hotel with Sushi Bar, so guests of the omakase restaurant can start or end their night with some tiki cocktails. "We couldn’t be more excited to have Bamboo Room as our new neighbor at the Esmé Miami Beach Hotel,” says Ryan Stock, founder of Sushi Bar. “A property with so much special history, complemented by a uniquely significant historical brand, is something that I think Miami Beach needs more of. We are all working to create a destination like no other in Miami Beach and can’t wait to see it come to life."
For Rosen, the Bamboo Room signifies another chapter in the ongoing Trader Vic’s Hospitality story. “The Bamboo Room seems to be something needed on Miami Beach. It’s not a restaurant bar, it’s not a hotel lobby bar, and it’s not a nightclub. It’s a fun space where we have the opportunity to be creative and try new things. It’s a little swankier, a little smaller, but everyone who is in this room is having a great time.”