Beachbum Berry's Latitude 29
"First impression? There’s a decent choice of tiki bars in New Orleans, but there’s only one that’s been fashioned by one of the world’s foremost authorities on the subject. Jeff ‘Beachbum’ Berry is said expert, and this bar—one of the best of its kind in the country, if not the world—is his homage to the craft. Latitude 29 is a rum-doused cathedral, where mid-century tiki cocktail culture is celebrated with flair and passion. Located on the ground floor of Decatur Street’s Bienville Hotel, it’s a stylish lounge that’s tastefully yet enthusiastically festooned with sacred tiki artifacts, maps, and iconography. How’s the crowd? The bar is a place of pilgrimage for serious tiki fans, as well as being a fun adventure or an intriguing introduction to casual cocktail drinkers. Expect a relatively high contingent of colorful, floral shirts among the variously-sized parties of friends gathered around elaborate glasses, mugs and bowls. Drinks are passed around excitedly for sips and samplings, and there’s a fizzing, contagiously frivolous energy any night of the week that you care to swing by. How are the drinks? For me, no matter their focus, the best cocktail bars are always ones that properly acknowledge drinking history and traditions as well as being innovative, and that means more than just coming up with a zany but undrinkable martini. The tiki legends—many of which Berry himself is responsible for keeping alive—are names such as Don the Beachcomber and Trader Vic, and their classic Mai Tais and Zombies are about as good as you’re going to find anywhere. The bar’s originals, such as the Pontchartrain Pearl Diver and the Outcast of the Islands, are equally boozy and complex. All of the drinks are aesthetically playful, with fresh flower garnishes, creative ice arrangements, and of course, delightful drinking vessels. If there’s food, is it worth ordering something to eat? There’s much to explore and enjoy on the food menu, executive chef Chris Shortall taking inspiration from Polynesia, but not in a limiting, dogmatic way. Korean and Filipino influences are noticeable in the bar-friendly wings and ribs, and they complement interesting flourishes such as salt and sake-cured salmon and pimento cheese rangoons. Desserts are available but with such masterful applications of sweet flavors in the drinks, I usually plump for another cocktail to round off dinner. Did the staff do you right? It’s a slick operation right from check-in to stumbling back out into the French Quarter. With such a logistically-intense and multi-ingredient drinks menu, there’s a high risk of bartenders falling into the weeds. However, drinks are prepared with loving attention and impressive efficiency. With chatty and friendly staff engaging with guests at the bar as they muddle and shake, even the more involved concoctions don’t seem to take too long. The servers in the restaurant area are also well up to speed when it comes to navigating your course around the islands’ cocktails. Wrap it up: what are we coming here for? Latitude 29 is as impressive as you’d imagine it to be, having been built by a self-professed ‘tiki aerchitect’. Berry has devoted decades to unearthing long-thought-lost recipes and to documenting and innovating tiki cocktails. Us residents are incredibly lucky that he and his partner Aneen chose New Orleans as the location to set out their exotic-looking swizzle sticks, and visitors should make a special effort to share in out sweet-tasting bounty." - Paul Oswell
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