Vegan Tiki Bar Debuts in NYC

At NYC’s Polynesian-inspired Mother of Pearl, all cocktails come with a chaser of compassion: the restaurant’s tiki-inspired drinks program is now officially vegan.

Finding a tiki bar menu without egg whites, honey, or cream isn’t an easy task. Luckily, the unique bar and eatery is one of 15 owned by restaurateur Ravi DeRossi, who recently announced that some (as many as possible) of his properties would go vegan.

The menu has been animal-product free since February 14th, and given the eclectic ingredients usually found in Polynesian-inspired drinks, the bar’s transition has been particularly interesting.

“Our transition from the opening program to a new vegan-friendly program was not terribly difficult when it came to obvious things,” says the Mother of Pearl’s cocktail program manager Jane Danger. “We never had any cocktails with meat, eggs, or fat washing,”

“Honey we knew was out. There are a few liqueurs sweetened with honey. These brands make a point of telling the consumer this though.”

The now-vegan tiki bar also eliminated any brand with leather in its packaging, and anything filtered through ingredients like oysters or bone char.

The menu includes vegan tiki drinks like the Rum Julep with aged Guyanese, agrodolce, Jamaican rum, mint and Laura’s Mix; the Sparking Max – sparkling wine, Swedish Punsch, lime, cane syrup, mint, Allspice Dram; and the Marlos Cucumber with cucumber water, lime, ginger, aquavit and club soda. Large, punch-style drinks include the Guava – a mixture of guava, black pepper tincture, lime, pineapple, orgeat, gin and aquavit; and the Long Island with Lemon Oleo Saccharum, lime juice, Coca-Cola, cynar, curacao, rum, gin, vodka and tequila.

“Our transition was a thoughtful one. We use weird spirits with secret ingredients,” Danger tells Latest Vegan News. “There aren’t books about this stuff. It’s a lot of mental footwork. Deciphering what can be used and what can’t for the bit and pieces you’ve been given.”

In addition to the herbivorous libations, the eatery’s food menu is also cruelty-free, and includes items like fried coconut tofu, lychee potstickers, rum fried rice, and other tropical dishes. Pay them a visit for a mini vacation; think of it as a paradisiacal version of French Polynesia where no animals are harmed.

You can check out the full vegan cocktail — and food menu, online.

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