Tiki Tolteca now Open, Basin Seafood Debuts Courtyard

1.) French Quarter: Felipe's new upstairs cocktail lounge in the French Quarter, Tiki Tolteca, is now open Tuesdays and Thursdays from 5 p.m. to midnight. The bar features its own small plates menu and sort of has a pop-up thang going on, with the promise that they'll be open some Fridays too. Ian McNulty reports that bar manager Nathan Dalton and staff sling "Mexican-inspired craft cocktails and even "flights" of mezcal, the earthier, smokier relative to tequila." Chef Marcus Graham's tapas menu blends Peruvian, Polynesian, Mexican, and Central American flavors with the likes of ceviche, papusas, and even braised oxtail.

The bar's director Justin Crooks tells NoDef that the bar "started kind of as an, 'I dare you to do a pop-up bar' thing," and has now ventured into blazing a trail of craft tikidom with a creative bar staff including mezcal-whiz Dalton and a fantastic bar program. Tiki Tolteca is located at Felipe's Taqueria, 301 N. Peters Street, (504) 267-4406.

2.) IRISH CHANNEL/UPTOWN: After a successful soft opening during Jazz Fest, the new Irish Channel addition Basin Seafood and Spirits (in the former Rocky's Pizza space) , from Baru's Edgar Caro, is now officially open for both lunch and dinner, and will debut their courtyard this weekend.
Basin Seafood & Spirits is located at 3222 Magazine Street, (504) 302-7391.

· Taqueria's Tiki Bar Debuts Tonight [Gambit]
· Tiki Tolteca Pops Up at Felipes [NOLADefender]
· All Opening Reports [-ENOLA-]
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