If images of stockbrokers and merchants pop into your head when thinking of Trader Vic’s wipe them away, this trader has his heart set on palm trees and Mai Tais
After a long and treacherous commute through the heart of Park Lane, I arrived at Trader Vic’s and immediately knew this was no ordinary establishment. Stepping into Trader Vic’s was like entering tropical paradise. After all, Trader Vic’s is not just a restaurant; it’s an experience of immense proportions.
First, you are faced with the fact that you’re walking into one of London’s
most luxurious hotels. Situated in the opulent borough of Mayfair, The
London Hilton has gained a reputation among dignitaries and celebrities alike
for its splendid views of Hyde Park, and Trader Vic’s has been part of
this attraction for over 60 years. If the walls of this restaurant could
talk, they’d tell you of the times when screen legends like Joan
Collins and Roger Moore regularly took their seats near the Tiki crowned bar.
My hostess, General Manager Girly Fedilo showed me to the main dining room where tropical plants adorn bamboo lined ceilings and South Pacific carvings. Girly arrived at Trader Vic’s London in 1998 where she spent three years as a trainee before heading around the globe, supervising and managing other Trader Vic’s franchises. “What makes us so special is the concept of bringing the exotic to the city. We want our customers to relax, to feel they are on holiday, this is why we try to make it as authentic as possible, even down to the bar hostesses,” she explains. But authentic is an understatement; a tiki statue of a Polynesian god seemingly guards the entrance; fishing boats, palm fronds and conch shells can be seen hanging from the ceiling. What’s more, the hostesses are dressed in the most fitting of attire: flower print, multicoloured dresses that accentuate their foreign look.
But the ambiance you experience at Trader Vic’s is a result of years of dedication to make it a truly remarkable dining experience for the customer. Part of the global franchise, the London branch opened in 1945 and has had much success since. From the beginning, Trader Vic’s was unlike any restaurant previously established in any city. The original Trader Vic’s started as a small bar in Oakland, California that specialised in rum and was mostly frequented by sailors. Victor became famous for his dishes that mixed cuisines from across the world and when he decided to go with a Tahitian décor for its unique and tropical feel, the name was changed from Hinky Dink’s to Trader Vic’s. Girly however, prefers to think that “the food influences the décor and the décor influences the food. Somehow it all just goes together.”
In the early days of Trader Vic’s London however, the food was not the
only thing attracting the customers. It became infamous in the sixties
for the legendary celebrities that used to frequent the bar. Nowadays,
the appeal is less about the celebrity factor and more about good eats. The
restaurant’s main attraction is its speciality drink, the Mai Tai which
is credited to Mr. Bergeron himself. Story has it that Victor concocted
a rum drink mixed with lemon and fruit juices for friends who were visiting
from Tahiti. “One of his friends took the first sip, and replied ‘Mai
Tai’ which translates to ‘out of this world’ from Tahitian,” Girly
recalls. It certainly is “out of this world.” A sip
and you immediately taste the sweet goodness of the Tahitian sun. And
the Chinese cooking ovens offer perfect dishes to compliment the Mai Tai. “We
have various stations in the kitchen ranging from salad to barbeque, but our
most popular dishes are prepared in our Chinese station like the rack of lamb
from the special ovens and the Chateaubriand and Crispy Duck prepared in woks.
These are on my list of favourites,” Girly enthuses.
The food, the décor, they both contribute to the heady ambiance of
the restaurant and with the recent trend in Asian fusion cuisine you get more
than you bargain for. While other restaurants promise to have mingled
the flavours beautifully together, Trader Vic’s “was the first
to introduce Asian fusion cuisine, so it is the original,” Girly tells
me. “He was innovative in combining the flavours and spices from
different parts of the world to come up with these tasty combinations.” Indeed. These
are tasty combinations in a tropical atmosphere that make you feel like you
have stepped out of the hub of the city and onto a tropical island.
Perhaps Victor Bergeron never imagined the global success of his restaurants, but maybe he did imagine the power of the Mai Tai to make life seem a little less hectic.
T.D.
