Shinola’s Evening Bar Transports Guests to the Tropics with a Model T-iki Experience
The Evening Bar at the luxury Shinola Hotel in Detroit has been temporarily transformed into a Motor City-inspired tiki bar.
Referred to as the Model T-iki, the Evening Bar inside the Shinola Hotel features a tiki bar pop-up theme to give guests an escape from winter’s chill with tropical-inspired food and cocktails.
The cocktail menu, created by Darryl Chan, bar director of NoHo Hospitality, unites unique serving containers with modern twists on classic tiki bar libations. Signature cocktails in the bar’s collection include the Model T-ai, a variation on the mai tai, and “Colada 66,” a killer drink blending Puerto Rican rum, coconut, pineapple, and Doctor Bird Jamaican Rum from the Two James Distillery in Corktown.
Chan’s cocktail creations are only the start of the Model T-iki experience. The food menu, curated by the hotel’s executive chef Cory Barberio, includes high-end snacks such as crab rangoon, a gourmet burger, and fries, little lobster rolls, slow-cooked baby back ribs, and a passion fruit rum cake.
Beyond the food and drink, the decor will also transport your senses to the tropics. Look for classic cars and tiki imagery in framed photographs displayed throughout the space. The bartenders have also gotten into the mood, trading their jackets, vests, and ties for coveralls in the style of 1970s-era auto mechanics.
The Model T-iki will operate at the Evening Bar through mid-April 2025. The lounge is on the first floor of the Shinola Hotel, 1400 Woodward Ave. You can enter the bar from the hotel lobby or through Parker’s Alley. Hours are 5 p.m. to 11 p.m., Sunday through Thursday, and 5 p.m. to 1 a.m. on weekends. Reservations are recommended; visit the Evening Bar’s website to place a reservation.
