Former address: 95 Avenue A, at East 6th Street, East Village, New York, NY 10009. Nearest trains: F at Second Avenue, L at First Avenue.
Drink Tiki Instead
Mother of Pearl has closed, but the East Village still has the tropical drinks and agave rooms it was known for. Use our open picks below, or browse the full New York cocktail guide.
New York Cocktail Bars Tell Us If It ReopensWhat Mother of Pearl Was
Mother of Pearl opened on Avenue A in the old Gin Palace space, a 50-seat tiki room from Ravi DeRossi, the operator behind Death and Co and Cienfuegos, with cocktails from Jane Danger. DeRossi called the style post-modern Polynesian, and the room played it straight: a teal-and-white den with hand-carved totem stools, retro floral banquettes, and a Murano-glass chandelier in the front. It was tiki taken seriously, not as kitsch.
The drink everyone remembers is the Shark. Per Time Out New York and the Food Network listing, it arrived in a shark-shaped vessel ringed with sugar dyed to look like blood, built from tropical juices, several rums and tiki bitters. The kitchen broke from the genre on the food side, running a vegan small-plates menu rather than the usual fried tiki platters, which earned it a following among plant-based diners in the East Village.
The bar has since closed, confirmed across Yelp and Foursquare. The good news is that the neighbourhood it helped define still drinks well. For the same spirit, try the bitter-forward bar at Amor y Amargo in the East Village, the agave and mezcal rooms around Ghost Donkey, or the late hours at Holiday Cocktail Lounge.
The signature pour, served in a shark-shaped cup with sugar dyed to look like blood. Tropical juices, several rums and tiki bitters. The reason most people came.
The list skipped the obvious mai tais for original tropical drinks. The bar leaned into rum and tiki bitters under Jane Danger's program.
A plant-based kitchen set it apart from standard tiki. The food drew a following of its own in the East Village.
Hand-carved totem stools, floral banquettes and a Murano chandelier made the space the draw as much as the drinks.
Where to Go Now
The East Village still holds the tropical and agave bars Mother of Pearl ran alongside. Amor y Amargo and Ghost Donkey are the closest in spirit for tropical and bitter-forward drinks.
Why It Mattered
It proved serious tiki could work in Manhattan without kitsch, and that a tiki bar could run a full vegan kitchen. The Shark cocktail outlived the room as a New York talking point.
Time Out New York singled out the design, calling the totem stools and Murano chandelier as much of the draw as the drinks.
The Food Network listing centered on the Shark cocktail and its blood-sugar presentation as the bar's calling card.
Yelp and Foursquare both now mark the bar closed, with reviewers remembering the vegan menu as the surprise.
Sources: Time Out New York; Food Network; Jejune Magazine; Yelp reviews (n=426); Foursquare.
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Where to Drink Instead
Amor y Amargo
A tiny East Village bar built around bitters and stirred, spirit-forward drinks.
Ghost Donkey
A hidden, twinkle-lit room dedicated to mezcal, tequila and nacho-fueled nights.
Holiday Cocktail Lounge
A revived East Village institution, equal parts dive history and serious cocktails.
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