Tiki Chick holds the corner of Amsterdam Avenue and 85th Street on the Upper West Side, a retro tiki bar from Jacob Hadjigeorgis, the operator behind Jacob's Pickles next door. It runs rum-forward tropical cocktails and island-leaning food in an open, bamboo-trimmed room that does not take itself too seriously.
Published May 26, 2026 · By Daniel Okafor
The room
The room is small, bright, and built for fun rather than reverence, with an open-air feel when the windows fold back and a projector that plays nostalgic 1990s movies on the wall after dark. NYC Tourism and the iLoveTheUpperWestSide guide both file it as the neighbourhood's tropical outlier, a tiki bar in a stretch better known for brunch. Reviewers, who logged more than 400 on Yelp through June 2026, describe a casual, loud, frozen-drink crowd rather than a craft-cocktail pilgrimage.
The crowd and vibe
The crowd is Upper West Side casual: after-work groups, friends out for frozen drinks, and families who drift in earlier before the bar crowd takes over at night. Reviewers describe a young, loud, easygoing room rather than a cocktail-purist scene, and the projector showing 1990s movies sets the tone once it gets dark. It peaks on weekend evenings, when the small space fills and the wait for a table grows, so an early seat is the standing advice. The mix skews local and repeat, drawn by the value of the $5 chicken sandwich and the frozen cocktails, which keeps the room more neighbourhood hangout than tourist stop.
What to order
Order frozen and tropical, since the cocktails are the point, rum-forward and built for the room rather than for a tasting notebook. The kitchen pulls from the Jacob's Pickles family, and the fried chicken sandwich has held at $5, which reviewers name as the best-value plate in the room. Prices sit at neighbourhood-bar level, not destination-cocktail level. The plan is a frozen cocktail, the chicken sandwich, and a seat near the projector once the movies start.
What regulars say
Reviewers return to the same notes. The frozen and tropical cocktails are the draw, and the $5 fried chicken sandwich is the value pick that comes up again and again. The room reads casual and lively, a fit for groups and a night that does not need a reservation, and the 1990s movie projections get singled out as the detail that sets the mood. The recurring caution is size and volume: the space is small and gets loud and full on weekends, so an early seat is the standing advice for anyone who wants a table. Several reviewers frame it as fun over precision, a tiki bar to enjoy rather than analyze, which is exactly how the room presents itself on Amsterdam Avenue.
Who it is for and best time
This is for tropical-cocktail drinkers, casual groups, and anyone touring New York tiki bars. It opens in the afternoon and runs late, seven days a week, so a happy-hour drink or a weekend round both work. Skip it if you want a quiet craft-cocktail den; this room runs loud and playful. For the wider city, see the full New York bar guide.
The verdict
Tiki Chick earns its place as the Upper West Side's tropical outlier, a frozen-cocktail tiki bar with a $5 chicken sandwich and 1990s movies on the wall. Grab a frozen drink, order the sandwich, and stay for the projector. For more New York tiki, compare The Polynesian, the Polynesian pop at Mother of Pearl, and the East Village room at Otto's Shrunken Head.
