Trad'r Sam in San Francisco, CA

Trad'r Sam is the oldest, longest-operating tiki bar in the world. Trad'r Sam opened in 1937, and as originally owned by Sam Baylon. This small and very old bar actually pre-dates the appearance of actual tikis in tiki bars, and is an extremely rare example of the bamboo bars that were in some cities in the '30s. The bar has a series of seating areas around the perimeter of the bar which are each named after islands, and are framed in rattan. The bar itself is a large, horseshoe-shaped structure, also encrusted in rattan. There are tropical drinks available, but this bar is now more of a loveable dive than anything.

Cocktail enthusiasts shouldn't miss the world famous tequila destination bar across the street just a block and a half away, Tommy's Mexican Restaurant.

How to find it

street view
pictures

Trad'r Sam is between 25th & 26th Avenue, on the north side of Geary Blvd. Look for a green sign and awning.

Parking

Street parking is available, some of it metered.

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Humuhumu

visiting on

Wednesday, May 31, 2017

Not sure what time yet, hopefully on the early side to avoid crowds.

Regulars & Visitors

Tikizilla
Dr. Tiki
googuse
Raider Rich
BuzDeadwax
spindriftsuz
Apocryphanow
TikiLilVintage

View all 143 Trad'r Sam regulars & visitors

Comments

tikiwithray

May 11, 2017, 4:46 PM

Trad�r Sam is located in San Francisco and it is the oldest and still operating Tiki bar in the world! It opened in 1937. It could be considered more of a bamboo bar than a Tiki bar because there aren�t any Tikis. However, that doesn�t mean the place isn�t cool. Here is my full write up...

http://www.tikiwithray.com/tiki-bar-review-31-tradr-sam-san-francisco-ca/

PuaKeiki

PuaKeiki has visited Trad'r Sam.

May 2, 2017, 12:35 PM

Trad'r Sams is not closed. I was there with family on April 17 in the early afternoon. There where no other patrons when we arrived so we had the bartender to ourselves( by the time we left there was a few tourists and a local, all enjoying themselves). Yes, it's a dive bar, a wonderful, historic, fun place that has unfortunately seen better days. If you look closely the former glory still shows through. While checking out the tropical drink menu(mostly all sweet) the bartender said he could alter any drink to suit our tastes. After settling in with our yummy drinks we heard stories of the old Trad'r Sams from our bartender. At one point he went into the back of the room and brought back really old pictures of the place. The pictures showed a wonderland of the bar when it was fairly new. The staff was attired in safari clothes complete with pith helmets, quite posh. We throughly enjoyed our afternoon at Trad'r Sams.

TikiBird

TikiBird has visited Trad'r Sam.

March 30, 2017, 4:22 AM

Pretty sure this place is closed. Had a neat interior.

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