Mine and my husbands favorite place when we are home in Vermont. Now they have a stage with bands!!!
Atmosphere: 5
Service: 5
Pat Sylvain
A great place to take a Beer after a bike ride. It have a lot of choice of beer, thank you.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 2
Service: 3
John Martin
If you are looking for a laid back vibe, good beers, good people, and good times then Mike's Tiki Bar is a great place to be.This is a Happy Place, with Happy People. The staff are awesome and friendly even on the busiest of days. There are 30 reasonably priced beers on tap, plus a variety of canned and bottled beers, plenty of local and regional craft beers, domestic beers, seltzers, cocktails, non-alcohol beers and other non-alcohol beverage alternatives as well. This seasonal, outdoor only bar, seats plenty of people and is a great place to hang with old friends or to make new ones.This place has got it going on, with a unique combination of visitors from all over the country, and plenty of visitors from our friendly neighbors to the north in Canada as well, it is a truly enjoyable place to spend your time drinking your favorite beverage.Mike's Tiki Bar is located in the heart of what could arguably be called the mountain biking capital of New England, East Burke Vermont, home of the KINGDOM TRAILS. There is a large parking area that provides plenty of space for patrons, as well as a FREE place to park with easy access to the Kingdom Trail network.The VIBE....Like I said the vibe is laid back, but maybe that doesn't say enough. AWESOME is more the word to use here. The combination of people from everywhere, the locals, the mountain bikers (and there are a ton of them) and people from every place in between, just make for a very enjoyable atmosphere.You will hear laughter and stories from the day's riding adventures and you will see (and smell) mud covered mountain bikers with ear to ear grins on their faces as they sip on a beverage. You might even run into a guy with a mangled, broken arm that just got off the trail and should be heading to the hospital, stop in to have a beer first and tell his tale of the day, before his friends pack him up and bring him to the hospital. Seriously, this actually happened. That arm was so broken it was pointing in 3 different directions and flopping all over the place.The Food Situation: There are two food trucks there, a pizza truck and a tamale truck that has burgers, tamales, burritos and more. Good basic food to fill your belly and soak up some of that alcohol. Don't expect gourmet food here if that is what you are into, just good eats to fill your belly. Shockingly, on a busy day the Tamale truck can run out of Tamales once in a while (oh no) ? Have no fear though, there will almost always be something else available for food.The Parking: Well as I mentioned there is parking for bar customers as well as FREE parking for the Kingdom trails provided by none other than Mike himself. The parking lot can be quite a scene itself on a busy weekend with some of the coolest vans and van life people you may ever see or meet.Showers available on site as well to rinse off that mud and dirt.Vibe: AwesomeBeer: BEERVANAEntertainment: Live bands most weekendNow all this being said, is there anything bad...well not that much, but if you are looking for a place to charge your electric car just remember that this is a bar, not a charging station, so plan accordingly. They also don't have fuel pumps on site either so you won't be able to fill your gas tank up at the bar.Sometimes things get so busy in town that cell and internet services may go down briefly on very, very rare occasions. So there could be a period of time where you can't access your phone, (god forbid right), though you will probably be so busy enjoying yourself with old friends and new that you might actually not even notice. It may also get so busy that you might have to wait to get your beer....oh no. ?Also, If you are a self entitled person that feels the need to be rude to staff and thinks the world revolves around you, then be ready to have it given right back to you, as "notoriously cheap" Vermonters aren't ones to coddle you or cater to your bad attitude.Seriously, if you come here and don't have fun I feel truly sorry for you.... truly truly trulyNow time for a
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Bart Zak
A large selection of local draft beers.
Atmosphere: 5
Service: 5
Holly M.
Always a great time at the Tiki Bar! Sat at the bar and enjoyed the company of several friendly patrons. Enjoyed the food from the food truck (yesterday's tamales were half priced). Bartender was great. Will definitely come back when visiting NEK.
Kevin Trommeshauser
Great place for a beer in town.
Dave Sandifer
Love this place. Super great vibes. But, one time I came by with ten 10gal fish tanks, and I needed to fill them up so I could go get some fish. Even though, at the average rate of $0.002 per gallon for water in Vermont, those 100 gallons would've only cost them $0.20, but they DIDN'T EVEN DO IT. Unbelievable.
Lorena Streb
Staff in need of hospitality training, stat!Exterior venue serving beer, wine and root beer from a horse shoe shaped bar in the middle of a large deck with multiple table/chair groupings. There is a covered band stand adjacent to the parking lot with food trucks at the other end of the outdoor pavilion. It has potential, but needs to fix some serious staff issues.The afternoon I was in town coincided with the annual Fall Festival, so the parking lot was crowded with festival goers added to the stream of mountain bikers coming off the Kingdom Trails.It was poor planning by management to post a lone bartender when the place opened at noon for cyclists and festival goers. That is simply not conducive to a good customer experience. Going 15 mins before making eye contact with people sitting on the bar stools is too long—and the same bartender was expected to service the long queue of people standing patiently at the bar. Then the bar tender said the multitude of phones on their property knocked the Wi-Fi out so all sales were cash only, further slowing things down.***Speaking of lacking customer service: We drove into town on an EV, and would have felt more comfortable being able to top off the battery. When the area is a bit remote, sometimes private enterprises will allow plugging into their exterior plug for an hour or two. The gesture costs them very little, and they sell more during the time people are waiting for their car battery to charge. I scoped out an exterior plug behind the building, but instead of just pulling in to sneak a charge, my husband did the right thing and approached an older woman wearing the Mike’s logoed shirt. We had seen her clearing glasses off the table earlier and she’d seemed to be in charge. He received an appalling response from her. She laughed and dismissed his request to plug in saying, "You bought it, it's your problem." Then she stated that if he plugged in all their circuits were going to blow.That jarring note soured an otherwise pleasant visit to Burke Mountain. It is rumored that Vermonters are notoriously cheap, but what could electricity have cost after we'd already purchased several $9 beers— cash since their wifi was down—and we would have stayed to consume more. Vermonters are also famed environmentalists, and what could be greener than a vehicle that does not rely on fossil fuels to reach the nearest chargers in St Johnsbury.I recommend leaf-peepers, hikers, bikers, and snow bunnies stay away from this bar-- it’s incapable of handling a crowd, and staff needs a lesson in hospitality with a heavy dose of empathy thrown in.PS: We plugged in our EV overnight at our condo rental, and we now know that a 10 hr top-off battery boost cost our host $1. ($1!) To save <$1 this establishment sacrificed 4 stars on this review and lost my goodwill.
Brian Bourne
Pretty busy and live music on a cool night. Everything was great from the pizza to beer and the service!!
One of our favorite places! Family friendly and delicious drinks.
Dustin Kee
Great spot to chill and hang out after riding or just drop in. Pizza food truck next door was phenomenal as well.
Avery Cisne
No tiki drinks. The tamale food truck doesn't serve tamales. But disappointing after traveling so far to get here. We were probably the only folks not on bikes.
Ashley W
Always a great place to park for a ride at Kingdom Trails, and the bar and food trucks are perfect for post-ride fun! Free Wi-Fi if you need it, no password required.
Troi Hopkins
Sunshine and delicious draughts. Pick one and jump in! Fabulous day.
Awesome place.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Mine and my husbands favorite place when we are home in Vermont. Now they have a stage with bands!!!
Atmosphere: 5
Service: 5
A great place to take a Beer after a bike ride. It have a lot of choice of beer, thank you.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 2
Service: 3
If you are looking for a laid back vibe, good beers, good people, and good times then Mike's Tiki Bar is a great place to be.This is a Happy Place, with Happy People. The staff are awesome and friendly even on the busiest of days. There are 30 reasonably priced beers on tap, plus a variety of canned and bottled beers, plenty of local and regional craft beers, domestic beers, seltzers, cocktails, non-alcohol beers and other non-alcohol beverage alternatives as well. This seasonal, outdoor only bar, seats plenty of people and is a great place to hang with old friends or to make new ones.This place has got it going on, with a unique combination of visitors from all over the country, and plenty of visitors from our friendly neighbors to the north in Canada as well, it is a truly enjoyable place to spend your time drinking your favorite beverage.Mike's Tiki Bar is located in the heart of what could arguably be called the mountain biking capital of New England, East Burke Vermont, home of the KINGDOM TRAILS. There is a large parking area that provides plenty of space for patrons, as well as a FREE place to park with easy access to the Kingdom Trail network.The VIBE....Like I said the vibe is laid back, but maybe that doesn't say enough. AWESOME is more the word to use here. The combination of people from everywhere, the locals, the mountain bikers (and there are a ton of them) and people from every place in between, just make for a very enjoyable atmosphere.You will hear laughter and stories from the day's riding adventures and you will see (and smell) mud covered mountain bikers with ear to ear grins on their faces as they sip on a beverage. You might even run into a guy with a mangled, broken arm that just got off the trail and should be heading to the hospital, stop in to have a beer first and tell his tale of the day, before his friends pack him up and bring him to the hospital. Seriously, this actually happened. That arm was so broken it was pointing in 3 different directions and flopping all over the place.The Food Situation: There are two food trucks there, a pizza truck and a tamale truck that has burgers, tamales, burritos and more. Good basic food to fill your belly and soak up some of that alcohol. Don't expect gourmet food here if that is what you are into, just good eats to fill your belly. Shockingly, on a busy day the Tamale truck can run out of Tamales once in a while (oh no) ? Have no fear though, there will almost always be something else available for food.The Parking: Well as I mentioned there is parking for bar customers as well as FREE parking for the Kingdom trails provided by none other than Mike himself. The parking lot can be quite a scene itself on a busy weekend with some of the coolest vans and van life people you may ever see or meet.Showers available on site as well to rinse off that mud and dirt.Vibe: AwesomeBeer: BEERVANAEntertainment: Live bands most weekendNow all this being said, is there anything bad...well not that much, but if you are looking for a place to charge your electric car just remember that this is a bar, not a charging station, so plan accordingly. They also don't have fuel pumps on site either so you won't be able to fill your gas tank up at the bar.Sometimes things get so busy in town that cell and internet services may go down briefly on very, very rare occasions. So there could be a period of time where you can't access your phone, (god forbid right), though you will probably be so busy enjoying yourself with old friends and new that you might actually not even notice. It may also get so busy that you might have to wait to get your beer....oh no. ?Also, If you are a self entitled person that feels the need to be rude to staff and thinks the world revolves around you, then be ready to have it given right back to you, as "notoriously cheap" Vermonters aren't ones to coddle you or cater to your bad attitude.Seriously, if you come here and don't have fun I feel truly sorry for you.... truly truly trulyNow time for a
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
A large selection of local draft beers.
Atmosphere: 5
Service: 5
Always a great time at the Tiki Bar! Sat at the bar and enjoyed the company of several friendly patrons. Enjoyed the food from the food truck (yesterday's tamales were half priced). Bartender was great. Will definitely come back when visiting NEK.
Great place for a beer in town.
Love this place. Super great vibes. But, one time I came by with ten 10gal fish tanks, and I needed to fill them up so I could go get some fish. Even though, at the average rate of $0.002 per gallon for water in Vermont, those 100 gallons would've only cost them $0.20, but they DIDN'T EVEN DO IT. Unbelievable.
Staff in need of hospitality training, stat!Exterior venue serving beer, wine and root beer from a horse shoe shaped bar in the middle of a large deck with multiple table/chair groupings. There is a covered band stand adjacent to the parking lot with food trucks at the other end of the outdoor pavilion. It has potential, but needs to fix some serious staff issues.The afternoon I was in town coincided with the annual Fall Festival, so the parking lot was crowded with festival goers added to the stream of mountain bikers coming off the Kingdom Trails.It was poor planning by management to post a lone bartender when the place opened at noon for cyclists and festival goers. That is simply not conducive to a good customer experience. Going 15 mins before making eye contact with people sitting on the bar stools is too long—and the same bartender was expected to service the long queue of people standing patiently at the bar. Then the bar tender said the multitude of phones on their property knocked the Wi-Fi out so all sales were cash only, further slowing things down.***Speaking of lacking customer service: We drove into town on an EV, and would have felt more comfortable being able to top off the battery. When the area is a bit remote, sometimes private enterprises will allow plugging into their exterior plug for an hour or two. The gesture costs them very little, and they sell more during the time people are waiting for their car battery to charge. I scoped out an exterior plug behind the building, but instead of just pulling in to sneak a charge, my husband did the right thing and approached an older woman wearing the Mike’s logoed shirt. We had seen her clearing glasses off the table earlier and she’d seemed to be in charge. He received an appalling response from her. She laughed and dismissed his request to plug in saying, "You bought it, it's your problem." Then she stated that if he plugged in all their circuits were going to blow.That jarring note soured an otherwise pleasant visit to Burke Mountain. It is rumored that Vermonters are notoriously cheap, but what could electricity have cost after we'd already purchased several $9 beers— cash since their wifi was down—and we would have stayed to consume more. Vermonters are also famed environmentalists, and what could be greener than a vehicle that does not rely on fossil fuels to reach the nearest chargers in St Johnsbury.I recommend leaf-peepers, hikers, bikers, and snow bunnies stay away from this bar-- it’s incapable of handling a crowd, and staff needs a lesson in hospitality with a heavy dose of empathy thrown in.PS: We plugged in our EV overnight at our condo rental, and we now know that a 10 hr top-off battery boost cost our host $1. ($1!) To save <$1 this establishment sacrificed 4 stars on this review and lost my goodwill.
Pretty busy and live music on a cool night. Everything was great from the pizza to beer and the service!!
Restaurantji Recommends
One of our favorite places! Family friendly and delicious drinks.
Great spot to chill and hang out after riding or just drop in. Pizza food truck next door was phenomenal as well.
No tiki drinks. The tamale food truck doesn't serve tamales. But disappointing after traveling so far to get here. We were probably the only folks not on bikes.
Always a great place to park for a ride at Kingdom Trails, and the bar and food trucks are perfect for post-ride fun! Free Wi-Fi if you need it, no password required.
Sunshine and delicious draughts. Pick one and jump in! Fabulous day.