Toronto's favourite retro tiki bar turning into a Christmas-themed pop-up all summer

The people behind Toronto's most iconic tiki bar are giving the city an unexpected dose of holiday cheer with their new pop-up that just so happens to run all summer long.

With the sun finally making somewhat regular appearances on Toronto's weather forecast and that ever-present pool of sweat on your back staking its claim for the season, wintertime festivities could quite possibly be the last thing on your mind.

I, on the other hand, am a Christmas fan year-round, and it looks like the team behind Toronto's iconic Shameful Tiki Room is, too, as they prepare to launch their summer-long Vegas Christmas pop-up on Friday, June 13.

Now that the Parkdale staple has officially relocated to its new home at 777 Queen West, owner Alana Nogueda tells me that she was left to brainstorm ways to breathe new life into the former space before she moves out for good.

"We have the space [until the] end of August," she tells me, "so we were thinking of ideas and Christmas in July was one."

The "we" in question being herself, bartender Parker Littell and his partner Mackensey Phibbs, and the dream team settled on Not Today Santa. Yes, it is a 'Christmas in July' concept, but you may want to park your Christmas bar biases at the door.

"We were about [the idea,] but not like in the jolly crazy Christmas type bars you automatically think of," Alana tells me. "I was like, 'what if it was a Christmas bar with a Vegas vibe in our old Tiki space?'"

Las Vegas meets Christmastime at Not Today Santa. Photo from Not Today Santa.

If you're expecting the typical tinsel-laden vibes of Toronto's December staples like Miracle Bar or Mistletoes and Margaritas, you might be disappointed. But only until you step inside Not Today Santa, and realize what the team has put together is, in my opinion at least, way cooler.

There's a definite dive bar feel to the pop-up, adorned with disco balls and ephemera, invoking a scene of 1970s Las Vegas at Christmastime. Christmas lights and retro Santa Claus decorations tastefully clutter every corner, but holly-jolly holiday spirit won't be shoved too far down your throat.

You can expect to sip on a pared-down selection of tiki drinks and local craft and domestic beers, with the house cocktails crafted by a rotating lineup of the best dive bartenders in the city doing guest spots behind the bar. No peppermint-eggnog-espresso-martini brouhaha here.

Parker and Mackensey will keep the vibes impeccable with live music and karaoke almost every night of the week for the pop-ups, which run until the end of August, making the entire summer the most wonderful time of the year.

Not Today Santa officially opens at 1378 Queen St. W. on June 13, and will be open from 6 p.m. to 12 a.m. Sunday to Thursday and 6 p.m. to 2 a.m. on Fridays and Saturdays until the end of August.