decent community

Boston ’s Most Decent Bartender isn’t some moosed-up slick guy who peacocks behind a bar like a tail-less cocktail king. And it’s not some vixen wearing a half pound of makeup with a rib rack larger than a pair of oven-roasted turkeys. Boston ’s Most Decent Bartender is a globe-trotting gentleman who wears Garfield sweatshirts almost exclusively.

Meet Tony, purveyor of stiff drinks at the often cast aside Shangri-La Cocktail Lounge on Cambridge St. in Beacon Hill. “Shangs” doesn’t possess the swank and stuffy vibe that’s associated with most other cocktail lounges, but instead falls more along the lines of the classically depicted Boston bar - offering a type of constant roundtable conversation where bartender Tony serves as nightly moderator.

Tony has built a clientele of avant-garde characters who flock to his symposium for spirited discussion and drink. Potent zombies and mai tais flow along with an endless stream of ideas, with Tony having the ultimate say on both liquor and righteousness. Tony’s “Scorpeen Bowl” is legendary for making you see things more clearly, and is the perfect compliment to an order of Shangs’ legendary rangoons or chicken sticks. Knowledgeable in exotic drinks and well-versed in the ways of the world, Tony showcases an innate acumen in merging distinctive elements into concoctions that are truly greater than the sum of their parts.

Whether you’re looking for someone to have final say in an intellectual joust, or someone to supply you with a truly enlightening potion, Tony is your man in Boston. Most people would probably nominate some bartender with a generic perkiness, rock-hard abs, and can make a killer mojito—but if you think they’re better than Tony, you’re just fooling yourself.