The bars issue
Bar Oliver, Liar Liar, best new NYC bars, Grand Army Bar, Pearl Box, La Compagnie Flatiron, best beer gardens and halls, MORE
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BARS • First Round
Cool kids corner
If you had Chinatown’s Chatham Square as fall 2024’s hipster restaurant and bar scene epicenter, please collect your winnings at the window. First came Bridges. Now, across the square on the oddly triangular corner of St. James Place and Oliver Street, we welcome Bar Oliver.
Arriving just after its 530p opening on a recent weeknight, I easily found a seat at the long, stainless steel-topped bar that runs down one side of the space. High-tops and tables line the other side, before giving way to a couple of red leather booths in the back. The vibe of the room is excellent. And the looming question of whether this is more bar or restaurant was answered when we placed our food and drink order, as the bartender handed us a numbered placard, then asked for a credit card. Bar!
“You can’t go wrong with vermouth on tap,” my friend remarked after being informed of its availability. He took that route successfully, while I opted for a Txakoli from the wines by the glass list, a Spanish white as crisp and mineral as they come. (Bar Oliver’s booze is limited to wine and beer; they’re also serving coffee starting at 8a for the neighborhood’s early risers.)
It may not be a restaurant, but Bar Oliver does serve good food — specifically, Basque-inspired tapas. Although there are ways to fashion a full dinner (with, primarily, a dry-aged ribeye served with fries), we went with a bunch of pintxo and tapas. Highlights included anchovy on a slice of bread with soft egg and green pepper relish, a do-it-yourself pan con tomate, and a generous plate of jamon iberico.
As the evening started getting going, the bar filled up — by 7p, a large group of friends was jostling against my bar seat, mumbling apologies. Turning to look out the big front windows, I could make out Bridges, no doubt thrumming across the square. The buzz is building. –Lockhart Steele
→ Bar Oliver (Chinatown) • 1 Oliver St • Tues-Sun, 8a-close, Mon 8a-3p • Reserve (walk-ins welcome).
–11/22/24
BARS • First Round
Lucky turn
The Skinny: Opened in January on the corner of Nevins and Sackett in Gowanus, Liar Liar serves natural wine, cocktails, and a concise food menu. It’s the neighborhood’s next great hang.
The Vibe: Casually stylish — low-lit and sleek, with a long bar and intimate booths that make it good for date night or drinks with friends. Founded by a group of food and wine industry pros (and pals), the bar strikes a balance between playful and polished, offering well-crafted cocktails, a creative wine list, and a lively atmosphere set to vinyl. If you’re a fan of Bed-Stuy’s Bad Luck Bar, you’ll probably like Liar Liar, too — they share an owner.
The Drinks: An extensive by-the-glass natural wine program ranges from the Rhone to the Finger Lakes, with one recent menu boasting 15 different pours. The cocktail menu is fun and punchy, with an emphasis on fino sherry-spiked martinis including an espresso variation (made with Pedro Ximenez) and a mezcal punch mixed with Cappelletti, the Italian apertivo.
The Food: A brief, salty lineup of what you crave after a few drinks, like a juicy fried chicken sandwich with coleslaw, a burger slicked with herb aioli, or steak au poivre with fries (which you can bundle with a bottle of red for $69).
The Verdict: With a back area ready for expansion and potential to build out the food and drink menus, the bar has no shortage of momentum — and given the crowds it’s already drawing despite a quiet opening, Gowanus is clearly on board. –Phoebe Fry
→ Liar Liar (Gowanus) • 285 Nevins St • Daily 4p-12a.
–04/11/25
BARS • The Nines
New bars, late 2024
The Nines are FOUND's distilled lists of NYC's best. Additions or subtractions? Hit reply or found@foundny.com.
Clemente Bar (Flatiron, above), EMP’s dual-concept clarified cocktail cocktail lounge + eight-seat omakase counter
Midnight Blue (Gramercy), covert jazz bar with expert Japanese tipple
Good Guys (Lower East Side), team Attaboy’s next door skinny spritz bar
Bar Contra (Lower East Side), technical cocktails, minimalist snacks via drinks scientist Dave Arnold and Contra crew
Pearl Box (Soho), classic cocktails and caviar service in lipstick-red space straight out of Boogie Nights
Sloane’s (Soho), tweaked classics mixed and muddled at Manner Hotel’s sleek second-story lounge
The Bar at Quarters (Tribeca), ultra-chic, covert wine bar in a historic loft, intel
Lai Rai (Chinatown), Folderol-inspired; Vietnamese ice cream, snacks, and natural wine
Hellbender (Ridgewood), Rolo’s & Radio Bakery team pull off Mexi-American margarita & soda + Mexican mozzarella sticks, intel
–11/22/24
WORK • Tuesday Routine
Shakin’ and stirrin’
PATTY DENNISON • head bartender • Grand Army Bar
Neighborhood you work in: Boerum Hill
Neighborhood you live in: Cobble Hill
It’s Tuesday morning. What’s the scene at your workplace?
Tuesday is really my Monday at Grand Army — the start of my work week. This means that I go to my "office" (aka the liquor room at Grand Army) and do ordering for the week. I sit on an extra chair from the bar, with my laptop resting on a stack of liquor cases.
What’s on the agenda for today?
Catching up on emails that I got throughout the weekend, making orders, writing a prep list, then knocking out as much prep as I can before I need to be behind the bar. I close on Tuesdays, so I don't need to be behind the bar until 530p, which gives me a lot of time to prep and get everything ready for the week.
Any restaurant plans today, tonight, this weekend?
When I’m off work, I like to catch a movie at Nitehawk or Cobble Hill Cinema. I also like going to Dave and Buster's, and some of my favorite spots to eat and drink are Long Island Bar, Hart’s, and Bernie’s.
How about a little leisure or culture this week?
Lately, I’ve been going to The Bell House more often, since my partner is a big fan of comedy shows. Plus, it’s right by The Owl Farm, which is a great bar. Cassette in Ridgewood also has fun shows, especially for seeing up-and-coming singer-songwriters.
What’s a recent big-ticket purchase you love?
I recently gave an Audio-Technica record player as a gift, which is pretty lovely. It can connect via Bluetooth to speakers, which is convenient in smaller NYC apartments where you may not be able to place them directly next to each other.
What NYC store or service do you love to recommend?
Woods Grove in Carroll Gardens. They have everything you don't really need, but really want. It’s an incredible place to buy gifts for anyone and everyone, whether it’s a cute dog toy, nice candle, kitchen item, or unique trinket.
–04/01/25
RESTAURANTS & BARS • First Person
Meet your heroes
Among the crop of new restaurants gracing New York City this fall, perhaps what’s made me happiest are the number of spots that have come out of the gate fully themselves, doing something different on arrival — and doing it extremely well.
On West Broadway in Soho just below Broome, two new establishments tucked into the same townhouse recently joined this select group. I knew right away when we walked into the ground-floor restaurant Heroes that we were in for a novel experience. The decor is replete with lavenders and blacks, starting with the curved bar up front that gives way to a dining room ringed with banquettes in the back. Throughout, tall open racks display hundreds of wine bottles all tagged around their necks, a modernist wine cellar. This is a sexy date-night spot for post-daylight savings evenings.
Following a knockout meal, we headed upstairs. After passing through the cool-looking private dining room on the second floor — holiday party bookers, take note — we found our way to the top floor cocktail bar, Pearl Box (above). Here, Arce unabashedly set out to create 1970s-Playboy Club vibes. Surveying the room’s red glow from our two-top by the bar, it’s hard not to believe she succeeded. A final round of cocktails closed out our night, though if you’re coming in for more than a nightcap, there’s a separate small plates menu here, too, not to mention a roving caviar cart.
Pearl Box and Heroes operate as separate establishments, with separate reservation books. They’re great paired together, but also very much their own spots, as they begin to tell their own distinct New York City stories. –Lockhart Steele
→ Heroes (Soho) • 357 W Broadway • Mon-Sat 5-1030p • Reserve.
→ Pearl Box (Soho) • 357 W Broadway • Reserve (or both, via reservations@heroesrestaurantnyc.com)
–11/05/24
BARS • First Round
Fresh terroir
The Skinny: An offshoot of the Soho wine bar La Compagnie des Vins Surnaturels, La Compagnie Flatiron opened last spring in a swankier, larger, more grown-up space.
The Vibe: Sophisticated, approachable, and a little sultry. The bar’s design is immaculate, characterized by traditional New York brickwork and original parquet flooring, with industrial metal accents and a variety of barstools, velvet couches, and cozy two-seater tables.
The List: Refreshingly, not dogmatically natural, though there’s plenty of natural wine to be found. Fans of the classics will delight in the bar’s extensive Champagne, Burgundy, and Bordeaux offerings. The list also highlights a number of Italian greats and is peppered with off-the-beaten-path picks from Argentina, South Africa, New York, and beyond. (In the spirit of bringing a piece of the bar’s original repertoire uptown, La Compagnie Flatiron carries on with its Wine Boot Camp series and daily Mystery Wine tradition — winners who guess the blind pour taste correctly win the bottle along with bragging rights.)
The Food: A half-dozen snacks for the table, a handful of skewers, and a set of composed plates of meats and fish, with an emphasis on locally sourced produce. Highlights include housemade gougères, chicory salad, and black truffle flatbread made with béchamel, confit sunchoke, and toasted chestnuts.
Why It’s FOUND: A more mature sibling of a beloved spot with a 23-page list — including non-alcoholic beverages and 20+ wines by the glass. –Vicki Denig
→ La Compagnie Flatiron (Flatiron) • 6 W 24th St • Mon-Wed 5p-12a, Thur-Sat 5p-12a, Sun 4-11p • Reserve.
–02/07/25
BARS • The Nines
Beer, gardens and halls
The Nines are FOUND's distilled lists of the best. Additions or subtractions? Hit reply or found@foundny.com.
Hofbrãu Bierhaus (Midtown East), where it’s Oktoberfest every afternoon and evening
Reichenbach Hall (Midtown, above), Bavarian beer barn
The Standard Biergarten (Meatpacking District), under the High Line, plus-sized pretzels and 1-liter steins
Loreley (Lower East Side), perpetually packed for suds, schnapps, and schnitzel
Radegast (Williamsburg), named for the Slavic god of hospitality, plenty of Teutonic fare and ale
Der Schwarze Kölner (Fort Greene), currywurst, kraut, Kölsch
Black Forest Brooklyn (multiple locations), the Schwarzwald’s big German beer offerings
Gottscheer Hall (Ridgewood), a 100-year-old beer hall from ethnic-German Slovenians
Bohemian Hall (Astoria), ‘Bohemka,’ as local Czechs call this grand dame of NYC beer gardens
–03/21/25