Three new capital-B bars

Midnight Blue (Gramercy), Good Guy’s (Lower East Side), Bar Contra (Lower East Side)

BARS • First Round

MIDNIGHT IN GRAMERCY: Takuma Watanabe of Martiny’s fame (number four on North America’s 50 Best Bars list) is at the helm of Midnight Blue, a new jazz and cocktail lounge in Gramercy. The space is actually two in one, with Bar Neat, a cramped library-like whiskey den, up front. The main event is discreetly tucked away behind a wooden door. Inside, at the end of the surprisingly large room, there’s a jazz stage bathed in light, a scattering of bistro tables, and a long bar from where one can order a wide array of excellent Japanese-accented tipple, from a matcha piña colada to an old-fashioned infused with shiitake mushrooms, soy sauce maple syrup, and lapsang souchong tea.
→ Midnight Blue (Gramercy) • 106 E 19th St • Tues-Sat 5p-1a • Reserve (walk-ins welcome).

SPRITZING: A slim, white-washed Lower East Side spritz bar, Good Guy’s (above) shares a wall and ownership team with Attaboy (another 50 Best Bars staple). In fact, the two spaces mirror each other with an identical layout: front bar with stools and four booths directly behind. Dedicated to six light, effervescent drinks (plus a handful of wines and a back bar lined with amari), these are spritzes like you’ve never had — bubbly drinks of genius balance, such as Cynar, passionfruit, lemon, and Prosecco, and another with cacao, raspberry, and Lambrusco. Also, snacks, via tinned fish and plates like pan con tomate.
→ Good Guy’s (Lower East Side) • 134 Eldridge St • Sun-Wed 5p-1a, Thurs-Sat 5p-2a • No reservations.

COMPARE AND CONTRAST: The recent revamp of LES minimalist tasting menu restaurant Contra into Bar Contra included replacing the set menu with snacky yet sophisticated à la carte bites from chefs Fabián von Hauske and Jeremiah Stone, and adding cocktails by OG science-forward mixologist Dave Arnold (of the late, great Booker and Dax). Arnold’s lengthy drinks list includes rare ingredients like medicinal Mexican melipona honey, and a riff on a rum and Coke that sidesteps both ingredients but produces similar flavors with pisco, Averna, and lime. While the food menu changes often, one constant: a very delicious crumpet made from celeriac, served with an umami-packed wakame seaweed butter. Unfortunately, the poached tuna belly tartare with tissue paper-thin potato chips shingled atop is a limited edition. –Kat Odell
→ Bar Contra (Lower East Side) • 138 Orchard St • Tues-Sat 530p-12a • Reserve.