Are cocktail bars the hottest new restaurant?
Musings on the rise of the cocktail-bar-slash-restaurant.
Last week I met a friend of mine at Bar Contra. We each had two drinks and a number of small plates—some larger than others—and left feeling like we’d had a full dinner. In most obvious ways we had. We’d had multiple courses, including dessert. There was protein, and fiber. The bill was around what you’d pay for a dinner at any of the “real” restaurants nearby. We’d lingered there for a few hours.
As I walked home, between my thoughts on regretting my decision to walk home, it occurred to me that most of my dinners out recently have been at self-proclaimed bars.
At the lush Bar Clemente tucked away above Eleven Madison Park I had an absolutely fantastic meal (proving me delightfully misguided in my unfounded judgement of high-end vegan food). Across the bridge at Long Island Bar I’ve had many complete meals, albeit less polished (if you haven’t tried the Wisconsin cheese curds there, this is your sign to). Just off Houston at Superbueno I’ve had rounds of tacos alongside rounds of their award-winning drinks.
When did cocktail bars become some of the best places to eat in the city?
If you live in New York, you may have noticed that it is now a Olympic sport getting a “good” reservation for a Friday or Saturday night. While it has become harder and harder to get a restaurant reservation, bars don’t seem to suffer from the same capacity issues—maybe because their drinks-only guests come and go faster. Over time I’ve found that ‘waiting at a bar for a table at a restaurant’ has often become ‘eating at a bar instead of waiting for a table at a restaurant.’
At the same time, well-known chefs have started migrating from the typical restaurant setting to the less formal, more fanciful cocktail bar. Maybe its the thrill of a different format, or the opportunity to pioneer a more synergistic paired drinks-and-food experience that to date has been limited to wine.
Another possibility is that in a city that’s breaming with Hinge dates, networking dinners, and loose connections, a cocktail bar is simply a lower commitment format to spend time with someone. Date not going well? You can completely acceptably leave after one drink. Not loving your cousin’s friend who’s visiting from out of town who you said you’d meet up with? Dip out after drinks and a shared tuna tartare for a “dinner” that you’ve “sadly” committed to.
It’s possible it’s all of the above, or none of it. But as someone who dines at cocktail bars like it’s my job (if only), I can only hope that the Resy overloads stay well away from my bar seats.
i’ve noticed this trend
Sip and guzzle is another example