Maison Premiere

Maison Premiere is classy through and through. That’s not to say the place is crusty or pretentious. It celebrates and openly refers to New Orleans, a city famous for its revelry and the revelry itself. But Maison Premiere is inspired by NOLA’s gentry rather than its seedier aspects. You aren’t going to tie one on here the way you might in NOLA, but you will certainly enjoy some of the finer things and feel buzzy for having done so.

The place is beautiful—simplicity and patina keep focus on the cocktail program, which is one of the city’s best. It also specializes in Absinthe, which they have a large selection of, and it features in their cocktail-making. If you’re trying to steer to the New York standards, the expensive but astoundingly cold Old King Cole Martini is mixed tableside and goes down smooth as liquid crystal.

Maison Premiere’s raw bar is the main attraction. It’s hard to say one place’s raw bar is better than another—there’s no cookery happening, so it comes down to presentation and ingredient quality. Well, the people doing this place’s shucking, plating, and buying all function at a very high level. Oysters are terrific and come in a delightful variety. Aside from the raw, the dirty rice verges on paella with lobster, squid and spicy ‘Nduja.

Maison Premiere offers New Yorkers a chance to slow down and appreciate the good things in life. In warm weather, the back garden helps reinforce that mission. An evening here isn’t exactly inexpensive, but it’s a life-affirming experience worth the indulgence.