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New to the sixth floor of the Wythe Hotel, Bar Blondeau opens its 70-seat space tonight. It’s the latest venture from the folks behind Acme, Chez Ma Tante and Le Crocodile, which opened on the Wythe’s ground floor to quick acclaim in 2019.
Inside, oak walls are lit from above and below to a golden glow, and an expanse of windows look out on the East River and Manhattan beyond. Big banquettes are covered in green velvet, shades of which carry over to the bar, that, in keeping with a secret pact apparently made by restaurant operators citywide, is marble-topped.
Bar Blondeau’s small plates menu is replete with French, Spanish and Portuguese-inspired seafood. Opening items include salmon rillettes ($18), tuna tartare ($26), swordfish ($26) and halibut and chips ($29). Land plates like cucumber and melon salad ($15) and raclette with potatoes and Spanish ham ($18) are also available.
The bar spotlights natural wines by burgeoning makers, with orange varieties, a few large format bottles and a chilled red among the selections. Several zero-proof options like non-alcoholic micheladas and old fashioneds ($12) and two booze-free wines ($11 a glass) get good billing on the long drink menu, too, outnumbering even the five beers on offer.
Cocktails are $17, including two frozen varieties: The Pan Am, with sparkling rosé, tequila blanco, lemon oil, Aperol, cayenne and the L’orange, with orange wine, Lilet blanc, Sweedish-style aquavit and absinthe.
Bar Blondeau opens at 5pm at 80 Whythe Ave. from Tuesday–Sunday.