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Remember the $10 cocktail? Ah, those were the days. It seems we didn't realize the cocktail surge before it was too late. We certainly didn’t sneeze at the price when it crawled to $12. But at $15, our wallets definitely took notice. And now that cocktails have tipped over the $20-mark, budgeting before going out is basically a requirement. But now there is a new bar in New York here to blow a hole through the whole damn thing. Coming to market with showstopping cocktails is BarChef (21 W 35th St, 3rd floor), serving them at the showstopping price of $43.
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BarChef marks the first expansion for the Canada-based cocktail bar, initially established in Toronto back in 2008. Behind it is all Frankie Solarik. Recently featured as a judge on Netflix's "Drink Masters," Solarik has been recognized by The New York Times as a "Legendary Experimentalist" when it comes toward cocktails, introducing techniques gleaned from the culinary world to the glass. Owners of Loulou Petit, Mino Habib and Mathias Van Leyden, worked with Solarik to bring his bar international with the New York location opening this past June.
The midtown bar is located behind a massive, rust colored door that easily blends into the facade of 35 Street. Find the entry and climb up the stairs, bypassing the unlimited Wagyu steak restaurant, Niku X, on the ground floor. Once you arrive on the third floor, you’ll find that the bar is no bigger than a long hallway, albeit a glamorous one with sunken white leather couches, ample-sized marble tables and reddish and white stone walls flush with live greenery that nearly climbs to the glass ceiling. When the weather is agreeable, the retractable roof slides open, giving a slice of the Empire State Building in view.
At either end, you'll find two bars. If you walk to the right, you’ll find a handsome green marble bar that glows with bottles of all kinds. This bar solely churns out drinks from the "Contemporary" menu, a seasonal selection of cocktails that have a ring of familiarity to them with a few twists stirred in. Take the Charred Strawberry ($24). While billed as an Old Fashioned, the cocktail drinks more like a Negroni with strawberry-infused Bombay gin, roasted chicory that’s also infused with Maraschino, a splash of Laphroaig Islay scotch and bitters galore with strawberry and elderberry and toasted chamomile and saffron bitters. The Charred Japanese Highball ($24) also gets a bit of flame, as a slightly blackened grapefruit wedge balances out the Toki Japanese whisky, clarified lemon and lapsang cocktail.
The bar near the entryway, however, is the one that’s turning out the showstoppers of the evening. Here, the Modernist Series menu comes to life, intending to provoke the senses via lime and vanilla air, flavored gels and the usage of dry ice. Probably the most eye-catching (and expensive) of them all is The Spring Thaw ($43). You can quite literally wade through the garden as the cocktail is nestled inside an immersive green motif with edible flowers and micro basil, incensed with orange blossom air. Oh, and a thick river of mist rises from it all thanks to the usage of dry ice. The drink itself uses a mix of Champagne and London dry gin, poured over a spherified round of Campari and vanilla granita.
The Illuminated Eucalyptus ($38) leans into the earthy theme in more than just taste, served out of a hollowed-out hunk of wood that mimics a cut-down tree. Inside, you'll find a Japanese pebble garden with several river rocks dotted with pastis and white chocolate gel drops. As you drink the cocktail—made with a blend of Bacardi rum and 818 Blanco poured over a frozen coconut cube—you are instructed to eat the gel (or in my case lick), sip and repeat.
If your table has room for food, a selection of Japanese-inspired dishes awaits. Think Wagyu tartare, potstickers plump with oxtail and platters of tuna, yellowtail and then some. You can even get a seared A5 Wagyu ribeye or a charred lobster tail, complemented with parmesan, garlic, butter and a similarly charred lemon.
So if you feel like shelling out for a drink and a show, BarChef is ready for the stage.