324365 Fri Sep 08 17:55:32 -0700 2006 16 18 Manhattan 0 1863126 Heard great things about the Upper Easts Bemelmans Bar being a great "New York" experience anyone have an opinion? Fri Sep 08 17:55:32 -0700 2006 37345 rathbone 1 1863145 It's a pretty cool place. The music is great. Go early so you can get a seat. There's a cover at the tables, but at the bar I think it's free or a cheaper cover charge. The drinks are classic NY as it the rest of the experience. Brought dad here for 60th b-day after dinner at L'Impero everyone loved it. Now I come with friends during the holiday months as it's a warm and cozy kind of place. I definintely recommend. Fri Sep 08 18:01:29 -0700 2006 1863126 20483 jenniebnyc 2 1863449 Been a few years but I always loved it... Quiet, dark, romantic and very old New York... You almost "feel" the presence of all the cool people who have frequented the place over the years. I love nostalgia! Do they still serve those homemade chips with the cocktails? Fri Sep 08 19:31:57 -0700 2006 1863145 11633 Michele4466 3 1863462 Yep, they still have the chips and nuts and that chinese mix. Fri Sep 08 19:38:01 -0700 2006 1863449 20483 jenniebnyc 4 1864197 Forgot about all that... that is why I ADORE hotel bars... most have the best snacks :-) Did you ever go to the Mayfair on Park Avenue before it closed... They had the nicest bar/tea area... and they also had GREAT snacks. The waitstaff/cocktail waitresses were so nice... and you always saw someone famous there, a writer or a dignitary or an actress... Fri Sep 08 23:54:51 -0700 2006 1863462 11633 Michele4466 1 1863187 love it. They make cocktails the old fashioned (really, no pun initally intended) way. Whiskey/bourbon sours to die for. Dress eleganly to fit in. Fri Sep 08 18:13:34 -0700 2006 1863126 21566 tbear 2 1863221 Thanks for the input, I just moved to the neighborhood... Might go check it out tonight! Fri Sep 08 18:23:03 -0700 2006 1863187 37345 rathbone 1 1863477 We went after work one day (I think on a Wednesday or Thursday) and loved it. There was no cover and we got a table immediately. It was well worth the cost (I think it was $14 for most cocktails). I wonder how the food is? --Sarah http://www.avenuefood.com Fri Sep 08 19:43:02 -0700 2006 1863126 26138 slynnkiino 2 1863505 They used to have "Tea with Madeline" during the day there, b/c of the paintings on the walls. So cute. i wonder if thet still do it? As for the food...the Carlyle is known for socialite lunching and dinner. This is according to my last read "The Debutante Divorcee", by Plum Sykes. LOL Fri Sep 08 19:50:35 -0700 2006 1863477 20483 jenniebnyc 3 1863560 The food is actually very good...high end dining for sure but very good. Service is impeccable, white glove type... though as I mentioned before, it has been a few years... You always felt special dining in that beautiful room... We used to run into very interesting people while "hanging" at the Carlyle... I always loved fine hotel bars, all of them. Fri Sep 08 20:03:38 -0700 2006 1863505 11633 Michele4466 2 1869249 they’re doing serious precision salad assembly in that kitchen. everything is cut just perfectly, but the dressing is truly masterful : I’d like to watch the tossing in action, to see them get such a delicate but thorough coating. You will not be disappointed if you order a salad! Liz Mon Sep 11 20:37:39 -0700 2006 1863477 21283 lizardqueen 1 1865360 Bemelmans bar is wonderful, so New York. There is no cover at the cocktail hour. The piano player starts around 6pm and he is great. Go, enjoy, have a drink for me.:-). Sat Sep 09 19:11:47 -0700 2006 1863126 13406 Raisel 1 1865443 I love that place, but nobody mentions the $$$ which could be an issue for most people. Definitely a special-occaision bar. Sat Sep 09 20:10:45 -0700 2006 1863126 12037 Ida Red 1 1865626 Agree with everything that was said above. This place is a really great old school new york bar. I am forgetting the woman who created the drink menu and I am not sure that she is there, but the selection is wonderful and the drinks are extremely well made. The booths are very intimate and I love the murals. www.kitchencocktails.blogspot.com Sat Sep 09 22:03:34 -0700 2006 1863126 13886 gardengirl 2 1865697 I think that would be Audrey Sanders, who recently opened Pegu Club on Houston Street (another place for seriously good cocktails). I've heard she and some of the other best mixologists in the city put in time at Bemelman's. --Sarah http://www.avenuefood.com Sat Sep 09 22:54:07 -0700 2006 1865626 26138 slynnkiino 1 1866389 You are absolutely right, Audrey Sanders is the woman I was thinking about. I actually went to Pegu Club on Friday night. Had the most amazing jasmine, peach, and gin fizz. Sun Sep 10 14:28:54 -0700 2006 1863126 13886 gardengirl 1 1871074 Nothing against the impeccable credientials of Audrey Sanders, but the bar was 100% great before. I think the new owners were keen on modernizing the drink menus to compete with trendy places. My only complaint about the current procedure is that the "up" cocktails have been supersized: bartenders pour your cocktail into a large glass and put the hefty remainder in a little carafe and sit it in crushed ice. That's a whole lot of likker. If I wanted two drinks I'd order two drinks. Tue Sep 12 15:56:27 -0700 2006 1863126 13780 Up With Olives