Cocktail Lounge

The Oak Bar Wins the Luxist Awards Readers' Choice Award for Best Hotel Bar

Filed under: Spirits

The Plaza Hotel's Oak Bar wins the Luxist Awards readers' choice award for best hotel bar.

The Oak Bar in The Oak Room, a New York landmark and iconic meeting spot is the winner of the Luxist Award for Best Hotel bar.

Located on the first floor of New York's fabled landmark, The Plaza Hotel, The Oak Bar is one of the most romantic meeting spots in Manhattan. The Oak Bar serves as an informal gathering place for New York's luminaries, with distinctive cocktails and a separate bar menu along with the classic view of Central Park South from its windows.

Bringing old-world glamour to the 21st century, The Oak Room was originally designed by Henry Hardenbergh in 1907 as a bar for men only. It closed during Prohibition and re-opened in 1934 as a full service restaurant. The Oak Room is known for its detailed wood-paneled walls and barrel-vaulted ceiling. The three carved niches feature beautiful murals of German feudal castles with one mural featuring the former Cornelius Vanderbilt II mansion, which is now the location of luxury goods department store, Bergdorf Goodman.

Gallery: The Oak Room At The Plaza Hotel, New York

The Oak Bar in the Oak Room at The Plaza Hotel, New York

Tags: awards-main, best hotel bar, cocktail lounge, hotel bar, Luxist-awards, Oak Bar, Oak Room, Plaza Hotel, winners-entertainment

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Harry's Bar Wins Luxist Awards Readers' Choice Award for Best Cocktail Lounge

by Carrie Coolidge (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Spirits

Harry's Bar in Paris wins Luxist Awards readers' choice award for best cocktail lounge

No matter what country they're from, everyone seems to love Harry's New York Bar, a Paris venue that is the winner of the Luxist Awards' Readers' Choice Award for Best Cocktail Lounge.

Since 1911, Harry's New York Bar has been mixing masterpieces for Parisians and international celebrities like Ernest Hemingway, FDR and the Duke of Windsor. The expatriate community is celebrated and encouraged there -- a somewhat atypical attitude in Paris -- and the bar is adoringly referred to as "Sank Roo Doe Noo," which is what the address sounds like if your French is terrible.

The bar is in the style of a proper classic cocktail venue; the main wooden bar is cozy and intimate, the walls are layered with college football pennants and black and white photos, the ceiling is dark and ornate, the downstairs piano bar is sultry and sophisticated and the lighting is warm and low. Be sure and take note of the Scottish crests on the walls; the original owner, American star jockey Tod Sloan, hired Scotsman Harry McElhone to run his "New York Bar," and he left his mark everywhere including the neon marquis out front.

Gallery: Harry's New York Bar in Paris

Woman enjoying a Sidecar at Harry's Bar in Paris

Harry's New York Bar has the distinguished distinction of (and our eternal gratitude for) having invented the Bloody Mary, the Sidecar and many other cocktails during their 99 year history. Perhaps one of their current concoctions will one day be as successful. Our bets are placed on the "Web Spirit" (5 cl mezcal, 2 cl cranberry juice, 1 cl lemon juice and 2 cl peach liqeuer), which they created for the launch of their website -- simple, yet devastatingly effective.

Though it's a long way to travel, you're certain to be welcomed at Harry's New York Bar -- and if you find yourself in Paris on Thanksgiving or The Fourth of July, there's no better place to be for American splendor (and drink specials).

Tags: awards-main, best cocktail lounge, cocktail lounge, Harrys bar, luxist-awards, Paris, winners-entertainment

Nominees for Best in Entertainment

by Carrie Coolidge (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Dining, Spirits

Best Wine Bars

The first nominee offers an authentic Tuscan experience in the heart of Manhattan while the second nominee is an inviting and chic wine bar that is a favorite of San Francisco residents. The third nominee is sure to please every oenophile with its vast selection of wines from around the world while the fourth nominee offers a stunning selection and intimate ambiance with a European feel. The final nominee is a cozy, yet sophisticated establishment that attracts wine country royalty.

Accademia di Vino

Bar Bambino

The Local Vine
Mercy Wine Bar

Underwood Bar & Bistro

Best Cocktail Lounges
The first nominee is a monumental place with a magical atmosphere while the second features handcrafted liqueurs and innovative imbibables. The third nominee takes a culinary approach to the art of cocktail making while the fourth has been mixing masterpieces for Parisians and international celebrities since 1911. The final nominee is housed in a two-story barn that dates back to the 16th century England.

Best Coffeehouses
The first nominee is known for discovering unknown and exotic coffees from around the world while the second is focused on its craft of making the best coffee. The third nominee is the largest chain of coffeehouses in the world while the fourth nominee knows coffee the way oenologists know wine. The final nominee features artisan-roasted beans and single-origin coffees and teas from around the world.

Zoka

Best Hotel Bars

The first nominee offers the royal treatment and is located within one of the world's most glamorous hotels. The second nominee blends grand heritage with modern panache while the third offers spectacular service and stupendous views. The fourth nominee is a decadent, elegant and decidedly dressy bar while the final nominee is a New York landmark and iconic meeting place.

Best Brew Pubs

The first nominee is in Vemont and the only way to sample its beer is to go there yourself. The second nominee has won countless awards while the third nominee features hand-crafted beer. The fourth nominee brews its award-winning beer on the premises while many consider the beers made by the final nominee among the best in the world.

The Alchemist Pub and Brewery

Four Peaks Brewing Co.

Lost Coast Brewery

Silver City Brewery

Spuyten Duyvil

Tags: awards-main, beer, best brew pub, best cocktail lounge, best hotel bar, best wine bar, claridges, Cocktail Lounge, four seasons, Four Seasons George V, hotel, luxist-awards, Plaza Hotel, Starbucks, starbucks coffee, wine, wine bar, winners-entertainment

The Drawing Room: Culinary Cocktails

by Annie Scott (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Spirits

The Drawing Room is nominated for a Luxist Award for Best Cocktail Lounge.

Adjoined to the well-lauded Chicago nightclub Le Passage is The Drawing Room, an exclusive dining and cocktail lounge and nominee for a Readers' Choice Award for Best Cocktail Lounge.

Pull up a chair to a rustic wooden table in the exquisite venue inspired by designer Hugh N'Cho-Allepot and order a small plate of contemporary, seasonal cuisine -- you'll need food in your stomach as you embark on a journey through the handcrafted liqueurs and innovative imbibables of The Drawing Room.

Gallery: The Drawing Room in Chicago

Tales of the Cocktail winner Charles Joly is the Chief Mixologist presiding over the impressive team of Master Bartenders at The Drawing Room, and together they hone delicious recipes and hand-make ingredients for both pre-Prohibition cocktails and cocktails of the future. Ask for table-side service, and someone will wheel a cart to your table with all the in-house brandied cherries, hand-squeezed fruit juices and bitters from scratch they need to create your consummate cocktail. Your mixologist will walk you through the process and let you smell and/or taste each delectable ingredient. Even the ice is special: The Drawing Room uses a one-of-a-kind, upside-down, horizontal evaporating ice machine to make each cube clear and perfect.

Drinks at The Drawing Room are constantly changing, but they've been known to make their "culinary cocktails" with ingredients like rose water, honey water, lemon oil, egg white, Canton ginger liqueur, torched bitters and Malort, among other unusual elixirs. Metromix recommends the "Secret Cocktail (Plymouth gin, Laird's AppleJack, pomegranate grenadine and fresh lemon-sour, $16), and A Perfect Poire (Bacardi Apple, Marie Brizard Poire liqueur, pear puree, cinnamon-pear maple syrup and a caramelized pear slice garnish, $16)."

Some readers seem perfectly willing to lay down in the street to get their hands on a table, describing the cocktails as "unbelievably well-balanced" and "the best drink I've ever had." Similar comments surround the food -- we highly recommend going there and checking out whatever they're doing with bacon this week.

Vote for the cocktail lounge that you believe is the best of breed. The voting period runs through April 30 and winners will be announced on May 1.

Tags: awards-main, bar, best bar, best cocktail lounge, chicago, cocktail lounge, cocktails, le passage, luxist-awards, the drawing room

Harry's New York Bar: The Parisian Home of the Bloody Mary

by Annie Scott (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Spirits

Harry's New York Bar in Paris is nominated for best cocktail lounge

No matter what country they're from, everyone seems to love Harry's New York Bar, a Paris venue nominated for a Luxist Awards' Readers' Choice Award for Best Cocktail Lounge.

Since 1911, Harry's New York Bar has been mixing masterpieces for Parisians and international celebrities like Ernest Hemingway, FDR and the Duke of Windsor. The expatriate community is celebrated and encouraged there -- a somewhat atypical attitude in Paris -- and the bar is adoringly referred to as "Sank Roo Doe Noo," which is what the address sounds like if your French is terrible.

The bar is in the style of a proper classic cocktail venue; the main wooden bar is cozy and intimate, the walls are layered with college football pennants and black and white photos, the ceiling is dark and ornate, the downstairs piano bar is sultry and sophisticated and the lighting is warm and low. Be sure and take note of the Scottish crests on the walls; the original owner, American star jockey Tod Sloan, hired Scotsman Harry McElhone to run his "New York Bar," and he left his mark everywhere including the neon marquis out front.

Gallery: Harry's New York Bar in Paris