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New York City Cocktail Bars

Bemelmans Bar

This timeless bar draws up a cocktail list to match.

The Scene

The Carlyle Hotel's bar and cabaret club has hosted well-heeled travelers and Upper East Side neighbors since opening in 1929. Now, with a fresh polish, it's courting a new influx of bar-goers. "Madeline" creator Ludwig Bemelmans' restored murals--which depict Central Park scenes populated by debonair rabbits and foxes--make the room an enduring treasure; the new gold-leaf ceiling, coupled with subdued lighting, gives the crowd a healthy glow.

The Draw

Cocktail hour is prime time, when a stately clientele gabs over drinks and evocative piano music. (Does someone request "As Times Goes By" every night?) The drink list, by Dale DeGroff and new manager Audrey Saunders, includes such highlights as the subtle, rum-based Jamaican Firefly (kicked with homemade ginger beer), the Whiskey Smash--a lively take on the Mint Julep--and the Bemelmans Barter, with cognac, pinapple juice, orange curacao and bitters.

35 E 76th St
New York, NY 10021
Phone: (212) 744-1600