Classy bars...

[RondoHatton]

Library Bar

"Well-heeled professionals and fashion-focused creatives... hipsters lounge on luxurious leather... sounds of Jim Hendrix and The Who drift from the jukebox... adjacent to the L.A. Library and trendy Standard... unassumingly chic... $5 parking with Library Bar Validation!"

Definitely cancel my rhumba lessons.

 

[Miss_Bella_Hell]

Milk & Honey has gone private, and since I don't live in Manhattan it isn't really worth it for me to buy a key (even if I could afford it).

However, I've found a suitable replacement: Raines Law Room. http://eater.com/archives/2009/02/glimpsing_newcomer_raines_law_room.php
Very nice atmosphere, smells great (I kept raving about it to the proprietor), low key and comfortable. If you go, look closely at the wallpaper.

The picture on the left is the kitchen/bar, which is at the back of the room. You have to walk through it to get to the washrooms. The picture on the right is the main sitting area. Behind gauzy black curtains there are 4 more "booths" that sit about 6-8 people each. The curtains you see in the pic on the right are concealing the entrance; the booths would be behind the photographer.

 

[clubwitsend]

Milk & Honey has gone private, and since I don't live in Manhattan it isn't really worth it for me to buy a key (even if I could afford it).

However, I've found a suitable replacement: Raines Law Room. http://eater.com/archives/2009/02/glimpsing_newcomer_raines_law_room.php
Very nice atmosphere, smells great (I kept raving about it to the proprietor), low key and comfortable. If you go, look closely at the wallpaper.

The picture on the left is the kitchen/bar, which is at the back of the room. You have to walk through it to get to the washrooms. The picture on the right is the main sitting area. Behind gauzy black curtains there are 4 more "booths" that sit about 6-8 people each. The curtains you see in the pic on the right are concealing the entrance; the booths would be behind the photographer.

I'm headed there this week sometime, hopefully! My pal is a bartender there (shown in the back of the photo at left), and created our signature cocktail for Wit's End....but I haven't made it up there yet...it looks fantastic!

 

[Miss_Bella_Hell]

I'm headed there this week sometime, hopefully! My pal is a bartender there (shown in the back of the photo at left), and created our signature cocktail for Wit's End....but I haven't made it up there yet...it looks fantastic!

Great! I was drinking the French 75s (delicious) so didn't get to try the sig cocktail at Wit's End.

Another great thing about Raines: the noshes! Their signature popcorn is delicious, and we sampled some of the Belgian chocolates on offer. Yum! :essen:

 

[clubwitsend]

Great! I was drinking the French 75s (delicious) so didn't get to try the sig cocktail at Wit's End.

Another great thing about Raines: the noshes! Their signature popcorn is delicious, and we sampled some of the Belgian chocolates on offer. Yum! :essen:

Oooh fantastic! I was on the French 75s all night, too, I have to confess! It's one of my very favorite drinks!

We were actually thinking about whether people who attended the club would like to come out on little cocktail outings with us...to places like Raines, Death and Company, PDT, Hotel Delmano, Pegu Club, Angels Share, Little Branch, etc...

Milk and Honey is the one I haven't gone to! Was it heaven?

 

[Miss_Bella_Hell]

Oooh fantastic! I was on the French 75s all night, too, I have to confess! It's one of my very favorite drinks!

We were actually thinking about whether people who attended the club would like to come out on little cocktail outings with us...to places like Raines, Death and Company, PDT, Hotel Delmano, Pegu Club, Angels Share, Little Branch, etc...

Milk and Honey is the one I haven't gone to! Was it heaven?

Well, speaking for myself, I'd certainly be interested in cocktail outings!

I was completely enamored of M&H, I must admit. I wonder if there are any pictures anywhere? VERY small, darkly lit, and of course fabulous drinks. We always had the most adorable waitress, alto voice, very mysterious.

 

[clubwitsend]

Well, speaking for myself, I'd certainly be interested in cocktail outings!

I was completely enamored of M&H, I must admit. I wonder if there are any pictures anywhere? VERY small, darkly lit, and of course fabulous drinks. We always had the most adorable waitress, alto voice, very mysterious.

Nice! Someday I'll make it there!

I'll have to give some more thought to the idea of doing cocktail outings...I bet a few other people from this forum might be interested, too! It would be great to actually get to sit and chat between events!

 

[WildCelt]

Why can't bars, and restaurants too for that matter, have little closets that patrons could go into if they absolutely had to talk on their cell phones. That way they wouldn't have to disturb other patrons and they could hear what was being said on the phone. They could be called something like "phone booths".

You know, even if one doesn't subscribe to the notion that phone conversations should be relatively private, I imagine it would be nice to be able to have a place in a bar to go where the noise of the bar wouldn't drown out one's conversation. It's very difficult to hear the person on the other end sometimes.

 

[Mike Hammered]

Classy Bars

My favorite bar caters to me rather than the other way around.

My bartender always smiles when I come in, letting me know that he's glad I stopped in. He remembers what I drink, and he asks after my wife and kids, having also taken the time to remember their names. If I get a call, I take it, answering in a conversational tone. He doesn't complain because because he knows those phone calls are important for the both of us.

I continue going back because it enhances my life rather than restricting it. I keep going back because they realize that they are there for my pleasure rather than thinking that I am there at their pleasure.

That's the kind of attitude that makes the mahogany bar, hand-chipped ice and vests elegant. Otherwise, this would be just another high-end joint that anyone with money could throw together to do what anyone else could do. Mixing drinks is, after all, not rocket science.

 

[get_atomized]

Jeez, it would be nice to see this kind of care and accommodation made for us polite, civilized drinkers of the lower class, too!

 

[Steven180]

I saw this thread and a recent introduction instantly came to mind...

Not long ago I met a business associate in Boston who took me to a downstairs bar called Lucky's as what she described as a "modern speak easy." The location was nondescript and located on an unmarked corner of the downtown area. The restaurant served a delicious dinner, and then the place turned into a jazz style bar after happy hour. They offered live jazz and blues on specific nights but otherwise the tunes were piped in.

I was struck by the eclectic nature of the crowd. All ages, all styles, and all seemed to be there just to spend good time with each other. Even though there was an odd chap out of place here or there, the majority seemed gracious and respectful of all.

Although Lucky's might not meet the standards and dictates of some of the earlier comments, I highly recommend trying it if you're in the Boston area. I purposely left out the address...finding it is half the fun.
M.

 

[Lucyinthesky]

Went here a while back with a few members. Library Bar

Read and drink. An interesting combination

Library Bar is amazing
La Cana Rum Bar....
Bonaventure Westin Downtown Los Angeles.....

 

[Dixie_Amazon]

If you are ever in Baton Rouge check out Hayride Scandal for classic cocktails and decor. Their TVs usually show trailers from old black and white movies. They just added a Victorian-inspired parlor inspired with its own cocktail menu. I hope being named one of the South's best new bars in Garden & Gun magazine doesn't go to the owners' heads.

 

[The Jackal]

There is a bar in Atlanta that is modeled after a classic Speakeasy, right down to the fact that its hidden and you can't just go there. You have to get the "secret code" from someone else and enter it into a phone booth outside.

They also have a minimum dress code that requires men to be wearing a sports coat at the least.

I've not been, but I hope to get the opportunity in the coming months.

 

[Bushman]

Here's a list I put together of 7 of my favorites from when I visited Dublin a few years back: https://imgur.com/a/V2c7l

 

[GHT]

When I lived in London one of my favourite watering holes wasn't a club, pub or bar, it was the last surviving ballroom, and to the best of my knowledge it's still there. It's called The Rivoli and this is it.


The bar area is rather attractive too, my missus always has one of their mojitos.