Five Ways to Spot an “It” Bar
From coast to coast, here are the design hallmarks of today’s hottest bars.
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Vibey V-Shaped Glasses The V-shaped Martini glass of today is not the 10-ounce behemoth of the 1990s. It’s narrower, more wieldy, elegant. And it’s served up everywhere from the “space age cocktail party” scene at Night on Earth in Los Angeles, to the checkered tablecloths at historic (recently revamped) bistro Le Veau d’Or, to, you guessed it, the bar at Schmuck. (Aljaff prefers the Drajja glass from Bobo, because of both its look and utility—the svelte shape means he can keep more glasses chilling in the fridge at once.)
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Built-In Mood Lighting If there’s any unifying element across interior home design in this monoculture-less age, it may be the dominance of lamps—and the death of overhead lights. Bars seem to get this. Today, you’ll find built-in lamps at Lobby Bar, Gjelina, Smithereens and Schmuck, all in New York, casting a soft glow across their respective bartops. A sort of overgrown version of the teeny-tiny table lamp that took root on restaurant tabletops a few years back, bar lamps come in all shapes and sizes. They can also be spotted at Run for the Roses in Denver, Donna’s in Los Angeles, and Bar Tre Dita and Gus’ Sip and Dip, both in Chicago, among others.
The Statement Slab Natural stone isn’t the most practical material for a bar, but it does add a certain va-va-voom to any space. And it makes any still-life shot of a drink look more alive. It’s been spotted in all sorts of colors, from the titular shade at Red Room Bar at Printemps New York, to seafoam green at Laurel in Seattle, pale pink at Combat in Paris, and U.S. dollar green at Lowcountry Bar in London. Some bars even cite the name of the stone in Instagram posts highlighting how integral it is to the bar itself. Good Neighbor Bar in Altadena (near LA), for example, uses Brazilian quartzite, while Lai Rai in New York’s Chinatown uses Calacatta Malva.
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Glass Bricks Are Back You’ll find these hardworking light diffusers all over. Sometimes they’re built into the space—as in the case of Meetinghouse in Philadelphia and No Smoking Bar in Los Angeles, both of which took over existing dives. Other times they’re a very deliberate choice, as in the case of Salon Vert at Printemps. Other examples include Truce in Chicago, Public Parking in Madison, Wisconsin and the aforementioned Ask for Janice.
Silver Service There’s a sense of occasion that comes from serving a drink on a coaster that clinks—whether it’s a formal tray, a discreet metal disk or a check holder dotted with a doily.
Silver Service There’s a sense of occasion that comes from serving a drink on a coaster that clinks—whether it’s a formal tray (like at Red Room) or discreet rounds (as at Run for the Roses in Denver). At Schmuck, stainless steel trays—actually repurposed check holders—are dotted with doilies and used to serve cocktails and water together. “We didn’t know if it was going to work; it looked OK just by itself,” Aljaff says. “But then once we put the glassware on it, we were like alright, this is beautiful.” Like I said, it’s all in the details.
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