There are several significant new openings in New York this month, including a new cocktail bar above Daniel Humm’s Eleven Madison Park restaurant conceived with the help (and paintings) of a famous artist and the return of an old favourite in the Flat Iron neighbourhood. A hotel in Philadelphia welcomes a new piano bar and Mexico City is the new home for two cocktail experts with extensive experience at The Connaught Bar and Mr Lyan in London.
While on the subject of the English capital, a pub owned by Hedonism is reopening as a wine bar in Mayfair, with access to the shop’s extensive cellar.
Read on to discover the most exciting new bars to visit this October.
The best new bars to visit in October 2024
Monkey Thief
New York, US
The team behind Sama Street in Brooklyn is opening a sister bar in the Hell’s Kitchen district of Manhattan. The theme for the cocktail menu at Monkey Thief is the flavours of Southeast Asia; signature drinks include the Major Tom, a reimagining of a Thai coconut soup in cocktail form, and the Holy Trinitini, which contains garlic and scallion gin plus ginger vermouth, in a nod to the ‘holy trinity’ of Chinese cooking. For those with a sweet tooth, there’s also a Kulfi Flip, based on the frozen Indian dessert, that’s made with Cognac, amaro, pistachio, rose, cardamom, egg, and cream. Drinkers can order from a selection of sharing plates, including beef tartare, fish crudo, calamari, fried chicken and dumplings.
Open now, monkeythiefbar.com
Caletta
Philadelphia, US
A new cocktail lounge and piano bar at Hotel Anna & Bel in Philadelphia’s Fishtown neigbourhood focuses on drinks incorporating infusions, preservations and cordials. The Caletta Spritz includes preserved lemon and quince cordial, the main ingredient in the Cicero Can’t Hang is tumeric-leaf infused genever and the Saturn Descent features pomegranate and umeboshi (pickled fruit) cordial. Guests can choose from snacks and small plates inspired by chef Tyler Akin’s travels through southern Italy – think saffron arancini stuffed with chickpea and mint, as well as steak spiedini (skewers) with walnut pesto and grilled radicchio.
Open now, calettafishtown.com
Clemente Bar
New York, US
Daniel Humm, the chef and owner of three-star Michelin Eleven Madison Park, is opening a bar on the floor above the restaurant in collaboration with Francesco Clemente, a friend and an Italian artist who also lives in New York. The bar will feature three large murals by Clemente but drinkers will be more interested in the cocktails, each of which reportedly went through months of testing; expect them to be as considered and innovative as the avant-garde vegan cooking below. Elusive reservations can be made to have the conventional a la carte bar experience but there is also a tasting counter with eight seats offering a prix fixe menu created especially for the bar and a cocktail pairing for each plant-based course.
Opens 10 October, clementebar.com
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The White Horse
London, UK
A repurposing, rather than an entirely new place, but one of significance for the capital’s wine lovers as The White Horse officially becomes a wine bar rather than a pub. Shut for several weeks over summer for a refurb and repositioning, the bar is all about designer lighting, candles, bare plaster walls and, of course, wines from Hedonism. You can order any bottle from the shop’s cellars and in addition to 15-or-so great wines by the glass, there are also special bin end offers and the bar’s ‘red book’ to consult before you order. Food takes the form of ‘wine-bar classics’, such as charcuterie boards, and a selection of small plates inspired by what’s in season.
Open now, whitehorsemayfair.co.uk
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Outline
Mexico City, Mexico
Maura Milia, previously bar manager at The Connaught Bar, and Alex Milia of Mr Lyan have opened a new bar in Mexico City as part of a team with Walter Meyenburg, who owns highly respected Hanky Panky in the city. Outline specialises in draft cocktails – there are currently 30 listed on the menu – and there is a respectable selection of white, red, orange and sparkling wines too. The drinks are accompanied by classic bar food such as tacos, steaks, burgers and grilled chicken.
Open now, outline-mx.com
Experimental Cocktail Club
New York, US
Between 2012 and 2016, Experimental Cocktail Club (ECC) built itself a reputation as a destination on the Lower East Side for some of New York’s finest cocktails. Now, it’s returning to the city beneath the La Compagnie wine bar in the Flat Iron district. The Art Nouveau-inspired space is the scene of a reunion with mixologist Nico de Soto, who has opened Mace in NYC, Danico in Paris and Wacky Wombat in London since last working with the ECC. The cocktail list is intended as a celebration of French flavours and there will be rare and artisanal regional French aperitifs and liqueurs behind the bar too. A centrally positioned piano will be the stage for live music. This promises to be a great place to spend time as the nights draw in.
Open now, experimentalcocktailclub.com/new-york
