Ava Lounge
Dream Hotel
210 West 55th St., PH
212/956-7020
CHUGGS SAYZ: Let's face it, if the temperature is over 70 and I'm on a rooftop drinking and watching the sun go down - I'm about as happy as can be. But while that may be good enough for me, you might want the details so, here they are:
Located atop the Dream Hotel in midtown Manhattan, the bi-level Ava Lounge is nothing if it isn't a "bar with a view". One hell of a view, that is. In fact, I'd venture to say it might be the best view of any midtown watering hole - particularly if you catch the sunset from the roof deck. But man can't survive on view alone. Aside from the view, the strongest things at Ava are the cocktails, 2 or 3 of them and your night will be off to a fabulous, albeit expensive, start. The bartenders pour a good stiff drink (as they damn well should at $15-$23 a pop) and the obsequious wait staff is right there to make sure your glass doesn't sit empty for more than a minute or two. The crowd is eclectic - after all this is a hotel and it is in midtown - they get a wide range of patrons from suits to tourists and everyone in between. The decor is, well, adequate. Their website dubbed it "retro-modern", but I'll call it "wanna- be hipster" and while it's comfortable enough, it just might be taking itself a little too seriously. The "reserved" signs on every single table were a little over the top too. Especially since it was about 6:00p.m. and 75% of the tables were empty. I might have believed that it was all booked up except that my party got seated immediately with only the caveat that they "might need to move us if all the reservations show up". As the deck filled to over capacity in the next hour and a half, I must've heard that same caveat 6 times. Call me a cynic but I think the whole "reserved" thing is nothing more than a bullshit attempt at self-important exclusivity.
All in all I'm not going out of my way to go there very often. Don't get me wrong, with the stiff drinks and exceptional view, I'll definitely Ava 'nother cocktail or 3 there at some point this summer.
No comments:
Post a Comment