Saturday, April 3rd, 2010—Bar 83
Day 83—Friday, April 2nd
12:31 Bar
Okay, I’ve written about this before, but for me, Friday and Saturday nights are the worst nights known to man and woman to go to a bar, especially in New York. It’s crowded, loud, hard to get a drink and if you’re going out late like I do, it’s filled with drunken happy hour idiots that should’ve left hours ago. I thought I had fixed the situation somewhat by going to hotel bars on Saturday nights, if I had no other plans. But that still left Friday. So now I’ve decided to shift the hotel night to Friday and I have a brand new Saturday theme to debut tomorrow. What’s the new Saturday theme? Well, you’ll have to wait and see, because we’ve got a hotel bar to go to for now.
I found a bar that’s fairly closeby where I work called the 12:31 bar in the Hotel Chandler. The name comes from its location: 12 E. 31st St. From what I read it’s a cozy little bar that doesn’t get too crowded, so it sounds perfect. Let’s go see if it is.
Here it is, the 12:31 at the Hotel Chandler.
Friday night and plenty of seats at the bar, that's what I like to see!
The friendly bartender Shimul serves up a bottle of Original Sin cider.
And here I sample the cider. Note to self: don't ever drink this cider again! I switched to Amstel Light after I drained this one, a little too sweet for my tastes.
Hey there's someone else at the end of the bar.
It's Marco and Veronika who were enjoying drinks and bar snacks. Hey, where's my snacks?
They're right here, free bar snacks! Woo and hoo!
Behind the bar are banquettes and tables to relax and enjoy your drinks.
Which is exactly what Daniel and Catalina were doing. Daniel was visiting from Columbia and Catalina is from Venezuela. Welcome to New York and cheers!
The blue lighting, dark wooden walls and paintings make for an elegant surrounding in the bar.
The bar in all its glory.
Here's LIam, who just got in from London. He smartly made a pit stop at the bar after unpacking.
Obligatory bathroom mirror shot! Goodnight everybody!
Review
The 12:31 bar is a cozy, little hideaway located in the Hotel Chandler on E. 31st St. It’s an intimate and elegant atmosphere with the space being about as large as two and a half New York studio apartments. The blue lighting and dark wood walls set the mood. The patrons are a fun mix of friendly tourists staying at the hotel and if you’re a local like me, it’s fun to recommend different spots and discuss the city with them. The crowd is a bit more local from six to nine when the after-work crowd stops by.
12:31 has a generous six hour Happy Hour Monday through Friday featuring three dollar beers, five buck house wines and drinks ranging from six to eight dollars. The bar features a few speciality cocktails including: a Caramel Appletini, a Pink Floyd inspired drink called, Comfortably Numb and Long Island Iced Tea. They also offer standard bar fare on the menu featuring: Mozzerlla Sticks, Chicken Fingers, Cheese Fries and a Cuban Sandwich. There’s a large screen TV and rumor has it that ocassionally belly dancers are brought in for entertainment.
The bar has a laid back atmosphere where you can usually snag a seat at the bar, even on a Friday night, which in my book is a good thing.
12:31 Bar
12 E. 31st St. (@ Madison Ave.)
646-218-4422
5 References
Reader Comments (10)
Wouldn't mind a few of those blue up-lights for my place, I've got wood paneling (of the faux variety), the mixed nuts look like they are of premium quality (yum), and when I'm through here, I'm going to see if I can find the recipe for a comfortably numb cocktail on the inter-net. If it's as good as it's name implies, it's just what I need right about now, with those damn neighbor kids having another daily yodel-fest out on that damn trampoline of theirs!
a cute little bar! I like the friday hotel bar idea.
was it an american cider? they tend to use apple concentrate instead of fermented apples. Thus leaving a sweet Martinellis type of flavor. I prefer a dryer cider like strongbow. So only drink English cider.
But Marty you dont seam like a cider drinker anyway.
I think it was American cider, Gidget. It was sickeningly sweet. Ecch!
I hear you on Friday and Sat. nights, they're for amateurs! I'm home drinking a beer and I'm staying put!
There was a soda pop I was fond of when I was a kid called apple beer. They still make it, but you have to order it over the web. I always wondered what some of that mixed with everclear might be like...you've got me thinking Marty...hmmm.
Hey Jaws! I remember Apple Beer and i think it would be great with everclear! Marty......Another fine bar....Congrats on number 83!
English cider is so good, and French cider is sooooo fucking good !!!!! But I should say "Breton cider" and not "french cider" since there is some regions in France who "refused" to consider themselve like french but from their "region" only ! And that's the case of Breton from the region of Bretagne, and finnaly my origins are from Bretagne and my real name (Morgane) is a Breton name !
Cheers to Breton !
YAY. I love a nice quiet hotel bar like that. I hate stuck up hotel bars and I really hate the crazy crowded bar scene on weekends too. Nice find Marty!
NO CIDER!! CIDER IS BLECHY!! FYI NO PUCKERS EITHER! Nice bar, though. I love free snacks. And the padded bar is a nice touch. Makes the bar seats kind of like a masseuse's table for drunks.