12/18/08

great selection of drinks

by jcn212

great all around types of drinks-ask the bartender for anything you're craving and he'll mix up something awesome. it's really dark (who needs to see anyway), but watch out for the hot pipes. they're uncovered and they can get really hot. i burned my hand a few weeks ago (an actual blister formed) with just a slight touch. they should cover them up to prevent future problems with other folks! imagine if i'd face-planted into one.

• Pros: wide variety, different offerings of drinks than other bars
• Cons: hot hot hot burning pipes

11/26/08

Proper Cocktails finally arrive in Williamsburg

by Boomski

I wasn't really impressed with this place after my first visit - granted it was the 3rd day of being open and were probably working out the kinks. I'm also a cocktail snob and demand perfection if I'm paying $12 dollars (in brooklyn) The bartenders are really good, and can make the classics well. My sazerac didn't was spot on and my Manhattan was perfect. My friend ordered a gin-gin mule - but they didn't have ginger beer, so the bartender muddled some fresh ginger with some soda water and it was fantastic. had the same bite as the GGMs @ Petraske places, which use fresh squeezed ginger syrup as opposed to the more mellow ginger beer. Definitely the best proper cocktail joint in Williamsburg (execution much better than Huckleberry) - and better then alot in Manhattan (Apotheke, PDT)

• Pros: Drinks, Decor
• Cons: A little pricey for the neighborhood, can get busy on peak nights.

03/27/08

If You Want a Divine Cocktail...

by virgicon

Last night, Istumbled into what felt like a scene in Brideshead Revisited. The atmosphere in Hotel Delmano took me back to Havana 1930, and I felt like British aristocracy, casually enjoying my tweaked to perfection cocktail. After thoroughly enjoying the St. Germain, Commandant's Cocktail, and Hemingway's Daquiri, my boyfriend and I decided to ask our wonderfully handle bar-moustached bartender for some special requests. He asked for the most bitter cocktail one could find, and I asked for a cocktail embodying A Midsummer Night's Dream. My boyfriend's was fabulous, but I was most amazed at the wizardry behind my drink. Egg white, gin, chartreuse, rose water...a few other things that I have no idea of. All shaken with a twist of orange, the frothy white drink was topped off with a cherry blossom which happened to be blooming in a vase nearby. It was magical, mischevous, and all together lovely. Exactly A Midsummer Night's Dream. Flawlessly created on a whim. I dare say, I can't wait to think of something next and taste Hotel Delmano's delightful response!

• Pros: perfect place for a perfect cocktail
• Cons: a bit crowded

The future of Williamsburg is here: Manhattan prices and patronage meet Brooklyn's intentional quirk.

by Laura Norkin

One look around, and it's clear that the owners of Hotel Delmano--whose other credit includes Union Pool--know a thing or two about constructing a timeless watering hole. Inside, a relaxed crowd of elder hipsters slinks and whispers around the tables as if they own the place. The space is thoroughly styled--from the bar-top basket of citrus fruit (actually used in some drinks) to the nearly identical coiffure of the bartenders. Vintage brasserie furnishings and high ceilings, walls with a cloudy finish above dark cherry chair rails, twinkling candles and a deliciously dim chandelier will make you want to spend the night. If only it were an actual hotel.

Hits: From fruity to elegant, it's the drinks, so long as you can stomach the $9 to $14 price tags. The aptly named Corpse Reviver No. 2 (gin, Cointreau, Lillet, lemon juice and Pastis) tastes like lemons on a summer day.

Misses: Romantic side rooms provide couples with great candle-lit corners, but the host isn't shy about cramming multiple parties uncomfortably close, so be prepared for a little PDA.

01/27/08

Cute place but trying a little to hard to be Bar Jamon

by lisel001

I love the idea of this bar and it's a totally cute place but it's trying too hard to be Bar Jamon in Grammercy but without the Mario Batalli food or the location.

First, when you get there, they ask you how many in your party. Which is a little odd since it's only a bar--they don't serve food. You have to wait for everyone in your group to arrive before they'll give you seat, which how many people arrive to a bar at the same time? The spot itself is cute. The service leaves a lot to be desired. We were sitting at the bar and the cocktail staff decided where we were sitting is where she was going to order her drinks so we were interruped at least 15 times to make room for her (we were sitting in the middle of the bar). The bartender was slow (probably because he was preparing so many specialty drinks. It also took about 20 minutes to receive our credit card back and we asked three times. Also, if you don't arrive early enough, they won't let you in, "citing a wait." Much of the seating was researved. Not the best experience if you're trying to just enjoy yourself in a relaxed local enviornment. This is still Williamsburg afterall, isn't it.

01/25/08

Beautiful spot, decent drinks

by trd0428

First off, let me say it?s an absolutely beautiful spot. I?m not really sure what look they were shooting for, but it is elegant and kind of creepy at the same time. I went on a Wednesday, within the first 2 weeks of it opening and it was very crowded, so there is definitely a buzz going. Drinks range between 9-14 dollars, 14 for their signature drink I suppose, which contains pear infused cognac (which was okay) I sat at one of the back tables, and service was on the slow side, but good for a cocktail place (the drinks take a while to make, and when they get crowded things can get downright hectic) I frequent all the Manhattan cocktail spots, including: Milk and Honey, Pegu Club, Little Branch, East Side Co. etc, so I have a good basis for comparison regarding the drink quality. The drinks were mediocre at best, they arrived a little on the warm side. There was also fruit pulp in all the drinks, this may be intended, as I think they use the hand squeezers for the fresh juicing of fruit, but the pulp, along with the cocktail being warm, made it a little weird.

I was also disappointed with the knowledge of the bartenders. I asked for a couple of classic cocktails that are pretty well known, and the bartender was not familiar with them. I would expect at least a few cocktail recipe books behind the bar for the occasional pretentious customer like myself (I mean, they are wearing vests)

I wish them the best of luck, and hopefully they can work out the kinks, since it would be nice to have a bar of this type in the neighborhood. But for now, I?d say they have a ways to go to keep the real cocktail enthusiasts from going over the bridge into Manhattan.

• Pros: Ambiance, Location (close to my apt)
• Cons: Drink quality vs. Price