Last year, the Denton brothers, owners of downtown favorites 'ino and 'inoteca, took their show to Gramercy with the opening of Bar Milano. The buzz was deafening but the result underwhelming, headscratching Frank Bruni two-star review notwithstanding, and within months the struggling spot was closing to be transformed into what it should have been from the get go: 'inoteca north.
Regardless of history, we're here now and 'inoteca is a marked improvement in several ways - the room is less fussy, the menu downscaled and the drinks cheaper - the terrific cocktails are just $10 each. The winelist is thankfully still extensive, interesting and well priced as well.
Already carousing nearby, we decided to pop in for a few drinks and nibbles. We were intrigued to see a category devoted to egg white fizzes. The Apple Blow (lairds applejack, fresh lemon juice, sugar, egg white, chilled seltzer water) was very good but the Dubonnet was even better (dubonnet, cherry heering, fresh lemon and orange juice, egg whites). Another delicious option was the Cotillion (old forrester bourbon, appleton estate rum, fresh lemon, orange juice, cointreau and lucid absinthe), a nicely balanced and eminently quaffable drink. A much better showing than last year when the hyped cocktail program struck us as both too precious and too expensive, not to mention too reliant on pricey sweet pink drinks that seemed to be aimed at the fairer sex.
The dishes we sampled were a bit spotty but we are happy to report the delicious truffed egg toast has made the trip uptown unscathed. With a bit more work on the food, we can see 'inoteca 2 hitting its stride. The crowds are already there.
'inoteca Liquori Bar
323 Third Avenue, 212-683-3035
Regardless of history, we're here now and 'inoteca is a marked improvement in several ways - the room is less fussy, the menu downscaled and the drinks cheaper - the terrific cocktails are just $10 each. The winelist is thankfully still extensive, interesting and well priced as well.
Already carousing nearby, we decided to pop in for a few drinks and nibbles. We were intrigued to see a category devoted to egg white fizzes. The Apple Blow (lairds applejack, fresh lemon juice, sugar, egg white, chilled seltzer water) was very good but the Dubonnet was even better (dubonnet, cherry heering, fresh lemon and orange juice, egg whites). Another delicious option was the Cotillion (old forrester bourbon, appleton estate rum, fresh lemon, orange juice, cointreau and lucid absinthe), a nicely balanced and eminently quaffable drink. A much better showing than last year when the hyped cocktail program struck us as both too precious and too expensive, not to mention too reliant on pricey sweet pink drinks that seemed to be aimed at the fairer sex.
The dishes we sampled were a bit spotty but we are happy to report the delicious truffed egg toast has made the trip uptown unscathed. With a bit more work on the food, we can see 'inoteca 2 hitting its stride. The crowds are already there.
'inoteca Liquori Bar
323 Third Avenue, 212-683-3035
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