King Cole Bar - The St. Regis Hotel
2 East 55th Street
Inside the St. Regis
(between 5th Ave & Madison Ave)
New York, NY 10022
- Nearest Transit:
5th Ave-53rd St (E, V)
57th St-6th Ave (F)
5th Ave-60th St (N, R, W)
- Price Range: $$$$
- Accepts Credit Cards: Yes
- Good for Groups: No
- Wheelchair Accessible: Yes
- Outdoor Seating: No
- Best Nights: Thu, Sun
- Happy Hour: No
- Alcohol: Full Bar
- Smoking: No
- Coat Check: No
9 Reviews for King Cole Bar - The St. Regis Hotel
No music. No television and with any luck - no [tacky] tourists. The King Cole Bar remains one of the few remaining classic hotel bars/lounges where you can hide in the wood paneled splendor of a quiet corner and pretend to be adults. [Actually, I am an adult.] The King Cole doesn't have a gimmick - nor needs one. A perfect place for a pre-dinner cocktail before strolling into Adour. Mon dieux!
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I have an appreciation for decadent old school New York hotel bars, my favorite being the Algonquin Hotel, followed closely by the Pierre. Sure, I SUPPOSE some would say I am out of my league here, financially speaking. I am not to the manor born, but I do believe my confidence level would have the staff think otherwise. HA!!!!
Let's face it, I am a bar lover and although critical, it doesn't take all that much to make me happy if the service is good and there is an acceptable red wine in the house. And I can throw them back in a dive bar just as easily as a swank cocktail lounge.
My friend and I waltzed in here last night and sat at a table that had three small bowls of snacks. I couldn't believe my eyes--macadamia nuts in the mixed nuts? Impossible to resist!!!
Love the ambience--very dark, wood paneled, and that freaking mural!!!!! They have an adequate cocktail list, even if not the most innovative, but I would think most people come in here for a scotch or something. Not me. I'm a chianti kind of girl, and the wine list did not disappoint.
Very pricey, in fact, much pricier than the Algonquin and definitely a bit more than the Pierre, even. But, I do allow myself a splurge every once in a while. It makes the New York life worth livin'!
It is a nice bar to finish off at after some shopping. It is old school New York with that great mural that makes the bar.
A few nibblies and drinks will lighten your wallet, but in a town where he new bars and nightclubs look more and more like Miami and LA than NY, it is nice to have this bar to return to and soak up old world charm and the industrial age relics that go with it.
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I don't know if it was just an off night or what, but I left totally unimpressed. The crowd was like a bad horror movie or 80's flick and the service was terrible.
The wine was good but that didn't make up for the wait or the fact that the waiter seemed to want nothing to do with us.
A favorite of mine and some of my tribe. After a few hrs of Xmas shopping we ( two friends and myself) made our way to the King Cole Bar. It was surprisingly crowded. There was a group of people waiting at the door, we of course forced ourselves in, harking our arrival.. "Alcoholics Cummin' Through!" There was no room anywhere at the bar, so we picked a corner and put all of our bags down and waited for our drinks. This place is great for a martini or something serious. I had a few Manhattans, with Knob Creek...a favorite.
As for a dress code, i have never worn a jacket here, except maybe a fleece coat or something like that. This time I was was wearing a cashmere sweater with a worn out pair of chinos.
The cool thing about this place is that alot of people don't really know about this spot and the drink prices keep the screwheads out. Also it seems a good number of celebrities of stage, screen, sports, etc have a sip or two here. Its a great bar to get a serious drink without the nonsense, TV crews, autograph hounds, gawkers, etc..
This bar is worth the trip, especially for the wasabe peanuts. The ambience is lovely. My hubs says he wants a bar like that in our house (yeah, right). Be ready to cough up some serious dough. For 40 bucks, we got ONE bloody mary and ONE martini.
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5 stars only because maxfield parrish, one of the greatest american illustrators, painted the mural (entitled King Cole, hence the bar name) in the backdrop of this bar.
other than that.....there was a sign that said "proper attire required" prior to entering. my friends and I played ignorant tourist people (but we knew we wanted to check out the mural) and wandered "aimlessly" towards the bar. the bartended politely asked us to leave, but we were too amazed by the mural that we sort of ignored him. he noticed that we were admiring the mural and offered us a matchbox (you should ask for one!!!) - the mural is printed on it as well as their business info.
later that week I met with one of my teachers (thanks for the drinks) there for a couple of drinks. no, we didnt dress up but arrived with our comfortable attire. they offer free mixed nuts and macadamias. they were delicious. and their drinks are potent, but goooooood. not too sure how much the drinks were, but being a high-end hotel that this establishment is located in, i suspect everything being pricy.
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gentleman make sure you wear a jacket when stepping into this shrine of decadance. though far from cheap, this cozy yet posh watering hole is a wonderful spot to take that midtown edge off. snack on wasabi peas while pondering the notorious maxfield parrish mural behind the bar. stay away from this place early in the week unless you wanna be propositioned by hookers.
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We had drinks here the other night and I forgot how much I enjoy it. It is not for everyone but I enjoy it when you want something different. It has an old mens club feel with dark furniture and older bartenders. But the mural on the wall over the bar is interesting, the service is impeccable and the drinks are always good. I think they still have a dress code (I was in a suit so I didn't "test" it) but I don't know how much it is enforced.
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