Evening Bar

If you need a fantastic bar in TriBeCa for a quiet night, really recommend the Evening bar. The cocktails are well made and cozy. The decor is cute and well-kept. The bar has lots of space for groups. We celebrated a friend's birthday on a cold rainy night. The location is steps from the 2, 3 train, very convenient. Friends ate the burger and raved about. We toasted the bar with a delicious cocktail and warm cookies.

This place is an oasis in the desert of places in that area. I mean that in the best possible way. So good. There is a restaurant in the front that looked like it was hopping on a random Monday night. That said, the back of the house is where its at. So much better. There is a fireplace (which will be awesome in the winter) and a bar with ample amount of seats around it for a group or date. Good stuff. Also, there are tables circling the bar that are perfect for a close chat and they have table service so you dont even have to stand up. Good stuff.

A bar inside a hotel? Usually isn't my thing. But when a friend who came from Boston asked to meet here, I agreed. And let me tell you something: It is cool. It is not big, and the seats are spread around the place, but that's part of what I loved about the place.
We started by the bar, and had a very good cocktail. After that we moved to one of the cozy seats with a sofa for two. This place is really something else.
The crowed: Quite. This is not the place I would go to dance, but if it is a first date, you are not going to find any better!

I've wanted to check this place out for a while but finally made it a couple of weeks back and then took a colleague again shortly thereafter. Small and cozy ambiance- perfect for warming up in a cold winter's day. It actually reminded me of a really nice apres ski bar. The service is good and attentive. It is a little on the pricey side but excellent for a date. I haven't eaten there but did see some tasty-looking food being eaten by another patron.
Will definitely be back on another cold evening to get hunker down in front of the fire with a delicious drink!

"Hidden gem" is the perfect phrase to describe this lovely, intimate hotel bar. The Smyth Hotel itself isn't that easy to spot because it's dominated by signage for its restaurant, Little Park. But once you enter the hotel and make a right and then a left, you will find yourself in Evening Bar.

My boyfriend and I arrived before 9 on a Friday night and were pleasantly surprised by the uncrowded, quiet atmosphere. There were about 7 other people there (by the time we left, there were probably about 20). Music was playing, but not so loud that we couldn't talk. We got a seat on a comfortable leather couch and perused the menu. I almost always stick with gin drinks, so I got the Little Tonic (Dorothy Parker gin, Tomr's tonic, lime, honey, cucumber), which was the perfect mix of tart and sweet. My boyfriend got the Seinfeld (Bulleit rye, Michelberger Forest Schnapps, cucumber, creme fraiche, egg white, dill). I don't drink whiskey, but I tasted this and it was truly delicious. For our second round, I ordered one of those, and I can honestly say that this is now one of my favorite cocktails in the city. Superb.

Given the prices of these drinks (16 and up), we weren't willing to stay past two, but we didn't feel pressured to keep ordering, so we were able to sit for quite a while and make those two drinks last. The crowd made for interesting people watching: couples on dates, tourists staying in the hotel, girls' night out groups. It really ran the gamut.

This place had been on my list to try for a long time, and I'm so glad we did. It's the perfect place to go to just slip away from the crowds for a while and enjoy an excellent cocktail. I'm certain I'll be back.

PROS

Beautiful bar and interior. My friend and I had a seat right next to the fireplace and it was a perfect ambiance to catch up and enjoy a few drinks.

The cocktail menu is adventurous, detailed, and makes you want to try everything.

Our first round:

Zinnia $16
Hangar 1 Buddha's Hand Vodka, Salers Gentiane Liqueur, Lustau Oloroso Sherry, Rhum Clement Creole Shrubb

Monsoon Holiday $19
Balvenie Caribbean Cask 14yr, Ragged Mountain Berkshire Rum, Averell Damson Gin Liqueur, Velvet Falernum, Angostura, pineapple

The herbed french fries were fantastic.

CONS

The drinks we had were not well made. I was particularly excited for the Monsoon Holiday to see how a quality scotch would play off of the other ingredients. It was served in a highball of crushed ice. It tasted pleasant in the way that something sweet and refreshing can be, but that was about it. All of the flavors were lost in the mix and the end result was just a fruity concoction. The Zinnia was a bit better but still disappointing. I should note that the presentation for both drinks was good - they weren't sloppy, just not good from a flavor perspective. I don't know if the drinks were originally intended to taste like this or there was some error in the preparation or communication with the people who would ultimately make them, but it's a little unacceptable when you're charging almost $20 for a drink and it's not even enjoyable. There is even a $34 drink on the menu with beautiful expensive ingredients that I fear would taste like nothing in particular.

The service wasn't bad, but it was oddly aloof, bordering on apathetic. For a place that clearly dropped a sizable amount of money to build a high end bar, there seems to have been a lack of training or leadership for the staff. They didn't seem to know the menu or have any suggestions or care about much of anything. The interaction was friendly but we had to exert effort to find our server several times which is always frustrating.

Slight nitpick - my friend ordered a coke while we were waiting for our drinks. It was $6. That's a silly price to charge for a few ounces of soda over ice, and it doesn't matter if it's written down as "cane cola" on the bill.

THOUGHTS

Despite hitting high marks for the space and the potential of their menu, I was really disappointed in this bar. The other reviews have been good so take mine with a grain of salt. It just seems like a very New York thing to invest all of the time and attention into creating a bar and very little into actually staffing and running it properly. It's just so rare to find a quality bar that really cares and engages with its patrons.

Swanky but not pretentious, The Evening Bar just delivers in TriBeCa to tourists and locals alike. Delicious drinks and friendly, professional staff.
Great neighborhood bar for an evening out or just relaxing. Thanks for coming.

A great place to grab a quiet drink durning the day or earlier evening. Just dont eat the food, the service was great and the staff was friendly but the food just wasn't good. We had the scallops and the Arctic char, I can't really tell you what they were going for, it was a mixture of Indian inspired Spanish tapis it just wasn't good.

A little expensive but really lovely. Cozy and classy, intimate and quiet, so you're able to have a conversation without resorting to sign language or hurting vocal cords. The staff was wonderful, the menu - just the right length for a bar. Everything we ordered tasted superb but the burger ($18) came dressed with a magical harmony of fixings - just perfect (and I'm really craving another one as I'm writing and trying to remember what they were). On the cocktail menu, Old Nut (coincidentally, also $18: cognac, averna, angostura & black walnut bitters) left a lasting impression and a desire to return.

THE place to go! That's right- bar inside a hotel. Great place. Delicious and fun drinks. Generous pours! Our server was delightful. Be certain to ask for her - Victoria. Will be making this a regular visit.