10/04/07

A rarefied, intimate hotel bar for big spenders.

by Erin Behan

The Scene
The marble lobby of the upscale St. Regis Hotel serves as an appropriate runway to the elegant bar with a very gentleman's-lounge feel. Women were barred until 1950, but now they enter as they please to see the famed Maxfield Parrish mural for themselves. It's expensive, but the museum-like surroundings give fair warning.

The Draw
Service truly transports. The bartenders' attention to detail recalls a bygone era, and your coat can't drape across the bar stool a second without it being whisked away. While the King Cole has been known to attract celebrities, you'll generally find members of the New York business elite sipping a perfectly shaken martini or toasting the day's conquest with a glass of bubbly. It's easy to strike up a conversation with someone who catches your eye, and you're almost guaranteed they can afford to buy your next drink.

10/02/02

Live it up, cheapskates!

by lockjawdavis

A room service cheeseburger at the St Regis will run you about 30 bucks, so it's no surprise that the drinks at the King Cole Bar are priced accordingly high. But, of course, you didn't stop in looking for a bargain, did you? No, you stopped in for a taste of Olde New York. You put on your coat and tie to sip a drink with the swells and gaze up at that super cool mural by Maxfield Parrish. You had two bowls of their signature wasabi crusted bar mix just to even things out a little, but the bill still threw you for a loop. Life is short, though. So pay up and head to McHale's to finish the job.

• Pros: Mural, General swankiness, Bar mix
• Cons: The bill

07/08/02

The Best

by parnell

Being in the St. Regis Hotel, the bar is expensive as you would expect. But it is marvelous. The atmosphere is old world, but never snobby. The bartenders and table waiters are first rate. The drinks are expensive but large. If you went to a chain restaurant it would cost more to get the same about of alcohol.

• Pros: very few tourists