Stunning Design Meets Haute Cocktails at This Can't-Miss NYC Cocktail Bar

The Fifth Avenue Hotel in Manhattan’s Flatiron district was one of the most publicized openings of the year. Even with high expectations set, this luxury property’s signature cocktail lounge, Portrait Bar, exceeds the mark by all conceivable metrics, from decor to hospitality to cocktail innovation and execution. It’s not often that a bar comes roaring right out of the gates with this degree of swagger. Here's what underpinned the immediate success. 

The moment you step in from the lobby, it’s hard not to fall in love with the stunning design of the bar. Dark wood paneling adorns the walls, which are crowded with an array of framed paintings, photographs, and sketches. They run the gamut of styles and themes and guarantee there’s always something to feast your eyes on as you wait. While you do, you rest comfortably — either on a fireside sofa or one of a dozen tufted red velvet chairs spaced thoughtfully across the intimate den. The bar is sparsely lined with stately green leather seats. 

Then, the hospitality element emerges. Bar staff cloaked in white dinner jackets double as travel agents willing and able to explain how each cocktail represents its corresponding geography and, more importantly, how it’ll align with your tastebuds. They’ll veer off-course where necessary and pilot the experience to suit any flights of fancy you profess.

The tropical drink-inclined will travel to Cebu Island with a clarified drink featuring scotch, rum, coconut, and calamansi; It’s silky smooth in the mouth, with a tropical sweetness discernible in the finish, served over an outsized, crystal-clear rock of ice. The Barrio Getsemani is a Cartagena-themed Martini with aguardiente, passionfruit, and sherry. Islay whisky fans will gravitate toward the Mapo District, a cocktail anchored by the smoky and nutty tones of sesame oil-washed Laphroaig. 

Each drink will set you back $22, though, for the well-heeled traveler, there’s an upmarket rendition of a Vieux Carré featuring 10-Year Michter’s Rye and Jean Fillioux XO Cognac. It’s about triple the price of the standard cocktail, but entirely at home in a five-star luxury hotel where rooms start at $1,000 a night. 

Adding to the overall allure is a concise food menu advertised as Parolor Snacks. You’ll find homemade chips with French onion dip, as well as Royal Ossetra caviar. The pub-style burger featuring dry-aged beef, cheddar, and special sauce between brioche is far fancier than its $26 price tag would suggest, especially in the context of Midtown Manhattan.

The overall vibe at Portrait Bar can best be described as polished. As such, it may feel closer to Mayfair than it does to Flatiron. That’s a good thing because it embodies something that’s been in shockingly short supply in New York throughout much of the 21st century: a picture-perfect representation of everything a hotel bar ought to be.

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