Bathtub Gin
Bar · Chelsea ·
Small plates & gin cocktails in a Prohibition-era speakeasy
Small plates & gin cocktails in a Prohibition-era speakeasy
"Your requisite Prohibition-inspired speakeasy with a quirky name and a secret door? That’d be Bathtub Gin. Walk through Stone Street Coffee to get in – there is a “bouncer” (you are dangerously close to Meatpacking, after all) but you can pretty easily grab a reservation on OpenTable to avoid any issue. As the name would indicate, gin is the focus. And there’s a bathtub." - katherine lewin, hillary reinsberg
"Bathtub Gin shamelessly commits to the speakeasy theme. Hidden behind Stone Street Coffee in Chelsea, the room is covered in black-and white-photos and antique wallpaper, and it’s full of couches and upholstered booths where people on dates tend to forget they’re in public. All of the servers wear suspenders, flickering candles provide most of the lighting, and the soundtrack consists of authentic Prohibition-era songs such as Boys II Men’s “I’ll Make Love To You.” It’s all a little corny, but it works. Bring some out-of-towners or someone you’re romantically involved with, and try the ‘Smores Old Fashioned." - bryan kim, sonal shah
"A good spot for impressing out-of-towners, Bathtub Gin is your standard-issue Prohibition-inspired speakeasy with a quirky name and a secret door. In order to get in, you have to walk through Stone Street Coffee and speak to a bouncer (you are dangerously close to Meatpacking, after all). If you want to guarantee yourself entry, make a reservation. As the name would indicate, gin is the focus, and there’s a bathtub. You can also catch live music and DJs most nights." - bryan kim, matt tervooren
"At Bathtub Gin, sustainability would be essential to production even if it weren’t to the planet. The throwback speakeasy sees unused resources where other venues see food waste, calling for more education and creativity to utilize every part of each piece of produce. Putting its method where your mouth is, Bathtub Gin developed a BOMBAY SAPPHIRE cocktail called the Paper Flower that challenged its bartenders to wring maximum flavor from minimal ingredients, each used in their entirety. Its four ingredients and a garnish are deeply complex, with three kinds of peach and two kinds of verbena expressing in different fashions. Life is sweet, living sustainably is sweeter, and drinking sustainably is sweetest still (plus some nice tart and salty notes)." - Brendan McGinley
"I refer to New York’s acclaimed Bathtub Gin speakeasy as the original that inspired Stone Street’s all-day model; its beverage director, Brendan Bartley, developed the cocktails used at the Los Angeles outpost." - Mona Holmes
