Asuka N.
Yelp
I was looking for a spot to grab drinks relatively close to work, and I decided to come by Le Chalet, even though it's at a spot - the 8th floor of the flagship Saks Fifth Avenue store on Fifth Avenue - that you might not expect. To get there, you have to go to the 9th floor and find L'Avenue, which is a full-service restaurant, and take the staircase down to Le Chalet. Once you're there, you might be a bit astonished to find yourself in what looks and feels like a replica of an upscale ski lodge, but one that feels a little more spacious as well (especially while it's low-key - during the week, the bar doesn't seem to get packed at all). The seating isn't packed in too tightly, and there are semi-private nooks where you can set yourself down in if you'd prefer. The balcony is now also open (although I did not check that out), offering you what must be a pretty unique view of the near-heart of midtown Manhattan. Our server was pretty attentive and always checked in to make sure drinks had been served, which made it easy to keep the booze flowing.
The menu here is mostly cocktails; I did not ask or see if beers or wines were available, although I imagine that they could source options from upstairs if needed. There's a standard cocktail list, as well as one with more seasonal cocktails and mocktails available, and the menu also includes various snacks of both the savory and sweet variety. I can't opine on that as much - I only had the edamame, which was passable, if a little soggy - but I did get to sample the cocktails quite a bit. Firstly - they are all pretty delicious, and I did appreciate that the price point, while still outright fairly high, was lower than I would have thought it would be at a spot like this (mostly in the mid-high teens per drink). Each cocktail was well-made, and I had some more than once, and the consistency was there...definitely a good sign as well. I really enjoyed the banana-infused pisco sour-style drink, and a number of the other drinks (like the VF GF AF) tended to lend a big dash of heat from the chili infused into the beverage. That said, despite the high quality, there were a couple things I was a tad disappointed in. First, while some of the presentations were unique (e.g. the VF GF AF came in a tea cup, while another beverage came in what looks like an elegant pintglass for beer), there seemed to be a bit of a reliance on certain styles. The St. Germain drink, the pisco on menu, and the banana-infused pisco sour were all done the same way, with the St. Germain and banana pisco so identical in presentation that I initially told the waitress that I thought she had misheard my order. It's not necessarily a bad thing, but it felt a bit lazy in light of the creativity bestowed upon the rest of the bar. Additionally, they did not have the ingredients for the vodka soda (not), which is a peanut butter aged rum that sounded amazing. It was odd given how light traffic was in the bar and makes me wonder if Le Chalet will end up being more of a place to be seen at than to appreciate as an excellent addition to NYC's cocktail scene.
Overall, it's hard not to enjoy the time here; it feels a world apart from the department store, much less Midtown, and its proximity makes it easy to plan on dropping back by here. I do hope that there is a bit more diversification and creativity on the part of the menu, but that is something that can probably be fixed as more time passes.
