Steph C.
Yelp
My friend Katie M. and I were in need of a bar in this part of Manhattan on a drizzly Wednesday night, and we ended up walking into the Raines Law Room at the William. I'd had the original location bookmarked for over a decade and was pleased with the way this worked out.
The William appears to be some kind of extended stay hotel. The decor is swanky and modern, but there's no reception area, and it had this strange, lightly haunted vibe when we showed ourselves in, like a Scooby Doo situation might unfold in the deserted lounge across the hall from Raines Law Room. The bar felt nice, though, attractive and buzzy, even in the quiet closing hour of a rainy school night. It looked like a luxurious living room, grand but intimate. We sat on comfortable chairs and enjoyed a few drinks. Service was prompt and friendly.
I loved the cocktails. The Desert Bloom was a refreshing mezcal drink with bergamot, aji amarillo pepper, lime, and passionfruit. The Electric Guava was delicious and interesting, jalapeño-infused Oaxacan rum mixed with Select Aperitivo, guava, passionfruit, grapefruit, cinnamon, and lime. Pulling Threads might have been my favorite, a boozy, aromatic cocktail of gin, Salers, blanc vermouth, saffron liqueur, and orange blossom.
I don't live in New York, but I'd love to revisit Raines Law Room on another trip, especially if I find myself in this area. It's a great bar with fantastic cocktails, and any ghosts in the William are probably not real.