Straylight
Permanently Closed
Innovative cocktails with Japanese-inspired ingredients and artistic flair
Innovative cocktails with Japanese-inspired ingredients and artistic flair
"What It Is: A subterranean cocktail bar under Juku in Chinatown Perfect For: Drinks And A Light Bite, First/Early In The Game Dates Walking into Straylight feels like you’re being led down into a crime boss’ lair. It’s the subterranean cocktail bar under Juku - and to get in, the hostess opened a door and led us down a bright white stairwell with pink fluorescent lights, and then opened another door and sat us at a small candlelit table under a ceiling that looks like stained glass. We tried some unusual cocktails, like one with sushi rice and another with smoked pork skin, and ate all of the Japanese bar snacks - the best thing was the breaded meatball sliders on milk bread. The Verdict: If you’re okay spending $20 on cocktails, then Straylight is a unique spot to impress someone. We’ve added it to our Bar Hit List." - Hannah Albertine, Bryan Kim, Katherine Lewin, Hillary Reinsberg, Chris Stang
"Straylight is a venue in New York where bartender Dorothy Elizabeth, a past Eater Young Gun, currently works." - Brenna Houck
"Bring a date to Straylight, and you’ll seem like the kind of person who knows all the after-hours parties and who probably has a lot of secrets. It’s the subterranean cocktail bar under Juku - an izakaya and omakase restaurant in Chinatown. To get in, you walk into a bare hallway on a nondescript street and down a bright white stairwell with pink fluorescent lights. Once inside the small space with a ceiling that looks like stained glass, you can order cocktails with ingredients like sushi rice and smoked pork skin, and small plates like very good meatball sliders on Japanese milk bread. If you’re okay spending $20 on cocktails, then Straylight is a unique spot to impress someone." - Matt Tervooren
"Ever since writing about the wacky room and considered cocktails from Dorothy Elizabeth at Straylight, below Juku in Chinatown, I’ve been striving to go. I finally did last week, and very happily drank the Bulleit Train cocktail ($18), a mixture of Bulleit bourbon, sesame oil, matcha bitters, cacao nib, ginger honey, and oloroso sherry. It’s a bit of a mind-bender; the sesame oil makes the drink smell savory, but a sip of it is warming and sweet, with a depth from the brown liquor and fermented wine. The bitter matcha and cacao nibs stop it from becoming cloying." - Eater Staff
"Molecular gastronomy and art collide at Straylight, the new bar from cocktail star Dorothy Elizabeth now open below Juku in Chinatown. Elizabeth, an Eater Young Gun, has created a la carte and tasting menus that rely on her degree in organic chemistry and mathematics. Drinks here are definitely on the higher end of Manhattan prices, running from $15 to $27. The full menu is below. (There’s also some small-plate food served at Straylight, including karaage, anchovy crackers, and more.)" - Stefanie Tuder