The Tusk Bar

"The drinks at Tusk Bar were fantastic — I loved the Marigold with tequila, bell pepper, and chile, and the savory Mignonette Gibson — but the fries have landed squarely as some of my favorite in the city. I’ll be the first to admit that $13 for a side of fries is staggering, but they were worth it. They came piled high on a platter and reminded me of an upgraded version of McDonald’s fries: perfectly crispy and salted, heavy on umami, with an aioli for dipping." - Eater Staff

"The Tusk Bar serves smart remixes of cocktails you already know: There’s a play on a Bloody Mary made with soy and Clamato and a martini mixed with shallot vinegar. The food menu comes from the team behind Wildair and includes a shrimp cocktail, chickpea fritters with Thai basil aioli, and a passionfruit pavlova. The bar is part of a trio of projects at the Evelyn Hotel, with a restaurant and cafe to come. It’s quiet here, making it good for meetings, gossiping, or both." - Eater Staff

"Restaurants in hotel lobbies often fit into one of two buckets—hit or miss—and The Tusk Bar at the Evelyn Hotel is most definitely the former. As the name suggests, it looks like a bar and acts like a bar, with the U-shaped drinks-slinging counter as the space's charming centerpiece. Menu items are on the smaller side and great for sharing, like the tuna tartare with Kaluga caviar ($34), and—a personal favorite—the mushroom tartine ($15), composed of caramelized onions, maitake mushrooms, and smoked olive oil all laid delicately on puff pastry-like rectangles. The Wagyu steak sandwich ($30) was also a top dish, but trust me when I say: do not miss the passionfruit pavlova ($14) topped with vanilla cream and meringue—even if you are “too full for dessert.” Jeremiah Stone and Fabián von Hauske Valtierra of Wildair—the eclectic wine bar that’s notably been dropping limited edition donuts every Saturday for years—are the chefs here, and their expertise shines through every bite at The Tusk Bar." - Emily Adler

"This is less of a place you just pop into, and more of a spot where you make a reservation, then hang out for a few hours, preferably with a date. The Jazz Age-inspired spot on the ground floor of The Evelyn has plenty of tables covered with white tablecloths, in addition to a few couches and a single stuffed ostrich mounted on the wall. Be sure to try the bar snacks from the Wildair team. The steak sandwich is tiny, but delicious, and the oysters pair wonderfully with the mignonette martini." - Bryan Kim, Matt Tervooren

"We might be in a golden age of hotel bars. Spots like Lobby Bar and Nubeluz provide a strong argument, and The Tusk Bar adds a little more proof. Located in the bottom of a Nomad hotel with an upscale, flapper-era thing going, this place is a useful date option between Midtown and downtown, with quality small bites from the Wildair team. Pair a mignonette gibson with a plate of prosciutto, then spend an hour or two sitting on a couch below a wall-mounted ostrich. An adjoining restaurant should be open soon." - Bryan Kim, Will Hartman, Willa Moore, Sonal Shah