Everyone in this town seems to have a shtick and Ward III, a new Tribeca cocktail bar (111 Reade Street), has one - "bespoke cocktails" - that was intriguing enough to warrant a visit the other night.As we struggled to the bar, making our way past a parade of office workers celebrating their hard won freedom from drone-life, we were surprised at the size of the space and its generic look. While our fellow patrons busied themselves ordering rum & cokes and $7 Coronas - how sad is that with all the polished but ignored spirits bottles looking on from the shelves - we tried our hand with the bartender. There was no list at all and the bartender made a point of asking the non-beer, non-Ketel-on-the-rocks drinkers what "base" they wanted. We asked for something in the brown liquor family. The resulting drink, bourbon with fresh raspberries was okay but fairly indistinct. Much better was a gin and basil concoction. A rye drink, was also pretty good. (Cocktails $12 and up, depending on ingredients).
Unfortunately, thanks to the concept, we can't order these drinks again since they don't have names and aren't on a list that we know of. Also, the crowd was of the "who cares it's the weekend variety," and they could care less about fancy cocktails. Together with the high ceilings, bare walls and loud music, the atmosphere wasn't what you'd call serious cocktail drinking friendly. A guest who asked for "something raspberry" was was met with a borderline sneer and an impatient "request" that she pick a liquor base first. Really? Customers at a newly opened place are supposed to be familiar with the peculiarities of ordering? And as serious about the cocktails as the bartenders? We think they might have to reconsider who the customer is likely to be and encourage those who are at least showing interest rather than sneer at them.
The website promises "New York City's Finest Eats," which is either tongue-in-cheek or a pretty outlandish thing to say since they are serving bar food a block from Bouley. The sliders were fine, but nothing to write home about. Other food options right now include a mac & cheese and a sizeable quesadilla.
We understand it's a hook but "bespoke cocktails" is not even something so original - we often tell a bartender what we're in the mood for and a good one can come up with something. Our bet is the bespoke cocktail angle will get downplayed real soon. The real question is whether this place will attract the NYC cocktail crowd, no sure bet given the location and a generic, somewhat impersonal interior that flies in the face of the speakeasy trend.
Had similar sentiments after a visit Friday eve. My friends and I (all seasoned cocktail enthusiasts) were pretty miffed that the bartenders refused to tell us what ingredients were in the drinks we were given--all we got were devilish "trust me" smiles. That and cucumber seeds, ginger chunks, and a not-small piece of plastic that one of us nearly ate, mistaking it for ice. In addition, nothing we drank was cold enough.
The idea of genuinely "bespoke" cocktails is actually pretty risky, IMO. Even the city's top mixologists test and tweak their new creations before passing them on to their customers. To think that anyone is capable of reliably and repeatedly inventing new concoctions off-the-cuff--especially at Ward III, where our drinks were merely passable--seems pretty misguided.
We'll be curious to go back in a few weeks after they've dealt with a few hundred frustrated customers. What are the chances they just have a menu?