Midtown is hardly known as a cocktail destination, though the odd exception does pop up like Lantern's Keep, so we were intrigued when speakeasy in the sky J Bird opened up at 251 W. 48th Street.
For starters, let's just say most of the fun is getting there - you enter a service area and an elevator operator whisks you up to the rooftop lounge XVI - from there you follow the birds in the hallway, go through a door, down the steps and make a left, go through another door and find yourself in the "secret" lounge. The space is large - don't let the website fool you with talk of being intimate or having limited reservations - with a large square bar at the entrance and two seating areas under a covered skylight. A view of the Hudson makes the western side the best place to sit, besides the bar, though be forewarned that the space is littered with tiny cocktail tables that barely hold drinks and are too low for the seats.
The drinks? Well, let's start with the absurd price of $16 per cocktail. This sort of pricing is egregious and far above what other, better cocktail dens charge. Should we pay a premium for some difficult to find space run by less-than-household name cocktailians in Midtown? Certainly not.
The menu is large with lots of infusions and syrups - our recommendation is to talk extensively with the bartender about sweetness level and flavor profiles as the flavors can be surprising. The best drink was the Moon on the Rain, (Calvados VSOP, Dubonnet and quince gastrique) that was rich and pleasantly Dubonnet forward, followed by La Rosita (Anejo tequila, Antica Vermouth & Campari) - the Campari perfectly balanced out the tequila. The Coco Viejo was Zacapa rum infused with coco and coffee beans, cane syrup and grapefruit bitters - a strong coffee flavor that thankfully mellowed somewhat with ice. Not unpleasant but for a particular palate, not to mention it overwhelmed other drinks on the table. Worst was the Brush on the Bush (Anejo tequila, mezcal, cherry bark, sage agave nectar & vanilla bitters), which buried the mezcal in sweetness even though we were assured it was a smoky drink. The staff raved about The Maddow, a gin cocktail overwhelmed by elderflower, and not likely to be favored by its TV star namesake. Were any of these drinks worth $16? Nope.
Aside from the pricing, the other thing to watch out for is the 20% service charge tacked on every check - making the drinks $19! While we always tip 20% or more, we found this to be shady - when the credit card bill comes, there is a section for tip and no doubt many people have added on extra without needing to. While the service charge should be clearly stated, it wasn't on the menu and the bartender did not state it, so it left us with a bad impression.
Frankly, there is little to recommend a trip to JBird - certainly it hasn't caught on by the looks of the empty room on a recent night. Shockingly, they are threatening more of these places. Unfortunately, his bird is more of a turkey. And we all know they don't fly.
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