Bemelmans at the Carlyle Is Still Going Strong

Bemelmans Bar {credit}

Old New York is fading. Nostalgic spots like the Rainbow Room, Algonquin’s Oak Room, and now Feinstein’s, which is set to close at the end of this year, are now history in a city with a once vibrant supper-club past. Some of these institutions may one day be revitalized, but in the meantime, only memories linger. I finally made it to Bemelmans at the Carlyle Hotel  to have a cocktail –– and a very pricey one at that. One of the few old-timey Manhattan haunts remaining, Bemelmans offers quite the bustling nightlife scene. Recession? Obviously not in this neck of the Upper East Side off Madison Avenue. On Tuesday night, there was not a seat in the house.

The interior was stunning, with leather banquettes, gold leaf ceilings, and frolicking animal murals by former Carlyle resident, author and illustrator for Madeline children’s books, Ludwig Bemelman. Bemelman was also famous for his illustrations on countless covers of The New Yorker. 

We waited patiently at the bar until a table became available. I paid for two drinks totaling $57 –– at least that included tax and tip. I nursed my $21 Ketel One and tonic while my friend gracefully sipped her $27 glass of champagne. It was undoubtedly real, and for that amount of money, a beret-wearing Frenchman should’ve poured it.

Animals frolic on the walls at Bemelmans{credit}

I honestly thought the drinks would be $15-$18, so I fell a little short on the pricing. When I visited the Rainbow Room five years ago, my drink was $18, but it was a double, and I had a view. I actually considered that one a bargain. The beloved RR has since closed. I guess their drinks should have been single shots and $21 too.

Live music was included with the high-priced cocktails and so were chips, cheese straws, mixed nuts, and unsurprisingly, an upscale crowd. I have to say, those were the best mixed nuts I’ve ever eaten.

If the Carlyle charged a cover for the piano music, it would easily be $15 to $25, so in a sense, perhaps the $21 cocktail (I only had one) wasn’t so steep after all. From 9:30 on however, that cover charge does apply. But we arrived at 6:30, so we took advantage of the “No Cover,” which I highly recommend.

Are the costs of these legendary hotspots and cabarets so far beyond the average New Yorker’s nightlife budget that they’re forced to close their doors?

In a weak economy, those $20 cocktails aren’t easy to swallow. And perhaps I can afford one singular sensation of a cocktail (it better be sensational!), but I certainly can’t afford two. And if most people (like me) are indulging in the single, rarely the double, and never the triple, after paying the piano player for three hours of music and serving unlimited gourmet snacks,  how much cash is the bar pocketing? By about 8 p.m., the room had opened up and there were plenty of seats, which leads me to believe that they may not be profiting enough.

Cocktails at Bemelmans are pricey, but he music can’t be beat.{credit}

Posted on December 6, 2012