Hill & Dale is located at 115 Allen St. on the Lower East Side.
Credit: Provided
As Metro’s spirits editor, T. Michelle Murphy hits a lot of bars. In this column, in various states of sobriety, she offers her take on New York City’s finest — and foulest — alcohol-proffering establishments.
Hill & Dale
SYNOPSIS
We got one free drink and a whole couch to ourselves, which makes this the best bar second only to your own couch and free drinks at home.
Neighborhood: Lower East Side
Ambience: (Monday, 9:30 p.m.) A self-appointed “gastrolounge” with wood, low lighting, old-timey music and a fireplace — you get the idea. It was mostly empty, which made us feel like rich people who rent out entire bars just for fun. A random crowd showed up around midnight for a surprising late-night rush.
Bartenders: Lawrence is going to take care of your every drink refill need with surplus charm. But he forgot which button on the tap was soda, so we drank vodka-lemonade by accident, twice. He’s really nice, and lemonade is yummy, so it’s all good.
Cocktails: There’s a nice variety at about $13 a pop, but nothing seemed especially exciting. Our group mostly stuck to well drinks, wine and beer.
Food: There’s a full menu and daily specials, all organic and locally sourced (of course). The roasted peppers were pungent and spicy; they were a bar snack special, so we got to smell them repeatedly to be sure we had no desire of tasting them. The pulled pork sliders look really huge for sliders — not that anyone’s complaining.
Price: ($$) Happy hour well drinks are $7 — you can do better on the LES.
Specials: Happy hour is 5-8 p.m. Brunch is Saturday and Sunday, noon-5 p.m.
Drunkenness: (++) Just buzzing after 5 vodka-soda/lemonades, even with no dinner. 🙁
Best bar in NYC for: a birthday party on a Monday.
Table service is a godsend, because once you get cozy on one of these couches, it’s hard to get back up.
Credit: Provided
To suggest a contender for NYC’s best bar, tweet T. Michelle Murphy: @TMichelleMurphy.
