If you want a drink with really good shared plates of globally inspired food and unobstructed views of the Empire State Building, you should go to Spyglass Rooftop Bar perched on the 22nd floor of the Archer Hotel.
The decor harkens back to the Art Deco era with plush leather bar seats and banquettes, marble topped tables and counters, with a wide open view (especially the gorgeous evening we were there) to the iconic Empire State Building where this bar takes its inspiration. The bar food is from the David Burke fabrick restaurant on the main floor.
We started off with fruity yet balanced cocktails. The beautiful looking Summer Time Fling cocktail made of Prosecco, St. Germain, limoncello, aperol, raspberry, and lemon was sweet, effervescent and the sweetness just controlled due to the bitter aperol. The Archer’s Elixir tasted almost like a blood orange with an edge of bitterness from the Campari and the delicate floral notes with the Earl grey. You Look Smashing is the only cocktail made with dark spirits; it’s made with Breckenridge bourbon, blueberry, lemon, and agave. This was a fruit-forward drink that has some complexity from the bourbon and barely sweetened with agave.
We were informed of the seasonal snow cones that are offered until Labor Day. While we liked the flavors of the peach caipirinha and mojito, we would consider this more of a drink on the crushed rocks rather than a true snow cone. In terms of a snow cone, we thinking of Finely ground or fine shaved ice soaked in a (boozy, for this case) syrup. Do ask for a straw to drink the cocktail.
When it comes to the food, it’s pretty solid. The best thing we had was actually from the restaurant downstairs — candied bacon on a clothesline. Beyond the fun presentation, the thick-cut bacon was beautifully cooked that it’s chewy, gently crisp on the edges with a wonderful balance of salty, smoky and sweetness.
The tuna tartare in a can was a good tartare that was seasoned nicely but a little too heavy on the toasted sesame seed oil. The three layer avocado dip was creamy and the tang of the sour cream was good. The buttermilk fried oysters was fried very nicely and the coleslaw was a refreshing foil. The dish really liked was the lobster BLT steamed buns that is a beautiful clash of global cultures of Asian (steamed puffy mantou buns), American (lobster salad and seared pork belly), Mexican (use of jalapeño — and the most crucial ingredient to tie this entire sandwich together).
To view more photos of this visit, please CLICK HERE for the set of view the gallery below:
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Information
Spyglass Rooftop Bar
Website
at Archer Hotel
47 W 38th Street
New York, NY 10018
Phone: (212) 730-0538
