New York

Antik

While intoxication is always awesome, sometimes the bar itself can be your biggest impediment to drinking: 3-deep crowds, bartenders suffering from selective blindness, and customers who can't decide between a vodka tonic, or a vodka tonic. Imbibe without hassle, at Antik, opening tomorrow.

From the guys behind EV club Retreat, Antik's an opulently gilded, banquette-lined lounge that has no bar, only waitresses, who'll magically step out from behind velvet curtains bearing your booze (presumably mixed by the Wizard of Grog). Options include premium bottle service (sorry, Popov), domestic/import beers, and speakeasy cocktails like the Hemingway Daiquiri (rum, maraschino liqueur, grapefruit/lime juice) and the Hi Ho -- made from gin, white port, orange bitters, with 100% of the proceeds going to Bishop Don Magic Juan. Antik's open to all, but since there's nowhere to stand about drinking, they do require reservations -- fail to call ahead, and expect to sit at home, simmering in irony when there's nothing on TV but No Reservations.

For something more familiar, Antik's basement is home to King's Cross, a fireplace'd English pub that sports a traditional bar -- because sometimes you need a bartender's harsh glare to galvanize your decision that you don't want a vodka tonic, you want a vodka tonic.

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