Opening Alert: Sip Cocktails in the Crystal-Clad Baccarat Hotel in Midtown

Tonight the first two of the Baccarat hotel's dining venues open in Midtown, along with the hotel itself. These, along with the still-to-come full-service restaurant, Chevalier, are helmed by chef Shea Gallante, formerly of Cru and Ciano, and Charles Masson, the former maitre d' of French classic La Grenouille. On the ground floor is the chandelier-ed bar, which serves very expensive cocktails alongside bar snacks from chef Gallante. Those snacks include your basic charcuterie board (with housemade pates), as well as duck pastrami sliders, lobster dumplings, and caviar with mini potato buns. Cocktails, meanwhile, include classics like a side car and a French 75 for $22 apiece, and, for a premium, house creations like the La Vie en Rose (gin, Noilly Prat ambre, green chartreuse, fino sherry, and orange bitters) at $24 each.The bar also has an outdoor patio, which it should be warm enough to spend time on any day now.

Meanwhile, the hotel's Grand Salon, a lounge on the second floor, also opened today. It is equally decked out in crystal chandeliers, and offers breakfast and afternoon tea, as well as small plates from Gallante (presumably similar to those served at the bar) in the evening, and cocktails. And here's a fun fact about those cocktails: they, along with all the other drinks in the hotel, will be served in pieces from the hotel's mismatched 15,000 piece collection of Baccarat crystal glassware.

Chevalier, the main event, opens later this spring. In the meantime, check out the cocktail menu and the bar snacks, below:

The Bar at Baccarat Hotel Cocktail Menu

Baccarat Hotel Bar Menu