A Lush Seasonal Restaurant From Maison Premiere Team Dives Into Chelsea

The team behind Williamsburg’s hip cocktail and oyster bar Maison Premiere launches a seasonal restaurant and bar called The Golden Hour today. Located in the High Line Hotel’s garden at 180 10th Ave., between West 20th and 21st streets, The Golden Hour blends frozen cocktails, greenery, and a seafood-heavy menu for a summery atmosphere.

As with a lot of hip new openings this summer, The Golden Hour channels tropical vibes with lush plants filling the space. And like any promising summer spot, there are frozen cocktails on hand, like a tiki-style drink made with a blend of rums, pineapple, and curaçao, as well as a frozen negroni. Other drinks include a Pimm’s cup, an aperol and campari spritz, and a Brazilian take on the mojito, made with cachaça.

The food menu will lean into summer as well, with raw bar offerings and other seafood-centric dishes like a snapper ceviche, grilled shrimp with charred avocado, and fried oysters. Sandwiches like shrimp po’ boys, lobster rolls, cheeseburgers, and soft shell crab are also on the menu.

Bigger entrees include a clam pasta, razor clams frites, and fish and chips. There are non-seafood items, too, like a roasted chicken and a strip steak, but The Golden Hour seems to really be about the fish. Like its year-round sister restaurant Maison Premiere, there’s an extensive oyster list with prices from $1.95 to $3.50 per oyster.

One of NYC’s top cocktail spots, Maison Premiere opened in Williamsburg in 2011 with a vintage New Orleans aesthetic and quickly became a hotspot for absinthe cocktails, raw oysters, and seafood towers. In February, the restaurant tapped a new chef de cuisine, Carbone alum Jacob Clark, to develop new French-Cajun menu items like a seafood gumbo and a crawfish étoufée. In 2016, the Maison Premiere team also opened Sauvage in Greenpoint.

The Golden Hour starts slinging oysters and frozen drinks today and will be open Monday through Thursday from noon to 10 p.m., Friday from noon to 11 p.m., Saturday from 10 a.m. to 11 p.m. and Sunday from 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. No official closing date yet, but weather depending, expect it to last through October.