Tropical Cocktail Sensation Broken Shaker Opens on an NYC Rooftop Wednesday

Wildly popular and highly anticipated Miami cocktail bar Broken Shaker busts open Wednesday with its all-star team and quirky rooftop space. The 2,500-square-foot rooftop space at the Freehand Hotel, at 23 Lexington Ave. between 23rd and 24th streets, is full of bright colors and potted plants and will dish out a menu of Caribbean-Middle Eastern fare alongside tropical drinks.

The menu, in full below, from chef Jimmy Lebron — the chef at the group’s sibling restaurant 27 in Miami — has created a Caribbean and Middle Eastern menu with dishes like a chicken schnitzel sandwich with “Arabic” slaw and tahini, a Yemenite bread platter with various dips, and a saffron shrimp escabeche with jicama, cabbage, and avocado. It’s definitely more bar than restaurant, but a full meal can be cobbled together, especially if eating the burger with chorizo jam, swiss cheese, pepitas, and pickles alongside yuca fries.

The star of the show, drinks — from head bartender Evan Hawkins — are split into three sections: new drinks made for NYC and inspired by the city, top-selling cocktails from the original location in Miami, and a mix of those from Chicago and LA. The NYC section has, predictably, an everything bagel gin fizz, and a less expected drink that’s inspired by nearby Curry in a Hurry combines vodka and gin with red curried honey, citrus, and pineapple. Upland chef Justin Smillie is a friend of the owners, and his penchant for tequila led to the Smillie with tequila, key lime and golden beet cordial, cilantro, and ginger turmeric agave.

This is the first NYC project for owners Elad Zvi and Gabriel Orta, who both relocated to the city for it. Though it’s a copy of the others that exist in Miami and Los Angeles, Zvi says they “pushed the boundaries on this one” when it came to the space. Stay tuned for photos of the breezy rooftop this week.

Broken Shaker started as a pop-up in Miami’s location of the Freehand hotel in 2012, and after its quick success, owner Sydell Group kept it at the hotel permanently. It’s known for making standout seasonal craft cocktails in a lush setting, twice garnering a James Beard nomination for bar program, as well as landing as No. 14 on a list of the world’s best 50 bars.