New York City is not known for preserving its special places, like our little Bar. In fact, it often rushes to demolish and pave them over as soon as city permits will allow. In this fast-paced metropolis that celebrates the new and the shiny, architectural and cultural artifacts are few and far between. But bars that do remain from way back often feel as if time had been paused inside their little worlds.

The Bar at Patroon is a classic and an intimate cocktail bar that invites you to enjoy a drink without any concern for time or the buzz of the city outside. It is both a step back in time and a step out of time. The hustle of Manhattan fades in the background. In the foreground, our skilled cocktail craftsmen work quietly at their art – making the perfect drink. Or, getting you a smooth cold beer to take the edge off the day.

Let’s clear something up, Patroon is a restaurant, not a bar. However, a bar with this much old school charm is a New York destination on its own merits.

Ken Aretsky bought Christ Cella from Richard Cella, whose father, Christopher, founded it in 1926. The restaurant moved from East 45th Street, where it started as a speakeasy, to its current two-story building at 160 East 46th Street in 1955. Our Bar honors and celebrates that history. We preserve it and we keep it – and that is as it should be.

Christ Cella was located in a very different midtown than the one we live in today. Back in those days it was editors, newsmen, Mad-men, Hollywood types and bankers — it was clubby, celebrity-filled, hyper-masculine and expensive — the owner once appeared in a print ad for American Express stating “If you need to ask the price of a drink at Cella, you better bring your American Express card.”

A wonderful place for a lunch with friends in the city,
a quiet and charming corner in the big city with an old school but sophisticated feeling.

The Bar at Patroon is one of those rare New York City places that can please almost everyone. It is classic, comforting and full of dark delights and bright spirits. We make the best Martini in town. If you sip our elegant and harmonious gin martini with olives – you will know the taste of heaven. Watch as a bartender jiggers every balanced drop of our house Manhattan to perfection. It is our beloved New York in every drop.

When you come to visit The Bar please know our bartenders love a good challenge, so feel free to ask them to tailor a cocktail to your tastes and specifications.