If you haven’t been to the bar at the NoMad, then this is the time to end your wait. Burnished and sophisticated, the NoMad is an easy place to lose time and rediscover the simple pleasure of just being together and the complex delights of an intricate cocktail.

Steps away, the Elephant Bar wears its name in 3D; on the far side the mahogany bar, there are two carved elephant heads. One of them has a nickname: Scarface. You can make a very short game of spotting the reason why.

Choose your space (light or dark, NoMad or Elephant, table or bar), and sink into the evening.

Leo Robitschek, the man behind the cocktails, is also responsible for the drinks at Eleven Madison Park. That’s a pairing that promises excellent cocktails – and the bar staff delivers. Cocktails come in classic and innovative. Talk with the bartenders; they may introduce you to your new favorite drink. Every couple has an “our song”. You deserve to have an “our drink” and a handsome place to revisit, where you first sipped it.

Just how impressive is the NoMad? It’s the kind of place where a professional chef seeks a job as a barback. That’s the kind of step you don’t take unless you’re certain to learn about the best from the best. Taking your cocktail-seeking beloved to the NoMad is the lowest-risk game in town.

3/5

Photo by Frances F Denny