Simon Kim Builds a Midtown Lair Worth Getting Lost In

BAR CHIMERA

Location: New York

Designer: Rockwell Group

On Offer:

To enter Simon Kim’s three-headed beast of a bar is to eat the lotus. Beneath the vaulted arches of 550 Madison, where Kim has also opened Cote 550, dedicated watering holes for wine, whiskey, and martinis orbit a towering pine tree, offering suit-sporting Midtowners a landing place with enough to sip on that they need never leave.

Up front, guests perch on cognac-leather barstools, giving full-bodied Tuscan reds a swirl-and-sniff. A gleaming chrome bar shakes up martinis prepared with a proprietary remineralized water. At the wood-clad whiskey bar, aproned bartenders clamber up a sliding library ladder to retrieve rare bottles. As the sun slips behind the steel curtains of Madison Avenue, neon from London-based artist Martin Creed casts a glow over the room, its marigold hue relaying one final directive: don’t worry.

Standout Features:

As with Kim’s other outposts, the script has been written for you. At COTE, it’s the ‘Butcher’s Feast,’ here, it’s ‘Dinner at Chimera,’ a conveyor belt of shareable plates from red snapper crudo to crispy octopus with ganjang aioli. Salt bread arrives hollowed out to hold whipped honey butter. Hudson Valley foie gras “Home Run Balls” are Kim’s savory take on the chocolate Korean classic. Order from any (or all) of the three bars from your seat. Thai basil ‘tinis, creamsicle highballs, and pornstar martinis with a prosecco sidecar—best to clear your evening.