The Portrait Bar

The Portrait Bar is the cocktail bar inside The Fifth Avenue Hotel, a wood-paneled room inspired by Italian villas, with a carved stone fireplace and walls hung with the hotel's art collection of portraits: paintings, photographs and drawings, each with its own story. It is run by Noho Hospitality, Andrew Carmellini's group, and led by bar director Darryl Chan. During the day it belongs to hotel guests; in the evening it opens to everyone, and it has become one of NoMad's favorite places for a nightcap.

Chan's menu is a trip around the world in cocktails, each named for a place: Cebu Island, a clear, silky drink of rum, scotch, coconut and calamansi; Mapo District, soju with sesame-oil-washed Laphroaig; Kuala Lumpur, a pandan and sesame-vermouth Manhattan; and Elmhurst, a nod to Queens built on the flavors of Panang curry. There are bar snacks to go with them, and Café Carmellini, the hotel's MICHELIN-selected restaurant, is downstairs if the evening turns into dinner.