Bar of the Week: SEL RROSE on the Lower East Side

Downtown's bar scene darling sits at the corner of Bowery and Delancey, beckoning cocktail connoisseurs and passers-by alike with an industrial-chic allure and a bar program second to none. By day, Sel Rrose's café serves as the main attraction with Counter Culture coffee, baked goods made in-house alongside morning treats by Balthazar, and the perfect setup for a stark white marble Instagram or two accented by dark woods and dried lavender.

While the café captures the early crowd daily from 9am onward, solace in the hours before the bar's opening, it's the night shift that shines as the heart of the space comes alive, the bar booming with a nocturnal crowd clamoring between plateaus of oysters and a bevy of craft cocktails.

Sel Rrose is steeped in the old world glamour of Paris reincarnated with tangible downtown New York roots peppered throughout. This is the quintessential lower Manhattan cocktail experience - technical spirits, educated and passionate bartenders, an aesthetic that matches the standard of quality ever-present across an exceptional bar and kitchen program.

Cocktails maintain an understated French identity, often honeyed and herbaceous in profile, ranging from the dark end of the spectrum (most notably the White Rose with rye, mesquite honey, ginger, pineapple, lemon, and egg white) to light, the house's best sellers including the Lavender Piscine (sparkling, lavender ice, herbes de Provence syrup, and grapefruit bitters) and the delightfully antithetical Belle Haleine, a brightly viscous concoction of gin, sweet vermouth, Byrrh, salted vanilla bean syrup, and champagne, served on the rocks in a gorgeous tumbler and garnished with a citrus peel. Grab a banquette for dinner or pull up a seat at the bar for a drink and a light bite - either way, the raw bar selection and house specialties are not to be missed. Grab a reservation here and tell 'em we sent you.