After the longest day at work yesterday I almost dreamed of passing out on my lame couch and watch something uninteresting on TV- for a change. I was so exhausted that it almost sounded like a good idea-�even for an anti-TV gal like me. I got saved by a phone call from a girlfriend I haven’t seen in quite some time who was reminding me she was expecting me I was expected to cheer with her at her “back to NYC” celebration in the LES.
In the cab downtown I remembered I had RSVP to check out the opening of Ella, the cocktail lounge opened by the owners of Gallery Bar and the almost forgotten Plan B. The glamour lounge is named after renowned jazz singer “Lady Ella” and is willing to honor Hollywood in the roaring ’20s.
I arrived under the rain and the handsome kid in charge of the list had stepped inside leaving several guests waiting under the rain. He came out after a few minutes and let me in with a large grin- I walked in the long and dark entry hallway to open a tiny door on a overcrowded space- from what I have seen in the 15 minutes I stayed there they had closed�the downstairs area – which will serve as piano bar and welcome live bands.
- I� did like the general vibe of the place decorated predominantly black and red with some touches of white�(not really original you’d say…and you’d be right) but what really did the trick were the wall decorations – including the giant Chanel No 5 poster behind the retro flower print couches at the end of the bar and a few lovely touches here and there -thanks to designer Carleton Varney skills.
As far as�their yummy specialty cocktails (which involve yummy muddled fruits) were concerned only a few were being offered on trays ( and you surely know about these vultures who go out ONLY for the free stuff…) and the ones guests ordered at the bar had to be paid- which I found quite surprising for an opening. I did noticed a few trays of hors d’oeuvres being past around and from the look on people’s faces it seemed to have been quite good- but I refrained myself from trying as I had to leave promptly to have dinner.
I didn’t bother to take pictures but I liked the ones RareDaily previewed on September 25th :http://www.raredaily.com/leisure/ella_nyc/- in case you’d like to have a look.
I will certainly come back in a few days-or most likely a few weeks to see how the place evolve.