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Double Chicken Please

New York

In 2017, GN Chan and Faye Chen set out in a vintage yellow VW minibus to host a series of cocktail pop-ups. In the autumn of 2020, they parked the bus and moved into a permanent Lower East Side location. NYC drinks have never been the same and the bar has been on a meteoric ascent to the top of the world's cocktail scene ever since, rising to the coveted No.1 spot in the 2023 edition of North America's 50 Best Bars. The front room underwent a full renovation in late 2024 to reopen as 'Free Range': a move away from its former soda shop vibe. The revitalised bar area offers a more artsy, multi-sensory space that majors on easy sippers with unserious names, such as the Fxxking Little Brain, made with tequila, pisco, banana, coconut popcorn and walnut.

In the backroom, aka The Coop, things get funky. Each libation is designed to represent a drinkable meal. Consider the beloved French Toast (vodka, roasted barley brioche, coconut, milk, maple syrup, egg) or Custard Bun (sake, palo cortado sherry, sparkling wine, koji, salted egg yolk, cacao pu'er tea, palo santo). Befitting drinks that require a little bit of thought, the mood is classy and laid back. Its menu of high-quality bar snacks also draws upon the founders' theme of innovation. Fried chicken, perhaps unsurprisingly, takes the limelight across the menu, with its sandwich and popcorn variants being particular highlights. The non-poultry items, such as lobster shiso tempura with ponzu butter and oolong pudding dressed in black sugar caramel, are equally worthy of your time. Back here, the lighting is low, the seating is plush and guests tend to linger for a few drinks.

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