If you were to do a Google search (localized in New York City) for “best first date spot” “most romantic bars” or “Valentine’s Day ideas”, Boudoir (Le Boudoir), would be the top result. These are not the reasons that this Brooklyn speakeasy is worthy of your patronage.
Under the French Bistro
This cocktail lounge is located on Atlantic Avenue, behind a false bookcase. A winding staircase leads to the bar. Boudoir Bar, the latest expression of Ms. Franky Marshall bartender extraordinaire, doesn’t just scream romance. It sits alongside you and nuzzles your neck while whispering sweet boozy nos in your ear.
Marshall is a seasoned industry professional who has Clover Club as well as Dead Rabbit to her credit. However, the decor was created to evoke Marie Antoinette’s Versailles bedroom. The cocktails menu is lavish: decadent cocktails such as the Dauphin (absinthe and chile liquor, almond milk, coconut and cacao nibs) as well as the Epice (cantaloupes, jalapeno green Chartreuse fresh lime bitters, green Chartreuse, fresh mint, celery bitters, and cantaloupe) are extravagantly presented. Light foods like crispy frog legs with spicy honey sauce, foie gras torchon with red wine apple compote, and an assortment of charcuterie and fromage are just as luxurious as the dessert options: vanilla genoise cake, chocolate mousse, or creme brulee.
This establishment is designed to satisfy every epicurean desire. It’s also a bar in the neighborhood.
Boudoir is a place where couples can lounge in red-tufted velvet banquettes with gold trimmings. You will be treated like a veteran drink-slinger, no matter if you order exquisitely prepared cocktails (Marshall has been a Cognac teacher) or beer. Marshall says, “I was bartending before the cocktail craze” “I have worked in high-volume dive bars, sports bars, clubs, hotels, and it has been a great training ground for people handling. This experience is not worth the effort of newer bartenders, who are only familiar with craft cocktails.
This is the best advice in the hospitality industry: A great mixologist makes it easy to be happy that you have a well-made drink. You will be happy that you went to the bar if you have a great bartender.
The reason you visit a bar is not why it’s great, but why you return. Boudoir is a great first date, romantic evening or Valentine’s Day treat. However, if you haven’t booked your V-Day reservations by now you’re likely out of luck. Why wait? It has a beautiful backroom that can seat 15 people and more, making it a great place for small parties. You would be very surprised to see F. Scott Fitzgerald drinking after hours in this place if he were still alive. He can be found deep in his palaver and enjoying a free drink. It is also part of NYC’s history, having been once part of the Atlantic Avenue subway tunnel.
Boudoir is a place where you can dine and drink as French royalty in the last days of the monarchy. You could go to any bar: New York City and Brooklyn are full of them. With all the stress of daily life in 2018, wouldn’t it be nice to indulge in a little bit of casual decadence.
