Watanabe explains that Martiny’s is a “hospitality experience,” and “the setting is not meant to be a packed bar.” It is not a place focused on churning out a massive volume of drinks. Most cocktails at Martiny’s are served in Kimura glassware. Bottles are carefully positioned with their labels facing outward, and the bartenders wear white suit jackets as they shake and swirl cocktails. The hyper detail-oriented nature of proper Ginza bars, including the hospitality, and the artful experience of sitting at a bar there will be mimicked here. People are encouraged to banter with employees behind the bar. However, unlike in Ginza, where many bars are designed for solo drinking experiences with little chatter between customer and bartender, Watanabe has styled Martiny’s to be a bit more upbeat. Jazz will set the stage for what Watanabe describes as a “relaxing and inviting” ambiance, precisely as it is done in Ginza, Tokyo’s epicenter for craft cocktails. “We specifically curated different levels within Martiny’s to offer different experiences,” says Watanabe, whose decorated bartending career includes working under some of the most notable bartending talent, including Shuzo Nagumo of Tokyo’s Code Name Mixology, perhaps Japan’s most celebrated expert who pioneered experimental cocktail making, and Shingo Gokan, the visionary behind a number of the World’s 50 Best bars and also a former Angel’s Share manager.Įach of Martiny’s levels will encompass a cozy 450-square-feet and focus on fostering an intimate atmosphere. At Martiny’s - named after Watanabe’s favorite cocktail, but also a nod to French American sculptor Philip Martiny, whose studio used to occupy the space - every customer receives a warm oshibori (hand towel), as is Japanese custom, before proceeding to one of the three floors. And this Thursday, April 21, the Tokyo native will unveil his first solo project: Martiny’s, a Japanese cocktail bar spanning three floors of a renovated 1800s carriage house at 121 East 17th Street, located between Union Square East and Irving Place, in Gramercy.įrom the moment each person walks in the door until they pay their bill, Watanabe is embracing omotenashi, the Japanese word for hospitality in which an operator pays attention to every detail and anticipates a customer’s needs. Takuma Watanabe spent eight years as the head bartender of Angel’s Share - one of New York City’s most iconic and pioneering cocktail dens that recently shuttered - before venturing out on his own last year.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
Details
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |