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Welcoming the coolest new bar on Smith Street - Clover Club
Josh Guttman | June 19, 2008
Score one for Cobble Hill. Clover Club opened with much anticipation yesterday (they’ve been working on the space for over a year) and the early indications are that it may have been worth the wait. I predict this place will quickly assume the role of swankiest/hippest bar in the neighborhood, without the pretencion or tackiness that has been a frequent doomed mis-step of Manhattan business owners expanding to the neighborhood.
The space is designed as a throwback to the days when most of Brooklyn was still farmland, and a group of Philadelphia pioneers formed one of the original drinking clubs, held together by a favorite location, a single cocktail and a name: The Clover Club. The masterminds behind the spot are Julie Reiner and Michael Brais (Julie also did the Flatiron Lounge in Manhattan). The cocktails are old-school, epitomized by the house cocktail The Clover Club (Plymouth gin, dry vermouth, lemon juice and house-made raspberry syrup) and punches served in antique bowls big enough for eight (seems like they borrowed a page from Zombie Hut here)—meaning you can hunker down at a leather booth and engage your whole entourage in some communal punch-bowl boozing through a straw.
The space is chic. Antique pressed tin/copper ceilings in the front room open up to mirrored ceilings in the back, and both spaces are adorned with dark wood floors and vintage wallpaper (local resident, Jennifer Wood, contributed to the space’s design strategy). The ambiance is slightly clubby with oriental carpets, chandeliers, and upholstered sofas along with an antique mahogany bar. The backroom evokes a hint of privacy/exclusivity with a second bar and fireplace and will likely double as a choice space for private parties. They’ll be serving a menu of small plates and offer probably the best drink menu in the neighborhood, including a full array of sours, highballs, fizzes, cobblers, royales and swizzles.
Clover Club is located at 210 Smith Street, between Baltic and Butler
Comments
12 Comments so far
Look forward to checking it out, and really hoping it’s not another new business that makes brooklyn and manhattan more indistinguishable.
Checked it out last night. Pretentious, overpriced, full of attitude, and over styled - this place belongs in SOHO not Smith St. There goes the neighborhood.
I’m going to have to disagree with ‘Jon’. I went last night with a couple friends. Every one of us enjoyed it. The cocktails and the food were very good. It does have a swank feel to it, but it fits with the decor. The back room looks like an old hotel bar. I welcome a place like this to Brooklyn- tired of the frat houses.
I agree with you Steven - it’s become cliche to call nice Bkln places Manhattan. Not sure what makes a bar Manhattan, but I think mostly the crowd and this bar is going to cater to locals so that makes it inherently unManhattan. went on grand opening to check out the space, then again last night for drinks and late night food. It’s elegant and swanky without being pretentious. It’s an authentic speakeasy with charm. It’s clear that tons of thought and creativity went into the space, which creates lots of ambience. If you want to drink a beer and have a hot dog and stay super casual with edgy brooklynites, go to Gowanus YC down the street. But if you’re in the mood to sip creative drinks and enjoy a nicer ambience with friends or a date, come here. Great addition to the neighborhood and filling an important void.
that 2 story bright backlit sign up in front of the building reminds me of crass commercialism of a chain restaurant.
Visual eyesore and really tacky of the owners to do.
Jon, you’re a textbook reactionary.
Overpriced? $10/$11 dollars for cocktails made with top shelf spirits, house made syrups, garnished with fresh fruit, made by skilled bartenders - is not overpriced.
Pretentious - How so? Maybe some of the spirits on the cocktail list were unknown to you?
This place is a welcome addition to the neighborhood. If it’s not, then the locals won’t go, and the place will close down in a few months.
Anyway, with American Apparel down the street and boutiques selling $200 dresses, the neighborhood is already gone.
I just checked it out this weekend after long anticipation…So lovely and totally welcome! I happen to like the sign and love the awning. I can’t wait for winter to get by that fireplace.
For those ridiculous people who must find fault with every new thing the neighborhood has to offer, i just don’t understand. I’m not a huge fan of the starbucks or the horrible Lucky jeans but some of those old places that are closing simply don’t work in the area anymore. How many people actually shopped at that sad little shoe shop that used to be where Clover Club now is? There is room in this Neighborhood for great dive bars and highbrow bars as well. Every area evolves and changes, Thank goodness.
Its really great to have another place to get proper cocktails on smith street. The quality and prices are a perfect match. The service was fantastic and friendly. I had three of the best cocktails i’ve had in as many years. I will clearly become a regular.
I just checked it out this weekend after long anticipation…So lovely and totally welcome! I happen to like the sign and love the awning. I can’t wait for winter to get by that fireplace.
For those ridiculous people who must find fault with every new thing the neighborhood has to offer, i just don’t understand. I’m not a huge fan of the starbucks or the horrible Lucky jeans but some of those old places that are closing simply don’t work in the area anymore. How many people actually shopped at that sad little shoe shop that used to be where Clover Club now is? There is room in this Neighborhood for great dive bars and highbrow bars as well. Every area evolves and changes, Thank goodness. As to the comment about boutiques selling $200 dresses God Forbid! These stores are simply offering the people what they want…should everybody really have to go into Manhattan for every nice thing and experience. (Sorry to get off topic but i just disagree that the neighborhood is “gone”.)
Its really great to have another place to get proper cocktails on smith street. The quality and prices are a perfect match. The service was fantastic and friendly. I had three of the best cocktails i’ve had in as many years. I will clearly become a regular.
Dropped in last night for a quick nightcap. First impression…the doorman. Why a doorman? Throwback to a few years ago when Vegas on Smith had a doorman? Anyway once inside the host thought it would best for us to sit instead of standing around the bar. No one was sitting at a table mind you. We made our way to the bar, the three of us just wanted a cocktail. Bartenders were unnattentive, instead they vigorously shook cocktail shaker for what seemed an eternity much to the amusement of the ladies at the bar. There was not a nod or a wink of acknowledgement that were standing there waiting for a drink…and it clearly wasn’t busy. After a few minutes we left and went down the street to another bar where the bartender instantly acknowledged us with a “be with you in a minute”. First impressions mean a lot so if this place wants a Tom Cruise-esque cocktail shaker dude to impress the ladies then go right ahead but this is Brooklyn and we like things to be un-Manhattan like here.
I went last night and had the most amazing time at the bar. Perhaps, the best cocktails I have ever had. Bartender made me this chartreuse martini followed up with a Pisco sour. My girlfriend and I are big foodies and to see something like this open in the hood is great.
I can see why people may not like it. It is kinda big and does have a Manhattan but our interaction with the bartender was great, food was good and cocktails were perfect. I cant wait to go back
I went Friday night with two girlfriends. The drinks were great, albeit more than I would liked to spend, but it’s a great menu and everything was really well made. I love the decor. My problem is that I like going to a bar and choosing my seat - location in the bar and seated near people I want to sit by. Some people do like going out to meet new people right? Being sat by a hostess is not very conducive to mingling. It completely lost its lounge feel to me when I had to stand near the hostess and wait for a table. The small area for standing around the bar was incredibly packed - too crowded to even walk through. The back room had a table available, but they wouldn’t let us have it (is the back room reserved tables only?), nor would they let us stand at the bar in the back which had plenty of room around it. What’s the deal? I think of a lounge as being comfortable, and this was a little stuffy and felt staged. I think I would only go if I were with my boyfriend or girlfriends who I knew I wanted to talk to intimately the whole night. But I will go back - excellent drinks that are new to me and I want to try more. (Note to the establishment: if you have a detailed menu, you should leave one on the table after patrons order their first round so that they can try something else next. We kept having to ask for a drink menu and the waitress kept promptly taking it away with her.)
can i get a drink, put in front of me, at a bar in this neighborhood, in fewer than 20 minutes….please!!! maybe i am now in the minority but, i am not impressed with these self important bartenders who think you want a drinking experience other than drinking! it is their job to please all of their customers not just those who really like their concept. maybe this is why so many close their doors. not the result of an evolutionary proccess, but rather a slowing down of the revenue proccess. i have saved thousands in this neighborhood by not being allowed to drink at the speed and frequency that i desire. Not to mention the places i have walked out of for not being acknowledged within 10 minutes!!