GILT BAR VOTED ONE OF AMERICA'S BEST BUSINESS BARS
25 June 2010
GILT Bar at The New York Palace was named as one of the Best Business Bars by Entrepreneur Magazine.
Entrepreneur's guide to the best bars for doing business across the country
Best Business Bars In America
New York
GILT
In a city with 16 million eyes--and ears--hotel bars are the savviest places to meet in Manhattan for a drink and a deal. You get private-club service with no Page Six attention (unless you want it). And while the usual suspects, such as the Four Seasons and the King Cole Room in the St. Regis, will always have their fans, the smart money lately is being spent at the Palace Hotel in Midtown.
The subtly neon-lighted bar at Gilt, the hotel's Michelin two-star restaurant, exudes downtown energy and uptown sophistication. "Gossip Girl" has filmed there, and this year's East Coast Oscar party was staged there, so the crowd has a properly starry mix of youth and gravitas. Plus the hotel itself attracts an elegant international clientele (no tripping over wheelie bags if you enter through the lobby).
The designers retained the room's late-1800s detailing, with a vaulted ceiling multiple stories up, but added the perfect oval bar to maximize people-watching. Tables line the walls and fill a second room; all can be reserved. The noise level is perfect: You can hear your guest, your neighbors can't hear you. Drink prices are steep but not horrifying ($17 for a glass of Arneis). And the liquid menu is minimalist, with no futzy cocktails, so you can get right down to business. --Regina Schrambling
TIP: To really dazzle a client, enter the bar through the lobby but head straight to the courtyard. This summer, for the second year, drinks will be served al fresco, with a view toward St. Patrick's Cathedral. No bar in Midtown can rival it.
GO: Gilt, 455 Madison Ave. (at 50th Street), New York. (212) 891-8100
Click here to view this article on Entrepreneur Magazine's website
