At Simon Kim’s Bar Chimera, Precision Meets Excess
Simon Kim is known for opening buzzy, unapologetically over-the-top restaurants. It started with the 2017 launch of Cote, a Michelin-starred steakhouse that blends light-hearted Korean barbecue with fine-dining attention to detail, and in the nine years since, he’s cemented his know-how by adding six venues to Gracious Hospitality Management, stretching from New York City to Las Vegas, Miami, and Singapore.
As Bar Chimera opened on April 18, Kim revealed that he and his team also know what it takes to open a top-notch bar. Inside a towering building at 550 Madison Avenue, the group’s first-ever standalone bar comprises three concepts highlighting wine, whiskey and martinis. The trio of distinct bars in different corners of the room creates a drinking experience that channels the same over-the-top fun and thoughtful touches that made New Yorkers first fall for Cote and Coqodaq.
While guests can order across all of the menus, no matter where they’re seated, the room is divided so each space channels the vibe of its respective drink. A sleek bar with chrome accents and a mirrored backbar is the place to focus on martinis, oversized bar stools offer a spot to perch with a glass of wine, and a cozier area across the room houses the whiskey library. At the center of the room, a full-grown pine tree stretches to the top of the multi-story vaulted ceilings, further emphasizing the bar’s imposing stature.
The bar joins two other restaurants from the team inside the same building. A second Cote location can be found down a dark staircase near the wine bar, and an omakase counter helmed by lauded chef Masahiro Yoshitake will open in the fall on an upper level.
Throughout my visit, it was clear that every detail of the bar was carefully considered, including, for example, as I watched the team seamlessly place a purse stool beside each table as guests took their seats and deliver a complimentary round of coconut water, ginger, and hibiscus drinks so everyone had something refreshing to sip on while perusing the menu.
The martini menu is perhaps the best example of the team’s obsessive dedication. A quarter of each martini is water from melted ice, a fact that is printed at the top of the martini section of the menu. With that in mind, the team tasted 50 different types of filtered and bottled water at varying pH and minerality levels before landing on their chosen water. The filtered tap water is remineralized and frozen into the ice that contributes to each martini. While it’s tough to say if that component is what moves the needle, the martinis are top-notch versions of the classic. Variations like a Vesper and Alaska make up one side of the menu, but guests can also craft their own custom version by choosing from select vodka and gin options and pairing it with their choice of four different types of olive, a pickled onion, or a lemon peel.
Behind the whiskey bar, guests have access to more than 200 bottles, including ultra-rare finds like Johnnie Walker white label, which dates back to before World War I. Classic, booze-forward cocktails like Manhattans or the lavish Big Pappy, an Old Fashioned with 12-year Pappy Van Winkle, Okinawa sugar, and Angostura bitters for $275, make up the bulk of the menu. They don’t leave out those looking for something lighter, though. If that’s your vibe, try the Super Creamsicle, which marries Hibiki Harmony with cream soda and orange citrate.
Gracious Hospitality is known for its expansive wine programs, and Bar Chimera’s, led by executive director of beverage Victoria James and wine director Andrea Morris, follows in that vein. More than 50 wines by the glass highlight stellar regions, from Champagne to Burgundy and Bordeaux. While there are plenty of ways to ball out on the list of more than 1,200 bottles, the glass options range from an $18 glass of California Sauvignon Blanc to a $370 pour from Chateau Mouton-Rothschild, with something at every price point in between. The team even paid attention to oft-overlooked fortified wine, digging in to curate a collection of vintage Madeira that dates back to 1835.
Putting drinks at the forefront doesn’t mean the group turned a blind eye to the food portion of the menu. Extravagant raw bar selections like a generous Chimera Plateau and full caviar service are on offer, but the surprising star of the small bites is the salt bread service. Inspired by an indulgent, viral treat in Japan and South Korea, the bar’s signature bread is wrapped around a pat of butter and baked so the inside of this croissant-like roll gets slightly fried at the base, making it incredibly rich and pillowy.
The Dinner at Chimera menu ($95) takes away the need for decision-making with a prix-fixe menu that kicks off by covering the table with leveled-up bar snacks like gildas, Wagyu bresaola wrapped around sugarkiss melon, and crispy octopus with ganjung aioli. The spread of dishes delivers exactly what we all want when dining at a restaurant: thoughtful hospitality and a little bit of excess.
The menu also includes a choice of entrée from options like Imperial Wagyu steak frites with impossibly crispy tallow fries, chicken paillard with salsa verde, or a signature burger with a USDA Prime patty. Like all meals at the restaurant group, the meal wraps up with individual servings of soft serve reminiscent of an Orange Creamsicle.
From my seat tucked in the corner, I could see every corner of the room running like a well-oiled machine. It was easy to forget that Bar Chimera had been open for just four days, but that’s what happens when you have leadership with more than a century of collective experience at the helm.
In an area with few bars that would be deemed destination-worthy, Bar Chimera is poised to become a neighborhood staple and could just lure me to Midtown with its thoughtful drink menus and top-notch hospitality.