Openings

Ludlow’s Latest, Hotel Chantelle, Grand Opens Tomorrow With Free Drinks

Photo: Courtesy of Hotel Chantelle

First there was Hotel Delmano, then Hotel Griffou, then Hotel Tortuga, and now yet another hotel that’s not a hotel: Hotel Chantelle. Benjamin Shih named the bar after a French World War II safe house, and like his Williamsburg destinations Sweet Ups and the Royal Oak, he designed it to have a retro look — this time with Moulin Rouge in mind. To that end, he re-milled wood salvaged from Philadelphia buildings dating back to the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. The ground-floor cocktail den, which soft-opened a couple of weeks ago, is just the start of it; when he and his partner, Ravi Patel (owner of the Ravel Hotel), get the go-ahead from the Department of Buildings, they’ll open a cellar bar called SGTs (for Sargeants) that’ll be staffed by returning soldiers (via a nonprofit) and accessed by skeleton keys. And on the second floor, there’ll be a lush tropical roof deck.

Upstairs, the “French Colonial” menu will vary seasonally according to the harbors that French ships visited throughout history — New Orleans and Northern Africa during warm weather; Polynesia, Vietnam, Cambodia, and Laos during fall; and Quebec during the winter (there’ll be multiple varieties of poutine). But the most notable thing about the dining program will be the environment. A “5,000-plant jungle” that’s encased in a greenhouse roof that rolls open and closed depending on the weather. As for SGTs, it’ll look like the sort of place “where the GIs would’ve drank before heading into English Channel.” You’ll have to be a friend of the house to score a key, but you won’t need to be on any list to attend the grand opening party tomorrow night, when there’ll be an open bar from 5 till 7 p.m. Food service hasn’t yet started, but you can check out the cocktail list below.

Hotel Chantelle [PDF]

Hotel Chantelle, 92 Ludlow St., nr. Delancey St.; 212-254-9100

Ludlow’s Latest, Hotel Chantelle, Grand Opens Tomorrow With Free Drinks