Many New Yorkers subscribe to the “work hard, play hard” school of life. We look forward to Friday night drinks at a bar where it’s so loud we don’t have to make awkward small talk, let alone carry on a real conversation. Or we’ll head out to a dance club where we can communicate without engaging the higher faculties. Accordingly, New York offers plenty of nightspots—the sole purpose of which is blowing off steam in this manner. But, for good or bad, Flute Champagne Lounge is not one of them.
Picture instead a coffeehouse … but with alcohol. The relaxed atmosphere serves as a place where people can unwind by indulging in fancy drinks and fusion fare without foregoing conversation. The original Flute occupies an old speakeasy in Midtown, though there’s also a location in Gramercy. My friends and I reluctantly chose the former for purposes of authenticity and, once inside, you’d never know that Lion King fans and camera-wielding tourists clogged the streets only a few feet away.
Decorated in warm jewel tones, the place defines mood lighting, with stylish digs and lush velvet couches in cloistered nooks. The bar overlooks a vast selection of wine and champagne, some bottles dating all the way back to the Prohibition era. This is an intimate space with less than 20 tables, so be sure to head here with people you like, not in the hopes of losing your drinking buddies in the crowd. The DJ keeps the music relatively soft and plays anything from Harry Belafonte to Prince, a strange mix that provides ample subject matter should an awkward silence ensue.
Whether you want to talk or not, you don’t head to a bar, any bar, unless you plan on drinking, and Flute is a place devoted to relishing this pastime. The prices are appropriate, but you can still manage to rack up a bill of 60-plus bucks per head for drinks and eats. So deals like the Champagne Tasting Flight for $20—including three short flutes of Paul Goerg Blanc de Blancs, Parmier Rosé and Gosset Excellence—come in handy. If money is no question, try a bottle of the Krug 1979 Magnum for $2,000. Cocktails include a Sparkling Lychee Martini and a peach Bellini-tini (both $12). The Valentino ($10) is one of the stronger options, made with coconut liquor, malibu, sparkling wine and limejuice with a red sugar rim. There’s also an extensive wine menu ($8-$12 a glass) and beer options like Stella Artois or Brooklyn Brown Ale ($7).
Flute’s short list of appetizers is an attraction just in itself. Instead of old favorites like beer nuts and chicken wings or nouveaux spins on the mini-burger, you’ll find items like Vietnamese Fusion Spring Rolls with a variety of fillings like shrimp and pork in the Saigon ($9) option. If you’re a fan of foi gras ($22), served here with toast points, be sure to sample the delicacy before animal rights activists succeed in banning it from the City. Or be uber traditional and pair your champagne with Petrossian caviar ($100-$300 for 30 grams). For a sweet ending, choose from the wide array of confections courtesy of La Maison du Chocolat, starting at $2 a piece. All of these vittles are ideal for sharing, further reinforcing that this is more so a place for friends and second or third dates than for strangers in the night.
Flute’s patrons run the gamut from young professionals to older foodies so the chances of getting picked up here might be slimmer than at, say, a One Leg Up event (though there’s also the pleasant, though sometimes flaky, staff to flirt with). Still, if you’re in the mood to go out but aren’t necessarily in the mood for brain-rattling bass lines or huge crowds, Flute is evidence that there are some social venues that are just about good drinks, good food and good friends.
Flute Champagne Lounge
205 W. 54th St. (betw. Broadway & 7th Ave.)
212-265-5169
