New York’s Hottest Club Is ‘Tini Hour at the Wall Street Hotel
For all of the virtues of a New York City hotel bar — the easy grandeur, the opportunity for people-watching, the kindly ghosts of transient drinkers before you — it’s not typically the place where one finds a decent happy hour deal. Enter: ‘Tini Hour at the Wall Street Hotel (88 Wall St.).
La Marchande, the hotel’s French-inspired bar and eatery, has stirred (or shaken, ha) up a bargain menu for the martini crowd. Every day from 3 p.m. to 6:30, enjoy three of the hotel’s signature ‘tinis — typically priced at $22 and above — for just $15.
Gin drinkers can opt for the Blushing Martini, an ever-so-slightly pink combination of Roku gin and rosé vermouth, garnished with a rose bud. On the opposite end of the flavor spectrum is the Black Truffle Martini, made with black truffle olive oil-washed Grey Goose vodka and dry vermouth. Like any self-respecting dirty martini, this one comes topped with a skewered olive. Last, and certainly not least, is the Café Martini — a mix of Grey Goose, Kalani coconut liqueur, Mr. Black coffee liqueur and espresso. Although we called for the retirement of the espresso martini on this very website, this outstandingly good take on the cocktail had us eating drinking our words.
If your cocktail’s garnish isn’t enough to satiate your appetite, La Marchande’s happy hour menu also includes discounted bites. Oysters on the half-shell go for $12 per ½ dozen, and tater tots with spicy chili aioli for $8. And if you decide to revolt against the concept of happy hour entirely, feel free to add a “Caviar Accessory” to your tots — 20 grams will run you a cool $72. That’s the cost of nearly five more martinis, but hey, to each their own.
A combined effort of head chef John Fraser and Beverage Director Amy Racine, La Marchande is an intimate, elegant place to land after a long day out in the city. Plus, in an era where cocktail prices often begin with the number two, a $15 Grey Goose martini feels like a small miracle. The attractive space, tasty snacks and generous pours may even have you cozying up to the bar long after the happy hours have faded into evening.
If you leave ‘Tini Hour wanting more, check out our 2024 episode of Dine Around Downtown: Cooking at Home, where Fraser and Racine teach you how to bring a bit of La Marchande’s French charm into your own kitchen.
