Downtown's just received a trio of handsome culinary concepts from the boutique hotel chain Freehand, with an additional food-and-beverage offering—a rooftop bar!—launching later this summer.
The stylish hotel with hostel leanings spruced up the former Commercial Exchange Building and opened its doors in late June. Designers Roman & Williams took their inspiration from the Arts and Crafts and Art Deco movements—a nod to the hotel's 1920s housing—but the food and beverage programs take cues from a smattering of continents and eras, from the Middle East to the Far East.
On the ground floor, enter through the lobby to find Café Integral, Freehand's cheery coffee shop serving up Nicaragua-sourced double-shot lattes, cappuccinos, mochas, flat whites and other standards. There's cold brew, a daily selection of fresh juice, a handful of hot and iced herbal teas—you know the deal. If you're feeling peckish, grab one of the café's small plates or pastries, be it berry scone, baklava, an Asian-inspired grain bowl or an egg topped with za'atar and grated tomato. (Hungry for more? Check out the menu here.)
Photograph: Courtesy Freehand Hotel
Dead ahead of the entrance is Rudolph's Bar & Tea (pictured at top), named for the former owner of the building and conceptualized by Bar Lab's Gabe Orta and Elad Zvi, who helm all the beverage programs in this Freehand (and many within the sibling hotels). This one offers large-format "salon cocktails" that serve two to four—or just one very thirsty guest, no judgement here—plus picture-perfect cocktails inspired by international tea ceremonies, in addition to a full menu of spirits, small plates, wine and beer.
To the right is the bright and two-story the Exchange Restaurant, where chef Alex Chang of Paladar supper-club fame brings vibrant, Israeli-inspired breakfast, lunch, brunch and dinner to the corner of 8th and Olive. Sleek wood panelling and mismatched-but-so-together décor provides a colorful setting for the light and herb-heavy menu, while its own seasonal cocktail lineup rounds out the meal.
To top it all off, Broken Shaker, Freehand's poolside rooftop bar, is projected to open early next month with an eclectic, beach-inspired and fruit-forward mix of cocktails to wash down small plates and a from-the-grill menu. It's the first West Coast iteration of the bar, which already exists in Freehand's Miami and Chicago hotels, though each outpost serves its own fairly unique menu. You may have already gotten a taste of what L.A.'s bar has to offer if you caught its team at Hacienda del Toro at this year's Coachella, where they served up a Cocoa Puff Old Fashioned (Cocoa Puff-infused Jameson with demerara and chocolate bitters), the Pango Pool Party (rum with guava nectar, pineapple juice and lime) and the Lion's Club (lime vodka with marigold shrubs, grapefruit bitters and club soda). If you missed it, don't fret; you've only got a month or so before you can check it out in all its rooftop glory. Plus, there's more on the way from Sydell Group: neighboring hotel concept the NoMad is set to open later this year, and while we don't know many details yet, there's sure to be a rooftop pool—and we're keeping our fingers crossed that this means another rooftop bar.
Freehand Hotel is located at 416 W 8th St.
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