If you immediately get St Ends’ logo—the right half of a broken heart pendant that is inscribed with ST above ENDS— you clearly did better than me on SAT context questions or you’re a 13-year-old girl (not mutually exclusive).
While it’s unclear why the funky Crown Heights bar is named after a ’90s-style BEST FRIENDS necklace, it is a solid spot for 2018 grown-ups. The space is for Brooklyn locals who want to relocate from their railroad apartment to a larger one: It is long and narrow, filled with well-worn, mismatched couches, framed photos, table lamps and even Christmas stockings marked with employees’ names. And similar to how many New Yorkers would spend chilly Saturday afternoons in their own space, the varying groups of friends were casually boozing together on floral couches.
But this apartment is cooler than most because it has bathrooms wallpapered in palm fronds and cocktails made with lemon-lavender syrup and torched cinnamon sticks. The former drink, the Crown Lily, is delightfully tart thanks to a puckering sensation from the lemon juice mitigated by a floral aftertaste from the violet liqueur. Meanwhile, the smoking cinnamon stick garnishes Deep in the Forest, a spiced tipple with rye, cinnamon syrup and apple cider that manifests fall in a lowball.
Like a childhood mate who is no longer your very best friend, St Ends is great to see, but only if you’re in the neighborhood.