Demi Monde (CLOSED)

Cocktail hotshots David Kaplan and Alex Day—respectively co-owner and former bartender of the exemplary Death & Company—transport enlightened tippling to a larger, louder stage with this 120-seat subterranean bar and New American eatery. Ditching the hushed tones and slo-mo stirring of Death & Company, the pair kitted out the glossy dark granite bar for speed with foot-pedal-controlled sinks and four filtered seltzer taps. Festive bubbles are the star of the drinks program—half of the 16 cocktails are effervescent, and the menu offers four house-made sodas (including celery and strawberry-tarragon) and ten sparkling wines. Plunk down on one of the plush gray banquettes and sip the Heads Up, which combines Aperol, acid phosphate, seltzer and a cutting-edge elixir: vermouth blanc is flash-infused with watermelon via a whipped-cream canister. Day, along with head bartender Scott James Teague (Pegu Club), also created a number of sophisticated noncarbonated concoctions, like the Wolf Tone, made with pisco, grappa, elderflower, eucalyptus and bitters. An art installation of knotted ropes made by bondage artist Midori hangs near the oak-and-brass chef's table, where Phillip Kirschen-Clark (Vandaag) will serve a tasting menu. But his inventive booze-friendly small plates—including Negroni-cured oysters and absinthe-pickled eggs—are also available throughout the space. In the coming months, Handsome Coffee Roasters will open a daytime café in the upstairs lobby.