Patent Pending Delivers Electrifying Drinks Experience

The speakeasy concept has been done, redone and done again, to varying degrees of success. The latest to come on the scene is the NoMad neighborhood's Patent Pending (49 W 27th St, New York, NY 10001). Housed within the original building where Nikola Tesla performed his first experiments on radio waves, Patent Pending tastefully maintains an electric theme, without ever feeling gimmicky – a testament to the designers of the concept who could have easily taken things too far. 

You enter the brick-laden space through a hidden door in the back of the fully operational Patent Coffee shop. The shop closes daily at 4:00pm, an hour before Patent Pending opens, so while you can't get a caffeine fix while you wait to be admitted, the entrance accomplishes its goal of setting the tone for a true "speakeasy" experience, a much needed element in a time where the term "speakeasy" has come to be a catchall phrase for any bar serving craft cocktails.

Once through the door, you are transported into a 100 year old mixology laboratory, dimly lit with hanging blackout bulbs. The menu too serves as a nice accent piece, featuring blueprint-like sketches of each cleverly named drink, such as the silky Bourbon and Rum based "Light Me Up," or the spirit-forward "Odd Love," which includes Patent Coffee from the shop out front.

While some drinks are certainly superior to others (we loved the layered complexity of "Hit by a Taxi," but were underwhelmed by the agave-based "Radio Waves," for example), Patent Pending's greatest strength as a serious cocktail bar, is its tight, twelve-drink menu. Wisely limiting itself to only one Vodka cocktail, but still managing to keep clear-spirit drinkers happy with a pair of Pisco and Blanche Armagnac-based offerings, Patent Pending avoids stretching itself too thin by focusing on doing a handful of things very well.

A great spot for a date or after dinner nightcap, Patent Pending will draw you in with its sexy industrial vibe, and have you staying for its smart cocktails.