King Cole Bar

King Cole Bar pays homage to Old New York in the best possible way. With its grand chandeliers and dark-wood bar boasting a Maxfield Parris mural featuring King Cole himself, this New York institution is all charm and refined sophistication. Since opening in 1932, it has been a mainstay for New York’s brightest luminaries—Salvador Dali, Marilyn Monroe, and John Lennon, among them. But the greatest lure to the historic St Regis hotel bar is the cocktail for which it is best known: the Bloody Mary served first in 1934 by French bartender Fernand Petiot who essentially spruced up a 50/50 vodka-tomato juice combination favored by comedian of the day George Jessel. You can still savor Petiot’s recipe replete with a lemon wedge and Spanish queen olives at the bar today (they served the one millionth in 2017).