More soon when I can stop in, but John McDonald, who operates Smyth Tavern next door along with other local hotspots, will open Galerie at the Smyth Hotel tonight starting at 5p. The bar is just south of the hotel entrance at 85 West Broadway between Chambers and Warren.

This is a welcome addition/restoration. The penultimate bar at the Smyth was the charming and cozy Evening Bar, run by Andrew Carmellini’s NoHo Hospitality, the same folks who had Little Park and of course Locanda Verde, and opened in 2014. That space was very mid-century modern, and felt like someone’s living room — someone with excellent taste.

Then AKA, which was operating the hotel at the time, went and renovated it to look like an ’80s airport lounge AND closed it to the public in 2019. I would have written about it then, but they wouldn’t let you in unless you snuck in, and who needs that.

Now it’s back, cozy, clubby and welcoming again.