Address: 5 Doyers St, New York, 10013, United States
Tel: +1.8339066536
Website: view Opera House’s website

Style: Cocktail bar

The modern-day bar uses that theatrical past as the starting point for both its surroundings and its drinks. The intimate room is suitably dramatic. Exposed structural details are paired with gold accents, booths, and moon-shaped doorways, while behind the bar hangs a large painting in a classical Chinese style, created by the owner's father-in-law. The bar itself effectively becomes the stage, giving the relatively dark space the atmosphere of a small theatre awaiting a performance.

That theme continues through a particularly ambitious cocktail programme. Twelve signatures are each named after a Chinese opera and draw inspiration from Chinese folklore and literature, with beverage director Beau Bradley using ingredients more commonly found in the kitchen than at the cocktail station. Baijiu, Shaoxing wine, Sichuan peppercorn, pu-erh tea, red bean, miso, sesame and salted egg all make appearances.