White Star

Maybe we hit an off day or maybe we are just spoiled by our little cobble hill/​carroll garden oasis.
Bartender was super nice and helped with recommendations.
The drinks were just meh. My Mexican Firing Squad was too sweet and my wife’s gin cocktail was kind of boring. Next time i’ll probably just order the Laphroaig 10 for $ 13.
Like most establishments in the area, there’s not a whole lot of room inside White Star and sound tends to reverberate deafeningly. The place was not half full and already it was too loud to hold a conversation.
The worst part was the heat. Needed some fans or A/​C. Liiiittle stuffy.

Are you looking for your perfect grown-​up bar? You know what I mean, that place where you can sip a well-​crafed cocktail that utilizes quality ingredients and feels justifiably New York expensive; where you can also carry on a conversation with your friends and everyone else there is trying to do the same?
White Star is definitely that kind of place. The cocktails are sophisticated, refreshing and delicious. The prices are fair for what you get as well– especially the $ 10 dollar shot and beer deal! The set-​up is sleek, inviting and unpretentious. The minimalist décor, lack of a guy working the door or a big flashy awning, keeps this feeling like a quiet, neighborhood escape. I actually ended St. Patrick’s day with my friends here and we’re all looking forward to going back. If you want to enjoy good company and great spirits, this is the place to do it.

Sometimes when your Unilocal friends have eaten too many dumplings, they want to find a dark and quiet bar, the better with which to burp with secret abandon.
We were hoping for a glass of red wine to wash down our obesity and cap off a low-​key night. They were out of red wine, so we got multiple cocktails instead. Oops.
My Alaska (their gin drink) was solid but not overly imaginative. At least I wasn’t drinking fernet… like some people.
I felt like the manu variety and quality were a bit lacking given the price. For another dollar or two per drink, I’d rather be blown away by a bar that Petraske still plays with.

No frills, no intimidating doormen, no hidden phone booth doors or 2 hour wait times. This is really one of the few no bullsh-​t mixology bars in the city with an atmosphere closer to a dive bar then to the ubiquitous hipster temple of trendy cocktails. There is no menu nor bar munchies but on slow days there doesn’t seem to be an issue with bringing your own food.
And did I mention the cocktails? They are great. For $ 12 a pop they are $ 3 – 4 dollars cheaper then almost any other mixology bars in the city but just as good. If the bartender is John, ask him to make something with absinthe and you are sure to get a surprisingly delicious treat.

White star, white rabbit… you could understand the mix up right? Well this review is solely opinion based I DO WANT TO STRESS THAT!
While nothing bad happened here as you would assume for my 1 star review, we wound up here by mistake when we really supposed to be at White Rabbit Lounge. A place with no sign or even an adress number; just a bar with a big white oragami looking paper star. We walked in and the strong smell of beer immediately turned me off. I saw one star but I was in search of the other 3 that the Unilocal users had rated this place! You see now I didn’t order any drinks, and that seems to be the highlight amongst everyone’s review. Let’s say I didn’t drink, and I was just an enthusiastic Muslim gal who wanted to chill with her drunk ass friends (I’m not but.) I would say this place blows. A good drink just doesn’t always «make» a place. The music sucked, the place stunk, and everyone was just kind of standing around sipping on their abstinthe cocktails. Where’s the personality? Where’s the spunk? Can’t say I’ve really seen a laid back kind of bar. That’s not the vibe I got here, nor was it achieved if that’s what they were going for. I’ve been to plenty of bars that are awesome, drinking or not drinking. This is one spot I could not enjoy sober, and probably drunk as well.
To my surprise I couldn’t find anymore stars. Sorry, one star for White Star.

Great place! Been there on a Thursday night — wasn’t too crowded or too empty, just perfect. The bartender and the new owner, John, was just as entertaining as professional. I suggest to not even look at the menu, but ask him to make something with your favorite liquors. Everything he made was just amazing!!! And of course you won’t find another mixology place in the city with that quality of drinks for that price!
P. S. They do take credit cards!

I came in for a nightcap on a Friday around midnight. We were seated at a booth immediately, which was great. The drinks were very reasonable. $ 10 for a Shipyard pumpkin and a shot of absinthe with crushed ice. They actually went really well together too! The server was very nice and knowledgeable about the drinks. It was small and dark with candlelight, which I always like. Now if only they had some small plates for late night munchies, we’d have a five star lounge.

Since Sasha Petraske’s hush hush ouster from White Star, the quality has definitely suffered a blow. Quite Frankly, the bartenders now are a notch below since all of Sasha’s peeps took shifts at his other bars. As someone who has been there twice recently and seen them deal with a Saturday night crowd, they seem to be a little over their heads and not on the same page.
You can still get a quality classic cocktail here, and if you are waiting for something nearby (like Painkiller) it’s still a more than solid option. That said, this should be your backup plan, not the main event.
Still on the list, but trending down…

Cocktail menu is intriguing… everything looks and sounds good. If you want a really good tasty fresh cocktail thought APOTECHE is the place. Try their strawberry and fennel cocktail.
This place is nice, but they don’t even serve beer here. only fancy expensive alright tasting cocktails.
The cocktails taste like a jamba juice with liqour in it… CASH ONLY (WTF it’s 2011)…

I really like White Star. Came here around 10ish on a Friday night and the place wasn’t packed at all. Got seats at the bar with my date.
I like the atmosphere LOTS. Dark, and pretty much lit exclusively by candles. The drinks were around $ 10 a piece if I recall and well made variations of staples.
I had one that was a variation of a tom collins but with crème de cocoa added, a very nice touch. My date had a variation of an old fashioned, not as strong but tastier.
Charming place and great to bring a date, or to hang out with friends. There’s overall not too much seating here, although Id id see some wall couches by the back. I wouldn’t venture here with more than 4 – 5 people.
While I love the place, I’m leaving a star off because the drinks weren’t anything truly unique. They were tasty, well made but clearly variations off of classic drinks.

A great little joint, with some amazing drinks. That pretty much sums it up.
They have some great specialty drinks, and the place can get packed quick. Since there isn’t much standing room, it is ideal to get there early and grab yourself a booth/​seat/​spot where you’re not in the way of passing traffic. Other then that the place makes for a good chill time.

The bartender at the White Star will make you a decent drink.* Unfortunately, the other guy behind the bar will not. I’m not sure who this mystery man was; all I know is he was behind the bar, and not making drinks.
And some things are unforgivable.
Despite this horror from which I may never recover, this unidentified barperson (owner/​manager/​barback?), was almost comically accommodating in every other sense: pouring water, massaging shoulders (not really), making conversation, etc.
I especially appreciate how sweet he was to the pregnant person in our group,** since pregnancy and cocktail bars go together like me and women.*** As they say, «The true measure of a man is how he treats someone who can do him absolutely no good.» So he must be a pretty good guy.
But when the bar is slammed, I’d still rather he make me a drink so I don’t have to wait 25 minutes to feed my debilitating addiction.
I’d come back to White Star, but it isn’t #1 on the list.
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*Perhaps the Rough & Tumble. Good whiskey drink; great name.
**No, it wasn’t me. I use protection.
***They want nothing to do with me right now, and in nine months there will be a lot of crying, mostly by me, and they will claim they won’t have time for me. And they may or may not file a restraining order. I don’t know if this analogy makes sense.

Long, sleek and chill — definition of White Star space.
Just a dark, dimly lit bar that does it’s job, gives you a place to chill and serves you drinks.
I can’t say I can judge this place normally since there was only one bartender staffed and the owner was also working the bar but a private party in the back as well so he was very distracted.
The absinthe fountain was the first thing that caught my eye as I joined a group of friends and co-​workers who were already setup at the bar for a drink. Annie L. indulged in the absinthe and of course I took a sip even though I have had it before and am NOT a fan of black liquorice so knew I was going to hate it. I was right. I get the shivers just thinking about it.
I am not a mixoligist, nor an educated consumer of such fancy things, so I am a little behind when walking into a place like White Star. My usual order — Vodka with a touch of water or Tequila =)
The owner approached me and inquired what my favorite flavors and liquors were. Since he was behind serving the private party, I had to wait close to 30 min to receive my one drink. When it arrived it was basically a lemon vodka treat which was ok but nothing that would have blown my socks off… good thing I wasn’t wearing socks!
CASH ONLY!

While no nonsense cocktails are the name of the game in my book, when two orders of a «corpse reviver #2» come out in two different colors and as two distinctly different cocktails, you know you have a problem with consistency. Luckily, mine was the more authentic of the two!
It’s dark. It’s intimate. It’s minimalist. It’s good, but not great.

The noble bartender was at one time one of the most important members of society. A friend, an ally, a source of information, a willing ear, a shoulder to cry on, and most importantly, they should be able to pour a mean drink while listening to strangers babble on inanities of their lives. This profession has for the most part, eroded to the point where the only requirement of a bartender is a bottle opener and barely functional autonomic nervous system.
The bartenders at White Star are a throwback to the golden age of drinking. A recent visit coincided with the date of the Kentucky Derby, and after listening intently to the explanation of my mood (on this visit, it was «hot and bothered») the bartender slung an expertly made mint julep. On another visit, the bartender overheard my description of my woeful love life, and offered a mind-​numbing, depression defeating absinthe Penicillin, followed by the cursory grunt of, «plenty of fish, bro».
The space itself is limited, dark and sophisticated. During peak hours, it can get uncomfortably mobbed, but doesn’t enforce the anal retentive docility that other speakeasies can get away with.
The LES/​EV have recently seen a (welcome) onslaught of new faux-​speakeasies (Elsa, Painkiller, Apotheke, B. East, etc) each with their own merit and gimmick. Contrary to my bartender’s assessment, yes there are ‘plenty of fish’, but White Star I only want you.

I took my boyfriend here on Valentine’s Day because I am awesome. And I enjoy a good cocktail, and he wanted to try absinthe — what better vday plans can one make than at an intimate dark bar that serves excellent drinks?
In any case, absinthe fountain was very cool — its fun to watch the cube of sugar dissolve. It was my second time trying absinthe and it was less herbally than the first time — enjoyed it more this time around. All the drinks are made with lots of love and care. They have a lot of old fashioned drinks if you like it classic, but also a great menu of drinks with fresh twists. I always trust a recommendation from the bartender at White Star. I’ve never had a bad drink there; however, I do like to have at least 2 – 3 drinks there when I go, so you can easily rack up a bill here. Only complaint is that some of the drinks are pretty small and so yummy that I can easily finish them quickly if I dont pace myself. Self control issues that I need to work on that shouldn’t stop you from hunting this very nondescript place down!

This place wins for being hard to find and therefore semi-​cool. But it’s kind of a character-​less place generic bar type of place. I like how it has a back room, go up some stairs, then down some more for a back area which couches.
The drinks are stiff, and not too pricey, but again I don’t feel like this place really stands out in any other particular way…

There is not much to add to what I told before. But this is actually why I’m updating:
Consistency is the key
and now after a long tour along sister places including PDT, M&H, Little Branch. et cetera et cetera. White Star is one of my favorites for many reasons. To name 2:
— Dark Storm cocktail
— sweet crystallized ginger. I know, I know, looks out of sense. but just try it and let me know

Goodness, a second review update?!
I only write it because I read the talk threads and I see many of you are looking for venues to host parties. You all want:
*A private area for your friends
*A spot that doesn’t require you to put down a deposit or fork over fees per hour
*A way to avoid all-​you-​can drink «deals» that rip off those who don’t drink or can’t stay long enough to get their money’s worth… plus, your sophisticated circle is over the well /​tap offerings that come with these «deals»
*A convenient location
*A place that allows you to bring your own snacks
*Somewhere with tasty cocktails (duh)!
Well, look no further than White Star. If you can get 20 people, they’ll give you the back two rooms (everything except the bar). If you have over 30, they’ll close the whole place for a few hours. The latter is the way to go. Ideally, of course, we could have used more than two bartenders, but my friends have never had problems cozying up to the bar and getting their fill.
I would also add a few feet to White Star’s narrow hallway behind the bar, which might have prevented me from «stiletto-​ing» another guest’s poor foot as I flitted back and forth between rooms… oops!
On the plus side, WS provided a doorman about an hour in to stop outsiders from crashing, so we didn’t have to kick the riff raff out ourselves ;-) And if they were willing to pry away from the bar, there was plenty of room between the booths and the spacious back room banquettes for guests to mingle, chat, sit or snack.
I love throwing parties at my own place, but I’m happier when someone else is pouring the drinks and happier still when the entire planning process is hassle– (and money-​) free on my end.
In sum: finding that elusive, perfect party spot just got a lot easier, so create an occasion, assemble your entourage on Essex St… and please, stop asking about it on the threads ;-)

Aaaaaannnnnnnnnnnndddddddd… we have cocktails!
No longer just a den for «sipping spirits», White Star now serves a full classic cocktail menu, with most drinks a reasonable $ 10. The bar doesn’t have quite the arsenal of syrups, purees and fresh produce you’ll find at Milk & Honey or Little Branch, but it does seem to be headed in that direction. On a recent visit, we heard the sweet sounds of the shaker wafting across the room, and a table-​side chat with none other than Mr SP himself revealed plans for even further development and expansion.
I’d like to say that SP and I are now total BFFs, and that when he saw how knowledgeable I was in the matters of fine potables he comped me a key to M & H, since I pretty much epitomize the kind of clientele he’s always hoped to attract. The unfortunate truth is that I was in so much shock and awe at having him there, seeking our advice on important bar-​related decisions (example: would we prefer our servers leave the menus at the table after ordering, or take them away?) that I could mostly just stare and mutter encouraging words of agreement. I’m usually very calm and cool when in the midst of royalty, but seriously, folks… it’s like looking at the sun.