New York Adventure - Apothéke, Chinatown

An apothecary-themed cocktail bar, Apothéke opened inside a former opium den in Chinatown. This is probably one of the most beautiful bars I have been in for a while, but sadly that is all I have good to say about it.

The mixologists wore white pharmacy coats and created cocktails which fell in to various categories such as 'Health and Beauty' and 'Stress Relief'. At the bar you can watch them crush herbs and spices, infuse different flavours and create a cocktail for every need; sounds exciting, right?

There were four people in my group, two of us had a cocktail, one a red wine and the other a fresh juice. It took over 25 minutes for our drinks to be made, and when they arrived we were told that 'each one was individually crafted' which is why they took so long. We wondered if there were people mashing grapes with their feet out in the back. I ordered 'Lychee three ways' which for some reasons tasted nothing like lychee, which was surprising as it was made with lychees - three ways.

A lychee, which I had 'three ways'

Our 45 minutes were up, so we guzzled our drinks, and nearly coughed them up again when we realised that the 'fresh, individually made juice' (which had approximately five sips) was $10. I also forgot to mention the service, which was bad, very bad, it was almost like the waitress didn't actually want us there. Overall I would say that this is one to miss, which is a shame as it has a lot of potential.

Average price for a cocktail: $15.00
Apothéke, 9 Doyers St., New York, NY 10013