Swift is the latest bar from the people who brought you Nightjar and Oriole (can you see the theme here) and also a collaboration with those folks who had a hand in one of NYC’s trendiest cocktail bars, Dead Rabbit. Upstairs is for a ‘swift’ drink – walk-in only, tall chairs, not the sort of place to hunker down and get comfortable. Downstairs is a more romantic setting with a dark wood overtone and booths. Rather snug booths I have to say. Three of us sat in one and had to adjust our legs in order to get any space around the table leg.
The cocktail list is a decent length – two pages worth and there were plenty to make us coo as we read through them. For dark liquor lovers like ourselves there were a few that really stood out, like the Amber Cane or The Prestige and those are the ones we ordered. All of them were super and way too drinkable.
But this place has a very different feel to it than Nightjar and Oriole. It does feel, I guess, much more West End and less 'fun'. The drinks are tasty, but there’s none of the theatrics with them. No big chunk of cheese as a garnish, no back story in the menu, no fireworks. It's great, but a bit more grown-up.