The Bar at Level 25

• Cuisine(s): Eclectic, International, Seafood, Tapas
  Hours: Daily 6:30am-11pm
  Price: $$$$
  Payment Types: All Major Credit Cards
• Attire: Casual
  Features: Smoking, Patio/Sidewalk Dining, Takeout, Private Party, Catering, Banquet Facilities, Wheelchair Accessible, Kid Friendly, Vegetarian Friendly
  Serving: Breakfast, Dinner, Lunch
  Alcohol: Full bar
• Reservations: Accepted
  Parking: Valet, Validation Available

Description

After an extensive and expensive renovation, the Conrad Hotel's picture-windowed 25th-floor central atrium has reopened as The Bar at Level 25. And despite the space's elegance, it is now an inviting, locals-friendly neighborhood bar, as its policy of free valet parking (with stamped ticket) attests. It's also far more than a watering hole, serving three squares daily. Best times to sample the more informal fare offered by chef Michael Gilligan, of the hotel's fine-dining spot Atrio, are Sunday brunch -- an elaborate all-you-can-eat-and-drink prix fixe spread -- and evenings, when the menu encompasses raw bar selections plus pintxos, Basque for tapas. But the food's scope spreads beyond Spain, with Asian- and Latin-inspired selections such as codfish esqueixada (a refreshing bacalao salad), rich duck confit cazuelita, sinfully satisfying foie gras and goat cheese empanadas, a trio of raw fish and meat tartares, tempura-battered soft-shell crab with spicy chipotle aioli, and other delectable dishes. The lounge offers weekday happy-hour specials with a wide selection of drinks between $5 and $8. But most of the prices are as high-end as the décor.