New Cocktail Bar Leaves Lenox Hill 'Shaken'

UPPER EAST SIDE, NY — You'll be calling yourself George Smiley after sipping on a cocktail at Lenox Hill's newest espionage-themed cocktail bar.

Shaken Not Stirred opened earlier this month at the corner of First Avenue and East 61st Street, and it brings cosmopolitan approach to its tradecraft, with over 14 unique, proprietary cocktails on offer.

Inside the 50-seat bar, you won't find a single television. Instead, the bar features a sexy, reto-European boutique design, harkening back to the classic days of the midcentury spy and of when talking and listening were paramount.

Owner and Istanbul native, Ertan Kudsil, who also runs the nearby Sea Salt, formulated the bar's 14 original cocktails, poured into nearly 20 different types of glasses and five different and intriguing ice shapes.

These special cocktails include a ginger highball (El Guel tequila, Espadin mezcal, ginger, grapefruit, meyers lemon), the 333 (Roku gin, shoghu, bergamot, raspberry, blueberry, eggwhite) and the Sexpertise (Porter's gin, dry vermouth, falernum, dragonfruit, yuzu mix).

Some of the cocktails are so-called "food enhanced," like the house made raspberry jam and sourdough toasted tableside that is served with the Butter Bourbon (bourbon washed coca butter, bitters, honey), or the mini crème brulée that complements the Second Chance (rum, milk punch).

Drinks are also modestly priced, with the ritziest cocktail topping out at $19.

The bar also offers an array of food offerings, including a house-grilled burger with fresh, homemade potato chips for $17, a crispy chicken sandwich with a thigh cutlet, and crispy rice with spicy bluefin tuna and jalapeno eel sauce.

As the kitchen still ramps up, the menu will be supplemented by daily sushi specials.

Kudsil bought Sea Salt in 2022, bringing his own Turkish and Greek roots to the menu.

In early 2023, he began making plans for the now-vacant space once occupied by One Lenox for a space that he felt would be totally unique to the area.

You can see for yourself at 1113 First Ave., or click here for the Instagram.