At the height of the “food hall” craze, which actually lasted several years before the pandemic, we gained many food halls across NYC. We have Turnstyle Underground Market, The Pennsy, Essex Street Market, and so many more. The latest news before everything shut down was The North End Food Hall, all the way up in Washington Heights. Most of the food halls were located in midtown and downtown, so this was going to be a welcoming addition to the north end of Manhattan. They started construction way before the pandemic, but they actually never completed the construction, and therefore, they never opened. This year, they finally figured out which vendor is still in, and who is out, and then they continued on towards the opening day. If you know anything about New Yorkers, they persevere, and never give up!
They are now finally at the “soft opening” phase, with just one vendor’s bar offering some tasty beverages. But spots for other vendors are mostly set up also, just waiting for them to join in on the fun!
Even though they only have one vendor in right now, but the seating area is all set up! I like the different types and colors of the furniture, vibrant and fun, almost tropical.
The main part of the space, right in the center, is the bar, operated by one of the food vendor, Harlem Public. During this “soft opening” phase, only the bar is open, serving beer, wine, cocktails, etc. The food offerings by Harlem Public will be added soon… If you have never visited Harlem Public, at least take a look at their photos. They are pure food porn…especially if you are into burger and chicken sandwiches.
From what we heard, other vendors who are going to be joining Harlem Public inside the North End Food Hall will be a coffee shop, ramen, and taco vendors. They are supposedly coming to join soon! That will be so exciting! There is a nice elevated seating area next to the coffee shop that you can go up the stairs to the left. This area is currently closed off, but when the coffee shop is up and running, I am sure it will be open for all.
We decided to get some cocktails from the Harlem Public bar. I like fruity cocktail, so I ordered The High Row ($12). My hubby who loves any kind of “mule” drink, went with Mezcal Lavender Mule ($12). One thing I really like about their cocktails is the price. They are fancy and sophisticated, yet very reasonably priced.
The High Row ($12) is made with Bacardi, Aperol, Pineapple, Lime, and Orange Bitters. It was very fruity, just the way I like, with nice sweetness to it. I really liked the pineapple flavor. It was a bit sweeter than I expected it to be, but I still enjoyed it a whole lot. If you love sweet, fruity cocktail, I totally recommend this!
Mezcal Lavender Mule ($12) is made with Mezcal, Lavender Simple, Lime, and Ginger Beer. They made this with spicy ginger beer, which I didn’t know existed, and it was great! It cuts some of the lavender simple syrup sweetness. It gave a nice kick to it, more than you get from a regular ginger beer. The Mule had some smoky flavor, which was awesome! Perfect summer drink for sure!
Since we enjoyed the cocktails and the conversations with the bartenders so much, we decided to have another round of drinks. This time, we ordered Pop Rocks Margarita ($14) and The Adalyn ($12). The margarita was the only cocktail that was more than $12.
Pop Rocks Margarita ($14) is made with Strawberry Mango Tequila, The Works, and Pop Rocks. I really love Pop Rocks, it always speaks to the child in me… This cocktail was fruity, but not too sweet, it was surprisingly refreshing! It certainly had a nice strawberry and mango flavor. The Pop Rocks were placed on the rims, and some extra in the glass. They are just so fun, it is like fireworks in your mouth!
The Adalyn ($12) is made with Gin, Muddled Cucumber, Lemon, Ginger Simple, and Rosemary. We heard that the name “Adalyn” was given to this cocktail by the owner of the Harlem Public, named after his daughter. How sweet is that? I used to order cocktails with cucumbers in it all the time, but not everyone can me a really good cucumber cocktail… So, I stayed away from that for a while. BUT, let me tell you, The Adalyn was SUPER tasty! Refreshing and packed with flavor! I was mystified since it uses just simple ingredients, nothing crazy or out-of-this-world ingredients in here. But someone has cracked the mixology magic with this one… It was delicious. Not-so-muddled cucumbers were nice too. We totally loved it!
And just when I thought we’ve had enough drink, my hubby’s curious mind couldn’t stop from wanting just one more drink…LOL. So, we ordered Smoke Break ($12). It seemed like this cocktail was one of their signature, or many one of the most popular drinks.
Smoke Break ($12) is made with Esplon Reposado, Mezcal, Lime, Agave, Jalapeno, and Tajin. I was a bit afraid of Jalapeno, from past experience… But they do a really good one here. It had a nice punch, but not too overwhelming. The spicy flavor hits you immediately, but it doesn’t liger, so that you can actually taste the cocktail. Everything was nicely balanced. I especially enjoyed the great aroma of tajin, with smoky aroma and flavor. Quite good!
Curious about the bathroom situation? I got your back! It is located to the right of the bar, between the bar and the coffee shop. The feature I really liked about it is that they had a large hand washing station/sink with soap and hand sanitizer right there, outside of the individual bathroom stalls. So, if you want to just wash your hands and sanitize before you grab your food and drinks, you can do that easily without waiting in a line for the bathroom.
They have four bathrooms, all gender-neutral. The first two bathroom towards the front were small ones, with one of those tiny little sink.
The two in the back are the large one, if you want more space (I know we always do…right?) As they just opened several days ago, it was still almost brand new. It was also very clean, nice pop of colors, well lit, and design is kept simple.
All the staffs here were super friendly and helpful. We had such a fun time! I can’t wait for the food part to open up. From what I heard, Harlem Public should be opening their food section very soon, followed by other vendors when they are ready. Until then, I can only speak of the cocktails, but they are great! They are nice and strong, and made with great precision so that each cocktail will taste the same every time. I can’t wait to go back for some food from Harlem Public here at The North End Food Hall, and other vendors! I will be sure to keep you updated…so stay tuned!
Click here for the most updated information on The North End Food Hall!
The North End Food Hall – 4300 Broadway, New York, NY 10033