5 Drinks You Need to Know About at Dear Strangers
Thanks to the collaborative minds of bartending veterans who met at New York’s Employees Only and Macau Trading Co., there’s a sleek new spot tucked into West Fourth Street in Greenwich Village.
Dear Strangers, a cocktail bar in a stylish space just below street level, is actually sort of the second chapter of the “Strangers” concept, which is helmed by Ivan Papic, Ivan Radulovic, and Bratislav Glisic. Its initial iteration was The Strangers Club in Panama City’s Casco Viejo neighborhood, which Radulovic and Glisic opened in 2017. At the time, the bar’s debut helped usher in a new era for the cocktail scene within Panama’s capital city. It made its mark by mixing local, tropical ingredients with spirits and other components they weren’t able to import, leading them to personally transport things into the country inside their luggage.
Now, they’re bringing the same tropical flavors and vibes they curated down in historic Panama City back up here to New York, just in time for us to start craving warmer days. We sat down with the team to discuss what kind of drinks they’ll be slinging in the gorgeous new space.
The Resy Rundown
Dear Strangers
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Why We Like It
Killer cocktails in a sleek, date-friendly space serving tropical flavors and Latin-inspired bites. This spot is perfect for a night out when you want to feel special, without looking like you tried too hard. It’s a Latin-inspired cocktail bar from the team behind Employees Only, with a supremely luxe space, plenty of craft drinks, and excellent bites from chef Diego Rodriguez, formerly of POPULAR by Diego Muñoz. -
Essential Dishes
Seafood lovers can’t miss the aguachile, which is made with a fresh, variable catch of the day depending on what’s available at the market. -
Must-Order Drinks
The Star Treatment is the savory, Tom Kha-esque cocktail you didn’t know you needed. If you’re in the mood for something fruitier, go for the Angie — it’s a tangy, passionfruit cocktail that made its way from Panama City to New York.
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Who and What It’s For
Stylish Manhattanites, third dates, industry types, espresso martini fanatics (yes, really), and anyone seeking a splash of tropical vibes. -
How to Get In
Reservations drop about a month in advance. A total of 12 seats at the bar are first come, first served. Reservations are necessary for dining guests at the 42 table seats. -
Fun Fact
The owners didn’t realize until they had long picked the spot and begun building it out that Dear Strangers is right around the corner from the Avenue of the Americas’ Panama sign, a little cosmic nod to the Strangers team’s journey so far.
More From Resy
1. The Angie
Gin, maracuya, St. Germain, lemon juice, matcha powder
It seemed a natural choice to bring one of the most popular drinks from The Strangers Club up to Dear Strangers in New York — especially a bright yellow-orange, passion fruit concoction named after a dear friend.
“As our very first exposure in Panama, we had a pop-up before we even opened the place. And Angie was a young bartender from Venezuela who worked behind the bar. She was the coolest person ever, and so eager to learn from us. Eventually, she got married to one of our friends from L.A., and they’re traveling the world [right now],” Radulovic said.
Unlike in Panama, in New York, “we don’t have fresh maracuya, so we use the puree,” says Glisic. “But we make the puree into a syrup and then add a little bit of egg white and matcha powder. It’s very delicious with a super fluffy texture.”
2. Liquid Gold
Rye, orange turmeric cordial, Campari, ginger, egg white, lemon juice
“It’s our take on a whiskey sour,” Glisic says, “and it’s made with a turmeric orange syrup. In this kind of season, we’re using turmeric a lot. Also, we try to use our ingredients as much as we can to minimize waste. When you peel an orange to use it for its peel, the orange pretty much stays there. If you don’t use it as orange juice, it’s going to go bad. We take the orange, squeeze the juice, and turn it into a syrup with sugar, more spices, and a lot of turmeric. And then we will take rye whiskey and lemon juice and turn it into a whiskey sour. It’s beautiful. And we do a little bit of Campari just for complexity.”
3. Smokin’ Bandit
Scotch, lemon juice, yuzu soda, shiso leaf
Typically, when you think of refreshing, summery flavors, scotch isn’t the first thing to come to mind. But the Smokin’ Bandit may change that. It starts with a scotch with bright, fruity, citrus, and floral notes, and then is further lightened up with yuzu soda and fresh lemon juice.
“It’s made with Monkey Shoulder scotch, which is a little bit peaty — not too much, but just enough,” Glisic says. “Then, it’s technically sour that we put in there,” referring to the lemon, “and add Japanese yuzu soda. We garnish it with a shiso leaf and serve it over a nice big ice cube.”
It’s just one of several menu items featuring distinctly East Asian flavors, which perhaps surprisingly, takes inspiration from Latin America as well. Radulovic points to the longstanding Chinese community and thriving Chinatown in Panama City, and the rise of Nikkei, or Peruvian Japanese cuisine, which guests will definitely see hints of in the food and drink at Dear Strangers.
4. Star Treatment
Casa Lotos Sotol with coconut milk, lemongrass, cilantro, lime juice
Much in the same way mezcal was introduced to mainstream America over the past couple of decades, sotol is an emerging spirit here in New York (see: Corima). It also originates in Mexico and is made from a plant that’s a relative of asparagus. The Dear Strangers team credits an industry friend for introducing them to Casa Lotos’ sotol and its flavor profile inspired them to create Star Treatment.
“It’s kind of agave-ish, but it’s really aromatic. It’s 80-proof, so it’s easy to drink on the rocks or in a cocktail,” says Glisic. When it comes to the basis for the drink, he says, “technically, it’s coming from the category of Swizzles, which would be served tall with pellet ice. But what we prefer to do is shake the drink, then we add ice,” before serving the drink up. “There is a lot of flavor from cilantro, which we balance out with coconut, and then there’s the makrut lime leaf.”
5. The Shakemaker
Gin, myoga ginger, umeboshi pickled plum, tonic water
You’ve probably had Oasis on your mind lately. A few months ago, the Britpop outfit announced that they’re reuniting for a world tour, much to the excitement of their fans, who happen to include Radulovic.
“Inspiration, for me, mostly comes from music,” he says. A particular Oasis lyric that resonates with him is in the song, “Supersonic,” which goes, “I’m feeling supersonic/give me gin and tonic.”
“I have felt like it would be interesting to create a ‘supersonic’ as a category, as an homage,” Radulovic says. Currently, the menu offers two house special gin and tonics, one of which is named Shakemaker. The drink also features Japanese ingredients and is made with pickled umeboshi plum and myoga ginger.
“There’s a type of Japanese ginger, called myoga, that has a very interesting kind of scallion-like ginger flavor, which is amazing,” Radulovic says. The more savory-leaning herb balances out the fruited elements, keeping the drink’s profile elegant and dry.
