Everything You Need to Know About Cote 550 and Bar Chimera

“We take ourselves very, very lightly, but we take what we do very, very seriously,” says Kim. And that philosophy carries through the group’s trio of projects opening at 550 Madison Avenue.

Bar Chimera and Cote 550 made their double debut on April 18. The former sports three distinct bars — one dedicated to martinis, another to wine, and a third to whiskey — while Cote 550, offers a luxe update to the original, complete with a sleek bar and a DJ.  Later this year, Sushi Yoshitake, helmed by Michelin-starred Masahiro Yoshitake, will welcome guests in a serene, hidden mezzanine.

For Kim, the project is, essentially, surf and turf: “Our interpretation is a three Michelin-star sushi chef and our one-Michelin-star Korean steakhouse — that is New York.” By separating each concept, he explains, “We’re able to focus and take a shot at trying to be the best version of ourselves.”

1. Three bars are better than one.

While the team operates Undercote, the intimate, plant-filled bar downstairs at Cote Flatiron, they consider Bar Chimera their first true bar project. Kim describes the sprawling first-floor space as Grand Central Terminal. It’s not an unreasonable comparison: The room features soaring 60-foot-tall windows overlooking Madison Avenue — about half the height of the ceiling at Grand Central — though it’s far more tranquil with a tropical pine tree and a water feature at the center, nodding to the plazas of ancient cities like Rome.

Taking its name from the Greek mythological creature chimera, which was part goat, serpent, and lion, the space has three distinct bars. The wine bar represents the goat — mischievous and a social butterfly, Kim says. The serpent is the martini bar: “It’s lethal, but not fatal,” he adds. And the whiskey bar is the lion, regal and towering. Instead of one bartender who can make all the drinks but is a “master of none,” as Kim puts it, this division allows bartenders to specialize.

Guests seated at tables can order from any of the three bars as well as snacks like foie gras Home Run Balls, a riff on a popular Korean snack food; mini wagyu corndogs; and bone broth to coat your stomach. And for the first time, the team is serving a burger made from a blend of chuck, brisket, and short rib, and served with peppercorn mustard and tallow fries. To make a full meal out of your visit, there’s a $95 per person set menu as well.

2. Even the water was tested extensively.

Victoria James, who is the group’s beverage director and a partner in the group, applied a rigor of testing for the opening that one might expect in a scientific research lab. “Thirty to 40% of every martini is water, from dilution. And that’s why some martinis taste really s—-. So, we spent the last year testing hundreds of different types of water,” she explains, mixing them with vodka, gin, and vermouth, and assessing each until the team was happy. Bar Chimera’s martinis generally have an approximate water dilution of 25%.

The search for the right olive was equally as rigorous. “We did a comparative set,” James says. “We literally asked every single great martini bar in the entire world what olive they use. We have an entire spreadsheet.” After a taste test, they settled on Gordal olives, which ironically, they have used for years.

Along with classic martinis, the team is taking the Cosmopolitan back to its less sugary roots with bitter cranberry juice and lemon oil. “Someone who likes a Negroni would like it,” James explains.

The whiskey bar, meanwhile, focuses in part on the sessionability of whiskey with highballs, which the team studied in Japan. There’s “this phrase with high balls that we learned last year: a second to make, a lifetime to master,” she adds. There’s a playfulness to offerings like the Super Creamsicle, which blends Hibiki Harmony with cream soda and orange citrate. And for serious whiskey nerds, there are rare bottles like Johnnie Walker white label from pre-World War I, and whiskeys from distillers that no longer exist, like Karuizawa.

The wine bar is dedicated to icons from classic regions like Champagne, Burgundy, Tuscany, and California with 50 bottles offered by the glass and a 1,200-plus bottle list available upon request. There are also bottles of Madeira dating back 200 years. “Madeira is one of the only wines in the entire world that never goes bad,” James explains. “If you want to taste immortality, this is it,” Kim adds.

3. For a party, head down the dark staircase.

Beneath a neon sign that blends the words coming and going, you’ll find a moody staircase leading to the project’s underbelly: Cote 550’s bar. The sultry space has its own DJ and is more downtown than Midtown, with a glass panel looking into the aging room for cuts of beef bathed in red light. The idea of a meat/meet market is not lost on Kim: Here, “Boy meets a girl. Girl meets girl. Boy meets boy,” Kim says. “It’s a place where you become the meat, and meat becomes you. It’s very much of a New York thing. I’m not shy about that.”

The separate dining room down a long-arched hallway is more serene and reminiscent of the original Cote Flatiron, but glossier with black mirrored ceilings and a water pool. Similarly, the menu has a few additions fitting for Madison Avenue. The Butcher’s Feast ($118 here) starts with an amuse bouche of o-toro. There is also a tableside preparation of japchae à la Caesar salad at a steakhouse. And that soft-serve ice cream? It still comes in a paper cup.

4. Bring your design-loving friends and colleagues.

Originally designed by Philip Johnson and John Burgee in 1984, 550 Madison is a postmodern icon that was once known as the AT&T Building and later the Sony Tower. It also housed the legendary restaurant The Quilted Giraffe. To reimagine the space, Kim worked with David Rockwell, who designed Coqodaq and Cote Vegas.

“Working within a landmark like 550 Madison comes with both responsibility and inspiration,” Rockwell explains. “Its geometry, scale, and materiality are unmistakable. We wanted to amplify some of the iconic elements and materiality of the building, while bringing it into the moment.”

Each of the three floors are distinctive. Bar Chimera, feels grand and appropriately buttoned up for a Midtown spot, though it’s punctuated by neon sculptures created by London-based artist Martin Creed. One mounted high above the floor proclaims, “Don’t Worry” in yellow. “It’s a really nice juxtaposition to 56th and Madison Avenue,” says Kim.

The subterranean Cote 550 takes its inspiration from El Dorado, the mythical gold city in South America — and the 1985 classic film “The Goonies” — with live plants and a gold mesh sculpture. Outside of the bathroom sits a wall covering by artist Teo Yang featuring a Korean pagoda.

Sushi Yoshitake on the mezzanine, which was designed in partnership with Yoshio Itai, transports diners to Japan with cedar-lined walls and Noguchi Akari lamps hanging overhead. But it also plays with the building’s monumental circular windows, which are 11 feet across, and centered in the dining rooms. “These existing iconic portals allow guests to engage with the city, offering choreographed views into Midtown,” explains Rockwell. There’s no escaping New York at 550 Madison.    

5. Gracious Hospitality has an F1 team behind it — and a lot of horsepower.

When Kim opened Piora in the West Village 13 years ago, it felt like “I was still racing a tuned up little car. Now I feel like, finally, I have a F1 team,” he says.

The group has since expanded in Singapore, Las Vegas, and Miami, acquired a C-suite, and created a mission statement focused on delighting customers. Fittingly, this new Midtown Manhattan project feels glossier, with a finely honed perspective. Kim adds, “I think we are emboldened. Before, if we wrote with a pencil, I think we’re writing with a thick highlighter.”

And while all hands are on deck for the opening, there’s more in the works. “Doing a project without the next project in the pipeline is not something that I’m excited [about] doing. When I finish a project, the most exciting feeling is: ‘What’s next?’ So there are definitely projects in the pipeline,” Kim notes.

Cote 550 and Bar Chimera are open Monday to Saturday from 5 p.m. to midnight.  

Devra Ferst is a Brooklyn-based food and travel writer who has contributed to The New York Times, Bon Appétit, Eater, NPR, and numerous other publications. She is co-author of “The Jewish Holiday Table: A World of Recipes, Traditions & Stories to Celebrate All Year Long.” Follow her on Instagram. Follow Resy, too.