Oak Bar – evolved

The Oak Bar of the famous Plaza Hotel, has been absorbed by the Oak Room. History from wiki:

Designed by Plaza Hotel architect Henry Janeway Hardenbergh in a German Renaissance style, the room features walls of English or Flemish oak, frescoes of Bavarian castles (by a painter whose identity is now lost to history), faux wine casks carved into the woodwork, and a grape-laden chandelier topped by a barmaid hoisting a stein hanging from the twenty-foot-high ceiling. It opened in 1907 as the Men's Bar, closed as a bar during Prohibition (1920-1933) during which time it was known as the Café or Oak Lounge, and re-opened in 1934 as a restaurant under the name Oak Room, maintaining men-only lunches on weekdays until 1969, when Betty Friedan and other members of the National Organization for Women staged a protest. The restaurant closed while the hotel was closed for renovation (2005–2008), reopening in 2008 after renovations with interior design by Annabelle Selldorf. The Oak Room closed again in 2011.

The Oak Room was long a grand, opulent, and elegant] space. Critic Ada Louise Huxtable, writing in 1971, contrasted the "dignity, scale and period authenticity" of the Oak Room to other more modernized spaces in the hotel. It was accordingly frequented, like the Plaza's other spaces, by the rich and famous – George M. Cohan was a regular to the extent that his booth was named Cohan's Corner and bears a bronze plaque to that effect.

It was, however, a descent into alleged vulgarity that led to the 2011 closing.

Oak bar, with room layouts too:

Often referred to as a core piece of the DNA that makes New York City, The Oak Room at The Plaza provides an elegantly paneled, German Renaissance Revival-style space that takes you back in time. With frescoes of Bavarian castles, and a grape-laden chandelier topped by a barmaid hoisting stein hanging from the twenty-food high ceiling this room is unlike anything else available in Manhattan.

Host your next private event in a room that has seen it all. The Oak Room and Oak Bar at The Plaza can be set for conferences, weddings, seminars and panels for up to 140 people.

So fancy.

Troika Cocktail

• 1 oz. vodka
• ½ oz. coffee liqueur
• 1 oz. lemon juice

Pour all ingredients in cocktail shaker over ice. Shake well. Strain over cocktail glass.