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Warm Up at 116 Crown Street

Stepping past the heavy velvet curtains separating the entrance of 116 Crown Street from its gorgeous statement of a bar makes it easy to forget the winter's cold. Diners are invited for a drink at a green onyx bar glowing with under-lighting while low music fills the air, and mixologists move across the long shelves of liqueurs to create unique cocktails such as their popular Four Thieves. The bar area invites you to stop here first even if you're planning to head to a table for dinner.

"The most popular cocktails are Four Thieves, Forth & Clyde, Glitterati, and Midday Dragon," says head bartender Greg Mills. "We come up with them through trial and error, typically with six variations before we pick the final one. John names them."

"John" is owner John Clark-Ginetti. He named the Forth & Clyde after a canal in Scotland because it is made with Scottish gin. But the cocktail also boasts local honey, local Salemme chili flakes, and St. Germaine elderflower liqueur among other ingredients to create what John says is the most popular drink.

While always popular, other drinks may steal the show in the winter months.

"People want more wine, whiskey and cocktails like Lauren's Driving Home which is made with bourbon," Greg says. "But Forth & Clyde also includes bourbon and is the best, most balanced and delicious drink on the menu."

Balance is part of the reason patrons have sought out this New Haven spot for the past nine years. From those who crave a unique cocktail to those seeking delicious appetizers or dinner, 116 Crown Street offers the consistency of your favorite fireside chair for the winter months.

The consistency at 116 stems from the vision that owners John Clark-Ginetti and Danielle Ginetti brought with them upon opening. The two had been working in another New Haven establishment when they realized they wanted something different for the lounge scene.

"The typical New Haven experience meant having a couple pints and then moving along," John says. "Less frequently was there a really good mixture that was worth your time."

The area of Crown Street was uninhabited by other lounges, and the Ginettis realized that could help or hurt them, but they held to their vision.

"We were afforded a blank slate here," John says. "The location could've backfired but there's some freedom in that. We had an unbridled passion for what we were doing and didn't wonder if people would dig it. Our feeling during construction was that this was meant to be."

Today, people continue to dig it. And 116 maintains its identity through an ever-present email that John keeps handy on his phone. It reads: Authenticity, originality, creativity, quality, innovation.

"We run all ideas through this filter and it gets tweaked or swept into the dustbin if it doesn't meet that filter," he says. "We know someone else has to buy it - it's not your house where it only matters if you like it. It has to be interesting to them."

Like most restaurants in New England, seasonality plays a role at 116. Menu variations for winter include heavier meals and sauces as diners seek comfort food to aid in their feeling of warmth.

"[It's about] finding balance between what's pleasing to the senses and just absolute brain chemistry, plus what's going on in the intellect - like something appropriate for the season," John says.

"People really like to eat in the winter," says Head Chef Kevin Wolcott. "They are looking for things that stick to the ribs and keep them warm. We go from potato salads to soups, garden tomatoes to preserves, bread, and prosciutto, and from our Estate Pizza of tomatoes, ricotta, and buffalo mozzarella to our Cavolo Pizza of braised Brussels leaves, bacon, apple, and Vermont young cheddar."

Of course, the standard favorites don't change much, if at all.

"We always keep the truffle fries, warm cookies, deviled eggs, and oysters, which are always east coast, on the menu," Kevin says, also noting that the oysters are "delicious and often heartier" from the winter when they're colder but somewhat insulated in their seawater home. What also sets 116 Crown apart is the chef's take on it.

"This is a lounge with food," he continues. "My food speaks for itself. But it's about the cocktails before the food, and it's all similar [in that] everything is thought out - the process that goes into it like the local honey or the chili pepper from Hamden."

"It's important to me that this place develops like a good book," John says. "You read it the first time, it's enjoyable, you like it enough to come back. Then each time, you get something else from it. We want that certain level of challenge, comfort, and fluency without being boring."

For information or reservations, visit 116crown.com or call 203.777.3116. Stop by on Sundays for half priced bottles of wine, and from 5-7p.m.

Tuesday through Friday for happy hour specials. Or order with Uber Eats (who they recently paired up with) so you can order their food right to your door from either of their spots that share a kitchen - 116 Crown, or Meat & Co. where you can find a menu filled with artisanal sandwiches.