Le Bar Penelope: A Velvet Piano Lounge Off Madison, Priced for the Occasion
Le Bar Penelope doesn’t have a happy hour. Doors open at 7pm, Tuesday through Saturday, at 14 East 60th Street, between Madison and Fifth and next door to its sister restaurant Avra Madison. Cocktails run $24 to $28 from the first round to last call.
The verdict: this is a dressed-up night you plan, not a deal you stumble into. The Avra Hospitality Group built a velvet-and-stained-glass piano lounge half a block off Central Park and priced the evening to match. Book on Resy, come on a Wednesday when the resident pianist plays, and treat the $26 house cocktail as the cover charge. If you came for value, start your night somewhere else first (see below).
What to Expect
No happy hour, no early window and no bar specials on the menu. Prices are from Le Bar Penelope’s own site. Signature cocktails run $24–$28: the house Le Penelope, with jasmine-infused tequila and pineapple, is $26, and Penelope’s Secret, with Green Chartreuse and a rosemary milk punch, is $28. Mocktails are $15–$17, wine by the glass $19–$37, champagne bottles start at $325 and bottle service at $300.
The kitchen is Miss Penelope’s Asian Kitchen, serving dinner Tuesday through Saturday from 7 to 10pm with the last seating at 9. Expect edamame for $16, pork dumplings for $18, spicy tuna crispy rice for $26, a $24 Wagyu slider, a $36 lobster roll, $57 steak frites, and Imperial osetra caviar at $155 an ounce.
Go here instead: for an actual happy hour in the neighborhood, David Burke Tavern, a few blocks away at 135 East 62nd Street, runs one from 4 to 7pm in its townhouse bar, with the Tavern cheeseburger on the menu. The restaurant’s site says daily and OpenTable says Monday to Thursday, so call ahead late in the week. It wraps just as Penelope opens. More options are in our Upper East Side happy hour guide.
The Room
The Avra team opened Le Bar Penelope in September 2024 and pitches it as an old-world European salon. It has rich wood, velvet drapery and plush furniture, life-sized hand-painted animal murals, hand-blown Italian glass, and an original Gilded Age stained-glass skylight over the room. The bar pairs its piano lounge with a late-night DJ, and on Wednesday nights resident pianist Tim Young plays.
The dress code is posted and it’s enforced. The bar asks for proper dinner attire: no gym wear, sweatshirts, hoodies, jerseys, hats, tank tops or sleeveless shirts. Management can refuse entry regardless of reservation status. Hours are Tuesday and Wednesday 7pm–1am and Thursday to Saturday 7pm–2am, and it’s closed Sunday and Monday. The N, R and W at 5 Av/59 St are a block away. For other rooms where the setting is the point, see our best speakeasies in NYC guide.
Who Le Bar Penelope Is For
| Occasion | Why It Works |
|---|---|
| A dressed-up date | Velvet, stained glass and live piano on Wednesdays |
| Dinner and a late drink in one room | Dinner 7–10pm, bar open until 1–2am |
| Caviar and champagne | Osetra at $155 an ounce, champagne bottles from $325 |
| A private party | Private dining room for 22 seated, full buyout for 150 standing, per The Vendry |