A Sophisticated Bar for a Calm Cocktail

Midtown can be a tough place for a calm cocktail. The choices often seem to be limited to the fratty taverns around Grand Central Terminal (bar cars a block removed) or interchangeable bars at chain hotels (where the atmosphere can be too transient).

The bar at the Lambs Club, inside the Chatwal Hotel, is an exception to a selection that too often prompts a shrug or a sigh. It is, it should be noted, an exception with an asterisk, or more accurately, a dollar sign. Drinks here can be pricey; cocktails on the Lambs list run from $15 to $20, and in the single-malt department, a glass of 12-year-old Balvenie “Double Wood” is $18 (beers are the least expensive option, at $8). The check ensures a crowd 35 and over; it also may mean some budgeting is in order before planning a night out here.

But if you are feeling flush, this is a really fine place for a drink. The bar is on the second floor of the hotel (the Lambs Club restaurant, where the food is good, is on the first floor) with a wall of windows that look onto West 44th Street. The lighting fixtures above the bar are replicas of the Empire State Building, a small skyline with a big-city glow. The seats at the bar and the chairs at the tables offer views out those windows, and they’re comfortable.

This is a sophisticated, high-ceilinged room in a Stanford White building with a rich history as the longtime headquarters of the theatrical group from which the restaurant and bar get their name.

And the drinks are excellent. When the bar opened, the list carried the imprint of Sasha Petraske, who gained a reputation for delicious drinks at Milk & Honey on Eldridge Street. His name is no longer on the list, but the traditional cocktails served here are treated with admirable respect: A Moscow Mule with Belvedere vodka, lime, ginger and soda ($16); a Hemingway Daiquiri with 10 Cane rum, lime and grapefruit ($16); a sidecar with Pierre Ferrand Ambre Cognac, Cointreau and lemon ($20, which should carry an exclamation point for the price and four stars for how good it tastes). Presentation matters: These are good-looking drinks in glasses that feel right in your hand.

This is a place that is made for conversation, whether at the bar (where seats were available on a recent Friday night) or at the tables (open on two visits, including 6:15 on a midweek evening).

The music can be a little hotel-y. One night the soundtrack included Madonna’s “Lucky Star” and Steve Miller’s “Fly Like an Eagle.” There’s more contemporary stuff too —Foster the People’s “Pumped Up Kicks,” which inspired a waitress at the bar to sing along and do a little dance (get down tonight!) while waiting for her drinks.

The volume is moderate, so you can talk. Topics addressed with a friend on one recent night: With the children out of school or about to graduate, sell the house? Move to an apartment? The city? A nearby suburb? And for further down the line, could you live full time in a small college town? Topics resolved: None. But no matter. Over a Mule and a Lambs Cup (Plymouth gin, Bianco vermouth, the underappreciated St-Germain elderflower liqueur, muddled cucumber, and ginger; $18), irresolution is an O.K. outcome.

We may no longer fly like eagles, but we’re pretty sure we’re capable of finding a decent real estate agent.

The particulars: The Bar at the Lambs Club, 132 West 44th Street. 212-997-5262. thelambsclub.com. Open until midnight Monday to Saturday. Closed Sunday.