The mixologist aficionados behind East Village’s standout Elsa bring their spirits to a poetically recipe’d cocktail bar in Greenpoint

By Brendan Fitzgibbons

Recipe-rich cocktail joints typically have a stuffy, exclusive…often standoffish overtone, but at Ramona bar on Franklin Street in Greenpoint, the thing that patrons experience the most is potable improvisation, sort of an Algonquin Round Table for the elixir class.

“Our vibe is really nice cocktails, a welcoming and friendly table service, with small plates…all in a loose atmosphere,” co-owner Scott Schneider explained.

Schneider, whose soft-spoken precision is used to oversee Ramona’s operations, is from Upstate New York, and worked as a bartender for seven-years before transitioning to owner. His new place opened in middle of January, and is sister bar to the trendy Elsa, an East Village neighborhood mainstay.

Brothers Scott and Jay Schneider, along with Jay’s wife Natalka Burian, head the team behind both establishments— the business names inspired by the trio’s cocktail goods company, City of Daughters. Schneider explained that Ramona and Elsa are both the spiritual and commercial sisters of the organization.

Designed by Evan and Oliver Haslegrave’s interior decorating firm Home, Ramona features an impressive upstairs balcony that can be rented out for parties, a 15-table, intimate seating back room, and an outstretched 35-foot front bar lined with handsome tan padded stools. The walls are done in soft white, nicely complementing the detailed woodwork, flower petal patterned-tables, and minimalistic but impactful lighting fixtures. The décor feels like what would happen if a 21st century hipster architect swallowed a copy of Art Deco Digest.

Nicole Spread

Some of the most popular cocktails include the “Self Portrait,” a carefully constructed blend of cilantro tequila, habanero, agave, and lemon. The “Boxer, Beetle” consists of blackberry bourbon, Elsa’s Rose Hip Grenadine, rosemary, lemon, and allspice dram.

Ramona also has five beers on tap, along with a prized barrel-aged Manhattan cocktail.

And while the weltanschauung here does verge on cocktail-centrism, typically mannered and/or fussy recipes are chucked in favor of a range of inspired flavors and strategic aging. Barrel-maturing cocktails, for example, is a flourishing trend in city bars that Schneider believes beneficial on many levels. “For owners, making barrel-aged cocktails is actually a pretty easy process,” he said. “And a big perk is that the spirits and ingredients multiply in flavor and smoothness in the barrel over time.”

Drink nomenclature at Ramona often reads like a poetry volume’s table of contents: “Hundredfold Glow” is a biting, sweet mixture of red current rum, double-spiced gomme syrup (more viscous than simple syrup, made using a gum stabilizer), Aperol Lime, and orange bitters; “Invitation to a Beheading” presents a strange and wonderful assembly of jasmine green tea syrup, lemon, orange flower water, and orange bitters; “The Western Push” a mix of amaro (a bitter-sweet Italian liqueur), honey, cream, and cinnamon, served with a salted rim. There’s wine and beer, too, to be sure, and a collection of nibbles, among them olives, a charcuterie and cheese plate, and house-roasted nuts.

Greenpoint residents have wasted no time assimilating to such improvisation. “We already have a bunch of regulars,” Schneider said. “They are mostly locals, but since we’re so close to Williamsburg, we get a lot people in from other neighborhoods,” adding that the age range is eclectic as well. “We really get people of all ages, and it’s been nice to that we don’t really attract one age group predominantly over another. It’s a welcome change from the kids-only feel going on in much of the area.” •

Ramona
113 Franklin St. / 347.227.8164 / ramonabarnyc.com