Restaurant Radar: How A Volkswagen Bug Drove People to Drink Inventive Cocktails

Double Chicken Please is a cocktail bar whose origin story includes a yellow Volkswagen Minibus. I know this because at an event called Bar Convent, which took place in Brooklyn circa 2019, I had the pleasure of drinking out of it. Now Bar Convent is a global event where big liquor brands pull out all the stops to get bartenders, beverage director, media, and people who simply identify as drinkers to remember how amazing their products are. But I say this with full confidence: drinking the drinks GN Chan and Faye Chen made while being seated in Scooby Doo’s ride of choice solved the mystery of what experience I’d take away that day.

How can I describe it? As I was told that day, I’m eating drinks while drinking food. And real talk: I still have the sunny side up egg (aka alcoholic drink of some kind) I was given sitting in my fridge as a memory. If you just thought to yourself, wow that told me absolutely nothing, here’s a sample menu from the pop ups they’ve been doing across the country, because when your bar is a minibus, road trips are in order.

  • Made to Order Libations

    • “Appetizer” Cocktail 

      • Waldorf Salad - Cazadores Reposado Tequila, apple, celery, walnut, ginger ale, Laphroaig

    • “Main Course” Cocktail

      • Red Eye Gravy - Teeling Small Batch Whiskey, coffee butter, porcini mushroom, corn, walnut, prosciutto (or

      • Japanese Cold Ramen - Bacardi Carta Blanca Rum, pineapple, cucumber, coconut, lime, sesame oil, furikake

  • Souvenir Bottled Cocktail (serves 2)

    • Composition #1 - Bacardi Cuatro Rum, St-Germain Elderflower Liqueur, verjus, amontillado sherry, banana liqueur, walnut bitters  (or)

    • Composition #4 - Martini Bitter, Martini Fiero, Cherry Heering, peach, red bell pepper (or)

    • Composition #7 - Grey Goose Vodka, Ilegal Mezcal, riesling, grape, apricot, melon

While we don’t have any photos of food or drink to share at this time, we can assure you that having a bar focused on deconstructed food and cocktails is a welcome addition to NYC’s cocktail scene. Double Chicken Please is located at 115 Allen Street in Manhattan’s Lower East Side, and you can find out when it is opening by signing up for their emails here.