Is Clo the coolest wine bar in New York?
New York has always been a city about the future and why would wine be treated any differently there. Clo is a vino/techno leap into a very proprietary world where dollars are of no value. When you walk in you are issued the Clo-card. It is, of course, not valid on the outside but inside at Clo it is gold. Let’s not get to hung up on the futuristic scenario here. There’s more going on than meets the eye. Bottom line is the wine selection is very good and the buzz from the place is seriously amazing. But I’m going to spend a second to make sure we don’t stray too far from reality here as it is very possible for you and a couple of guests to spend $2000 to get drunk there. Are we advocates for moderation yet?
A cavernous facility with one long table, and two seats that overlook the mall and it’s spacious view, Clo is a vino venue that takes the bartender from the service equation and lets you service yourself. I wondered how nice it was for wine to remove that aspect of the human experience but with a couple of floating experts available to guide you through the “multi-touch projection menu” or to discuss your selection of wines, you are never really alone.
There’s a great deal more to Clo than simply wine. A recent feature in Food and Winereally did a very good job of detailing the amazing glassware also available. Owner and sommelier Andrew Bradbury has done nothing short of a superb job with his wine bar.
This is Clo discreetly nestled on the fourth floor of the Time Warner Center. Just find your way through the maze of escalators—and past Per Se and Masa—to a frosted glass box at the top. (You’ll know it from the sci-fi glow and waft of Merlot.) Inside, a stunner view of the park and twelve automatic wine-dispensing machines wrap around the room.
Clo also has its own Minority Report-style interactive menu, which you peruse by waving your hands all around the place—you know the drill. Since the computer does the thinking for you, you should end up with the perfect Cabernet.
