Apiary mandarin oriental nyc

A server glides up to a table with what looks like a terrarium filled with fruit and vegetables. Another strolls in the opposite direction with a cocktail in a rocks glass, sealed in a clear plastic bag. Over here is a bi-level beaker, straight out of a science lab.

Over there, an ice sphere with the liquid trapped inside.

Apiary mandarin oriental nyc afternoon tea

It can only mean one thing — The Aviary is open for business.

The Aviary has been wooing Chicagoans since 2011 with its surprising experimental cocktails and bites. The new Aviary NYC in midtown Manhattan is the first foray outside Chicago for co-owners Grant Achatz and Nick Kokonas, who also own and run the distinguished Second City restaurant Alinea.

The location — the 35th floor of the Mandarin Oriental New York at Columbus Circle, with stunning views of Central Park — is gorgeous enough that a merely passable bar would be worth a visit.

But the Aviary NYC’s cocktails are so visually arresting that the scenery outside takes a