As I stepped beyond the “New York-style vestibule” covered with familiar hexagon-shaped subway tile and took a seat at the long wooden bar, I felt a cozy familiarity. I scanned the drink menu: There was a Penicillin, created at NYC’s Attaboy, and the Cosmopolitan, from NYC’s Odeon. But this lifelong New Yorker was in Texas; specifically, I had arrived at Murray’s Tavern, an explicitly New York-inspired bar in Austin.
“It’s our homage to New York City taverns, like P.J. Clarke’s,” explained owner Travis Tober, who opened the bar in December 2023. Named for his Irish-Polish New Yorker grandmother (her maiden name was Murray), the vibe is on point: antique clocks mixed with wood-framed sports memorabilia, sconce lights casting a warm glow against the pressed-tin ceiling; a Guinness in front of most patrons.
The key word is “homage.” Of course, Murray’s isn’t the first bar to reference NYC. But if the city can function as theme park fodder (see: the New York New York casino and resort in Las Vegas, which includes an outpost of steakhouse Gallagher’s and “New York” pizza) or an exportable commodity, as homegrown NYC bars from Death & Co. to Dead Rabbit have begun to franchise ferociously in other cities, does a New York City bar still have meaning?
You May Also Like: The 10 Best Wine Bars in New York City
I thought about that as I sipped on a Rob Roy—a Scotch-based Manhattan with roots in NYC, here given a delicious hit
This Article was originally published on Wine Enthusiast
