DeuxMoi Made Me Do It…a restaurant guide for millennials
Pebble Bar
Classy, Casual, Cool Cocktail Bar in Rockefeller Center
Pebble Bar Credit Tony Tokuya via Google
Pebble Bar is located in the Rockefeller Center plaza. More specifically, it is on 49th Street between 5th and 6th…but closer to 6th Avenue. It is on the same street as Rockefeller Center complex and a block from Radio City Musical Hall. You can easily get to Pebble Bar by taking the B/D/F/M subways to Rockefeller Center. It is a 15 minute walk from Grand Central Station and a 30 minute walk from Penn Station.
Pebble Bar Photo Credit Cecilia Ogude via Google
Pebble Bar is in a converted townhouse that, as their website explains, was formerly Hurley’s “watering hole”. Hurley’s was a local hotspot for over 100 years, frequented by Johnny Carson, Jack Kerouc, David Letterman, and decades worth of SNL team members (including Pete Davidson who is reported to be an investor per this Insider article). Hurley’s closed in 2000 before reopening in February 2022 as Pebble Bar. Since then New Yorkers have come to love Pebble Bar as a place to enjoy good food and good company.
More recently (June 2023) Pebble Bar has been a favorite of Nina Dobrev and Shaun White who were spotted at Pebble Bar by @deuxmoi fans during the week of June 18-June 25. The fan who submitted the sighting states “pretty sure this was the after party for Heather McMahan’s show at Radio City”, suggesting that the rather new Pebble Bar is reigniting the spark that has brought many celebrities to 67 West 49th Street for over 100 years.
Pebble Bar Photo Credit Dan Leira via Google
The main entrance is off of 49th Street and brings you to a doorman who will guide you to the 2nd floor. There you can either check in with the hostess or you can grab a drink at the bar. The 3rd and 4th floors are reserved for dining and reservations are highly recommended. They do keep a few tables available for walk-ins but to guarantee a seat without feeling rushed, you will want to make a reservation.
(L) Pebble Bar Photo Credit Ben Hughes Via Google (R) Pebble Bar Photo Credit Scott Laine via Google
Many reviewers comment on the multi-level floors, the space, the atmosphere, and the vibe…while others comment on the high quality cocktails. It is important to note that they do have a food “bites” menu but not a full dinner menu. The small bites menu features foods that will compliment well with the high quality cocktails. Some highly rated menu items are the chips and dip (french onion dip with chips, option to add caviar +$), lobster roll, tuna carpaccio, and steak tartare served with caviar. Some house specialities which are worth a try are the Pebble sliders (sumac, yogurt, pickles), the Pebble salad (lettuce with tarragon-cucumber dressing and topped with cucumber), the Grand Gougre (black truffle cheese puff with gruyere and comte mornay), the flambees (choice of mushroom tarte or prosciutto tarte), and the seafood platters (The Pebble and The Rock). The Pebble Seafood Platter has 3 oysters, 3 shrimp cocktail, scallop crudo, and tuna toast with caviar. The Rock Seafood Platter has 1 whole lobster, 6 oysters, 6 shrimp cocktail, scallop crudo, crab salad, tuna spread with caviar, and toast.
Although Pebble Bar is rather young (per the website, it has only been open for 16 months at the time of this writing) it has excellent reviews on Google. Averaging 4.4 stars with over 170 reviews, there is a lot of positive feedback from repeat diners and tourists who happened to find their way in. Pricing ranges from moderately expensive to expensive. Cocktails start at $20 and mocktails average $15. The small bites menu is moderately priced but we agree it is typical pricing for the quality and service. The most highly rated bites were the Grand Gougre, the lobster roll, and the seafood platters. Reservations are highly recommended and can be made via Resy.
Pebble Bar was featured in @deuxmoi’s Sunday Spotted on 6/25/2023 when a fan spotted Nina Dobrev and Shaun White outside. It is not clear when exactly this was but it was during the week of 6/18/-6/25.
For that week’s sightings and other sightings, please follow @deuxmoimademedoit on Instagram.