Bemelmans Bar from the “Sex and the City” Movie

I must be in a very New York state of mind because here I am yet again blogging about a Big Apple locale – a city landmark, actually – the iconic Bemelmans Bar, which is situated inside of The Carlyle Hotel on Manhattan’s Upper East Side. I first learned about the popular lounge thanks to its appearance in the 2008 Sex and the City movie and stalked it – as well as blogged about it – later that same year. I hardly took any photographs of the watering hole on that visit, though, so the place went right back onto my To-Stalk List for my April 2016 NYC trip. As fate would have it, the Grim Cheaper and I happened to pop in while the bar was closed one morning and the super nice employee we spoke with welcomed us inside to snap some pics. Since then I’ve managed to dig up a few more of Bemelmans’ onscreen appearances, so I figured the site was most definitely worthy of a re-post.

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Bemelmans Bar came to be in the 1940s when famed author and illustrator Ludwig Bemelmans, creator of the beloved Madeline children’s book series, was commissioned by The Carlyle Hotel owner Robert Dowling to paint murals on the walls of a new lounge space. In lieu of payment, Ludwig asked for free onsite lodging for himself and his family while he completed the work. The installation, which he dubbed “Central Park,” was finished 18 months later and Bemelmans Bar opened its doors in 1947.

Bemelmans’ playful creation depicts animals such as elephants, rabbits, and dogs frolicking in Central Park during each of the four seasons.

It is the sole Bemelmans commission currently open to the public. As Regan Hofmann stated in a 2014 Punch article, “Of the many murals Bemelmans completed over the years—including the Austrian restaurant Hapsburg House in New York City, a Parisian nightclub on the Île St. Louis and the playroom on Aristotle Onassis’s yacht—the bar at The Carlyle is his only work still intact and available for public viewing.”

Truth be told, though, the murals are no longer entirely the work of Ludwig’s hand.

Not surprisingly considering their age, the pieces have required regular touch-ups and repairs over the years. In fact, The Carlyle Hotel staffs seven full-time painters just to maintain the murals. Their preservation weapon of choice? Wonder Bread! According to Edible Manhattan, during a 2001 restoration, it was found that the best way to remove nicotine stains from the prized paintings was a gentle application of wet slices of the classic white bread.

The bar’s understated décor was carefully chosen to accentuate Bemelmans’ work.

The Art Deco space is comprised of a black granite bar, sleek round glass tables, a 24-karat gold leaf ceiling, large leather banquettes, a grand piano on which live music is played nightly, and lamps with shades that mimic the murals.

The space is cozy, intimate and all-around wonderful.

Bemelmans Bar has long been the stomping ground of visiting elite and local luminaries alike.

Just a few of the public figures who have popped in for a libation or two include Harry Truman, Jackie Kennedy, Bobby Kennedy, Jean Reno, Al Pacino, Steve Martin, Frank Sinatra, Princess Diana, Tom Cruise, Katie Holmes, George Clooney, Robert Redford, David Bowie, Mariah Carey, Paul McCartney, Mick Jagger, Lady Gaga, Liv Tyler, Drew Barrymore, Lorne Michaels, Kate Spade, Zac Posen, Cyndi Lauper, Nick Cannon, Angelica Huston, and Michael Kors.

It is not very hard to see how the site became such a bastion of old New York.

The lighting is dim and hazy (but in the best way possible), the atmosphere fanciful, and the drinks stiff. Some cocktails are even accompanied by a supplemental serving à la a classic diner milkshake. As Richard Carleton Hacker explains in a Robb Report article, “Elegantly presented by red-jacketed waiters, the dry martinis and Manhattans come with an extra-portion ‘sidecar’ carafe kept chilled in ice on the side, so that guests can top up their drinks.”

With its many quiet, tucked away spaces, warm ambiance, and array of film appearances, there is no better place in the city to enjoy an evening out!

In the Sex and the City movie, Carrie Bradshaw (Sarah Jessica Parker) takes Louise (Jennifer Hudson) to Bemelmans for cocktails and the two discuss their respective broken hearts. At the end of the scene, Carrie gives Louise this sage advice on age – “Enjoy yourself – that’s what your 20s are for. Your 30s are to learn the lessons. Your 40s are to pay for the drinks!”

In the book Sex and the City: The Movie, producer John Melfi says, “For the scene where Carrie and Louise go out for drinks, we shot in Bemelmans Bar at The Carlyle Hotel. No one had ever shot there before.” He is actually incorrect, though.

Back in 2002, six years before Sex and the City was filmed, Bemelmans was featured in Hollywood Ending as the spot where Val (Woody Allen) met up with his ex-wife, Ellie (Téa Leoni), to discuss working together on a new motion picture.

Bemelmans has also popped up in a few productions post-Sex and the City. Arielle (Bérénice Marlohe) has a rather awkward first meeting with Brian Bloom’s (Anton Yelchin) parents, Arlene (Glenn Close) and Sam Bloom (Frank Langella), at the bar in 2014’s 5 to 7.

Several vignettes from the 2015 Netflix Original Holiday Special A Very Murray Christmas were shot at Bemelmans, including Bill Murray’s duet of “Baby, It’s Cold Outside” with Jenny Lewis.

In the Season 3 episode of Younger titled “A Kiss Is Just a Kiss,” which aired in 2016, Charles Brooks (Peter Hermann) asks Liza Miller (Sutton Foster) to meet him at Bemelmans, but when she walks in and spots him chatting with her daughter’s friend’s parents, she runs away.

Bemelmans is not to be confused with Café Carlyle, an adjacent lounge boasting similar murals, these by Marcel Vertes. That site was featured in the 1986 dramady Hannah and Her Sisters as the spot where Mickey (Woody Allen) takes Holly (Dianne Wiest) to see a performance by Bobby Short, who played himself.