Please Don’t Tell’s Jeff Bell opens Kees
Jeff Bell of New York City’s Please Don’t Tell will open Kees, the final bar concept in the West Village’s One Cornelia Street building, tomorrow (11 February).
Bell opened agave bar Mixteca with longtime Please Don’t Tell bartender Victor Lopez in August 2025. The site is also home to Mexican restaurant Tacos 1986.
Kees can be found downstairs from Mixteca, with its name being a play on both the word ‘keys’ and the reverse of ‘seek’.
The bar aims to ‘evoke the glamour’ of post-Prohibition New York, with designs by Post Company. The bar is ‘dimly fit’ and features rich drapery, vintage armchairs and green velvet banquettes. At the centre sits a chamfered stone bar, lit by a ribbed-glass and brass lightbox.
The 1,000 square foot space features 55 seats, including 12 at the bar.
The menu is based on classic cocktails, with ‘foundational’ serves being the Martini, Spritz, Negroni, Highball, Collins, Sour, Manhattan and Old Fashioned. Each is served traditionally, with three ‘subtle and seasonal’ variations.
For instance, the Martinis are based on Kees’ house ratio of three parts gin to one part dry vermouth. A Dirty variant features Castelvetrano olive-infused vodka and Sherry, while a low-ABV option is made with Leo Robitschek’s Second Sip ‘gin’. The final twist is a Reserve Vesper, featuring gin, vodka and Château d’Yquem.
The Collins variations include the classic Tom, made with Hayman’s Old Tom Gin, as well as an American-inspired twist called John Collins, made with Old Forester Bourbon and pear.
The Juan Collins features Superbird Fuego Tequila and pineapple, while the Dom variant is made with Hennessy VS Cognac and Dom Pérignon.
The menu concludes with four non-alcoholic options, including The Dry Shandy, made with Spiritless Kentucky 74, non-alcoholic ‘amaretto’, lemon juice and Good Time non-alcoholic Pilsner.
The food offering comprises ‘classic bar fare’ such as Marcona almonds, chips and dips with trout roe, and oysters Rockefeller.
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