Natural history museum-inspired bar opens in New York
The Museum Bar + Gift Shop has opened in New York’s Bushwick neighbourhood, bringing the experience of discovery behind the bar.
The Museum Bar + Gift Shop aims to ‘cultivate a sense of wonder about the world we live in’, and was co-founded by Misha Chavez.
“Growing up, I was allowed very limited television time, unless it was related to science or animals – then I could watch as much as I wanted,” said Chavez. “My love of learning was encouraged early in life, and I’ve always been inspired by that happy, enthusiastic feeling of discovery.”
The bar features several spaces designed to give guests a feeling akin to a natural history museum, evoking a sense of discovery and curiosity.
The space at the front is called the Gift Shop and offers eight seats in a casual, café-style setting. The serves here are lower-ABV and inspired by tea, coffee, and pastries, with a Spritz of the day and a rotating milk punch.
At the back of the space is The Museum, which has a bar programme of ‘permanent exhibits’ and ‘special exhibits’, with the latter available for a limited time and centred on a deep dive into a specific subject; the first being dinosaurs.
Connecting the two spaces is the Exhibition Hall, with walls lined in curiosities curated for the bar, akin to a museum display. These include personal collections of crystals, fossils, and other oddities from the team. The drinks here are said to give guests a preview of what’s to come in The Museum.
For the Museum’s permanent exhibition cocktails, serves are based on themes of a natural history museum. The Insectarium is made with honey gin, fig, red bitter, black ants, wormwood and crickets, and the Ocean Life contains rum, coconut, lime, curacao and cuttlefish ink.
Other highlights include the Fossil Record, made with reposado Tequila, sesame, Sherry, and turmeric, while non-alcoholic offerings include a Phoney Negroni and Pathfinder & Soda.
Lead bartender Bobbi Adler said: “All of our drinks are very research-based, which helps drive inspiration for the team. While some drinks are obvious, such as the cuttlefish ink found within Ocean Life, some drinks are more abstract, diving into unique animal behaviours, natural habitats, and evolutionary histories as their source material.”
The drinks are complemented by a menu of bar bites that repurpose spent ingredients from the bar that aren’t used for garnishes.
These include Dino Nuggets served with housemade Carolina-style BBQ sauce and Acra Fritter served with West African pepper sauce.
The Museum Bar + Gift Shop is located at 1329 Willoughby Ave in Brooklyn, New York.
For more new bars, see our roundup of the hottest openings from spring 2026.
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