"Jeff Bell has never been the loudest voice in the room. "I'm a quiet guy until I have something to contribute," he says, a line that could double as the mission statement for Kees, his new bar tucked beneath Mixteca in New York's West Village. After 16 years, helping to define the tone and precision of pioneering and James Beard Award-winning modern speakeasy PDT in the East Village, Kees is Bell's distilled point of view: understated, technical, and built around the idea that you don't need to be loud to say a lot."
"Mixteca sits at street level, an agave bar Bell runs with his partner, Victor López, the longtime PDT anchor widely regarded as one of the country's best bartenders. The team can pull food from Tacos 1986 next door, and a narrow staircase off Mixteca leads guests down to Kees, where a flush brass door blends into the wall. The name itself is a small clue: Kees is "seek" spelled backwards, a nod to the fact that the bar is meant to be found, not announced."
Jeff Bell opened Kees, a small speakeasy-style bar beneath Mixteca in Manhattan's West Village. Kees emphasizes an understated, technical approach to cocktails and atmosphere. The space features terrazzo, velvet, and brass, creating a warm, deliberate contrast with the energy upstairs. Mixteca operates at street level as an agave bar run with partner Victor López, and food can be sourced from neighboring Tacos 1986. Bell built his career over 16 years at PDT, rising from barback to general manager and earning major industry awards and competition wins along the way. Kees offers elevated classic bar foods alongside its cocktail program.
Read at Miami Herald
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