PERFECT FOR

Clinking martini glasses before dinner or stopping for a nightcap

START WITH

The richly flavored Martinez, which features a blend of gins

At Bisous, you don’t hover for a bar seat. No, you check in with the host and are whisked to your spot. That escort is just the first dash of elegance. Once you’re settled, pause a moment and take in the room. Everything here finds inspiration from 1960s Paris: the glow of the orb lights and the back bar, the floral wallpaper, and the kiss motif, planting a smacker on the coasters, menus, and matchbooks. Then there are the drinks, which include fresh takes on martinis — like the Tuxedo No. 2.1, an absinthe-rinsed glass holding a surprising blend of Citadelle Vive le Cornichon gin, dry vermouth, and maraschino — and a delicious French 75 with gins and brandy, French wines, and pours of brandy. Longtime Chicago barman Peter Vestinos and Footman Hospitality (the same team behind the Gold Coast’s Sparrow) opened Bisous last January, and it’s clear that it is a bar that knows precisely what it is. It is the bar for when you want a freezer martini and a little dish of marinated Manchego and olives while you wait for your West Loop dinner reservation. It’s the bar you pop into for a cozy nightcap when you and your date want to keep the evening going. And it’s a destination unto itself, a bar worth bundling up and calling an Uber for. It is, in short, the bar we are most excited to be at right now. 938 W. Fulton Market