The local grocery store has historically been a comforting, familiar place, where townsfolk know they are likely to run into their neighbors. The A&P Bar in Woodstock, a global cocktail bar that offers snacks and a full menu in an old A&P grocery store, is not too far from that description — but with a twist.
The mission of business partners Pierre Luc-Moeys, his wife Nicole Paturel, and Gemma D’Entrone is to bring people together and to set a scene that reimagines comfort. The menu features comfort foods like an elevated shepherd’s pie or a local grass-fed burger with whiskey sauce, and less common fare like Flammkuchen (a German-style pizza), and desserts featuring items like popcorn-flavored ice cream that, Luc-Moeys explains, evokes the experience of going to the cinema.
The team chose to set the bar/restaurant outside of the usual high-traffic areas, in a location that’s tucked away. “Once inside, you could be in Manhattan, Amsterdam, Milan, Cape Town,” Luc-Moeys says. “It feels like you could be anywhere.”
The space is layered, with ground-floor dining as well as a mezzanine. Designed by Paturel, A&P features cozy banquette seating, rustic wooden tables, and exposed ductwork that lends the space a gritty, industrial feel, while the enormous shelves of liquor behind the bar climb impressively high. The interior design showcases the work of local Hudson Valley artisans, carpenters, woodworkers, and designers.
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Mixologist Carl Bester and Sommelier Lio Mag are right at home behind a 30-foot bar with what Luc-Moeys describes as an “endless” array of spirits. The cocktail list includes both the basics — like Cosmopolitans and Manhattans — and Bester’s innovative concoctions, which feature surprising ingredients like homemade rooibos bitters and blackberry syrup. “These contrasts complement each other. We have the comforts, but [we] tease guests to try new things, which keeps it exciting for us,” Luc-Moeys explains. Even the wine list stays on-brand, with popular California Cabs, for instance, next to an obscure wine made by a farmer in the mountains of Italy. “We have the standards, plus an array of wines people have never heard of.”
From their ambiance to their cocktails, entrees, and desserts, Luc-Moeys says, “We pair ingredients that people wouldn’t usually see together, but we create something recognizable from it.”
A&P Bar is open for dinner and drinks from 5 p.m. to 12 a.m. Monday–Thursday, 5 p.m. to 1 a.m.
Friday, 4 p.m. to 1 a.m. Saturday, and for brunch from 11 a.m.–12 a.m. on Sunday.
83 Mill Hill Rd, Woodstock; 845.684.5395; www.aandpbar.com
