On April 2, industry veterans Chloe Frechette and Paul McGee will open their first project together, a tropical bar with a rum-forward menu called Echo Lake (357 Grand St.).
Echo Lake is an evolution of McGee’s award-winning Chicago bar, Lost Lake. Rum has been a central theme in Frechette and McGee’s lives since the two met on a tour of a rum distillery in Guatemala. Though the couple lives in the East Village, they said that guests can expect to see them behind the bar at Echo Lake nightly.
Frechette and McGee call Echo Lake “a celebration of rum and its many different styles.” The menu will showcase tropical-leaning cocktails, including a daiquiri section of the menu and a selection of house-made rhum arrangé infused with fruits and spices.
One highlight of Echo Lake’s drink menu is the “Daily Daiquiri.” It’s always $12 and stars a different rum every day, served either shaken, up, or frappé-style.
Another drink menu highlight is the Tiny and a Tot, which is an 8-ounce lager and a shot of the rum of the day. Echo Lake will also serve the signature cocktail from Lost Lake which has Jamaican rum, lime, pineapple, passionfruit, maraschino and red bitters.
“Rum is often pigeonholed into being a vehicle for escapism. It’s often thought of as exotic, and we hope to showcase rum in a different context by sharing the real stories of where these spirits come from,” Frechette said.
“Good rum, like wine, is an agricultural product that reflects the land where the sugar cane is grown, how it’s harvested, how it’s fermented, how and where it’s aged, and more than anything the hard work and expertise of the people who produce it.”
Chef Cameron Wells created Echo Lake’s food menu of “just dishes that the kitchen is excited about.” The items skew toward the sea, with most built for sharing.
Highlights of the food menu include oysters with tepache mignonette, snapper crudo with passionfruit, bread with whipped nori butter or warm crab butter, green coconut curry chowder served over fries, crispy rice salad, charred cucumbers, and prawns a la plancha with black bean salsa macha.
Echo Lake’s home is light and bright with 14-feet ceilings, floor-to-ceiling windows, and a green and gray color palette. Tropical plants and colorful beach treasures like abalone shells and dried sea fans accent the space, plus there’s an oversized tropical fish tank is located within the glass block wall dividing the kitchen and bar.
In May, Frechette and McGee will unveil an intimate 20-seat bar below Echo Lake called Undercurrent. They said that the two bars will have their own distinct identities and menus.
“Undercurrent goes deep into the world of rum,” the team said. The menu will showcase rare and exclusive bottles, including selections from Frechette and McGee’s personal collection they’ve created over the years.
Echo Lake will be open Wednesday and Thursday 4 p.m. to midnight, Friday and Saturday 2 p.m. to 1 a.m., and Sunday, 2 p.m. to 10 p.m.