One of the nicest of the numerous idiosyncrasies that set East Side Company Bar apart is seen only by indecisive or adventurous drinkers: the masterful bartenders’ eagerness to collaborate. They know more about cocktails than you do, so just give loose specifications – you’re in the mood for something with gin, and maybe citrus fruit, but not too sweet – and their broad knowledge and improvisatory skill will take care of the details. Voila: a grapefruit Collins, or a gin smash, or another flawlessly mixed drink that is exactly what you wanted.

Milk and Honey impresario Sasha Petraske opened the secluded, barely marked bar in April after a series of delays and semi-openings, and his distinctive breed of recherche, perfectionistic hospitality stamps every aspect of the operation. On busy nights, a bouncer enforces a rigid occupancy limit to ensure that the narrow room never becomes crowded to an uncivil degree. The cool, exacting bartenders take a couple of careful minutes to build each cocktail, using fresh-squeezed juices, assiduously muddled fruit, and Petraske-approved brands of liquor – Elijah Craig bourbon, Brugal rum, Beefeater gin. They don’t compromise on matters like substituting Angostura bitters if the bar runs out of Peychaud’s. They care about the difference between cracked ice and crushed ice, and they keep a close eye on the post-pour careers of their drinks, remixing unsatisfactory ones and even confiscating untouched and melting cocktails from neglectful customers.

Every drink costs $8. East Side Company Bar certainly isn’t a bar for every occasion or every taste, but it fills to perfection its mannerly, delicious niche.

East Side Company Bar, 49 Essex St., 212-614-7408.