Spencer Rothschild has a dream to make the corner of Fifth Avenue and President Street in Park Slope into a “Latin American beach resort.”
Step one has been accomplished now that Rothschild has transformed an old storage space into Cabana Bar, a 10-table, five-barstool, rum-heavy joint that looks airlifted from Baja.
Bleached white walls, a glass ceiling and a thatched grass palapa over the bar create the mood — one that is greatly enhanced by a Margarita, Cuba Libre or a Bonfire Bowl (pictured with bartender Carlos Baptista) and some oyster empanadas ($8.95) and ancho chili fried calamari ($6.95).
“The most satisfying thing has been to have people say, ‘Wow, it really looks like a cabana,’” said Rothschild, who made his reputation with Calle Oche in Manhattan but is known in Brooklyn for Barrio on Seventh Avenue.
Next up, Playa, which will take over the space once occupied by the short-lived Lookout Hill at the corner of President and Fifth.
Cabana Bar [648 President St., between Fourth and Fifth avenues in Park Slope. No phone.]
