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Quick Eternity Brings a Moby Dick-Inspired Cocktail Bar to Seaport
May 14, 2025, 2:16.36 pm ET

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Photos: Quick Eternity

Anchor's Away! Quick Eternity, a new cocktail-driven spot inspired by Herman Melville’s Moby Dick, is now open in Manhattan’s South Street Seaport. Housed in a landmarked 19th-century building at 22 Peck Slip, the bar brings the world of whaling taverns, seafaring legends, and New England fare to life—without feeling like a theme park.

For owner and bartender Bryan Schneider, known for his work at Bad Roman, Don Angie, and Monkey Bar, Quick Eternity has been a decade-long obsession. After reading Moby Dick ten years ago, Schneider became fixated on the book’s vivid tavern scenes, imagining a bar built of whale bone, filled with nautical art and whaling tools. Now, he’s turned that vision into reality.

The space, designed in collaboration with artist Azikiwe Mohammed, feels like a modern-day sailor’s haunt: driftwood bar tops patinated to resemble weathered bone, hand-painted maritime murals, burgundy tabletops inlaid with mother-of-pearl, and a dramatic whale bone sculpture arching over the bar. Upstairs, a private room called The Gam offers Brooklyn Bridge views and literary programming, while an on-site bookstore, Idler Books, sells new and vintage copies of Moby Dick.

But this isn’t just a bar for bookworms. The cocktails are smart, balanced, and playful—many named after Moby Dick references with their literary origins noted on the menu. The signature Quick Eternity is a tropical riff on the Corpse Reviver #2, blending navy-strength gin with passionfruit and absinthe. Old Manhatto offers a bittersweet, cacao-kissed take on a Manhattan, while Statue Devil reimagines a Chilcano highball with Pisco, apricot eau-de-vie, ginger, and lime. There’s even a shareable mezcal and espresso drink, Perdition’s Flames, served in a carved black walnut Grolla.

Complementing the drinks is a menu of New England-inspired small plates by Chef Antonio Mora (Daniel, Morandi, Frankie’s Spuntino). Highlights include a chilled Manhattan clam chowder with a ceviche-like twist, vegetarian “Oyster” Chowder with douchi (fermented soybeans), and Captain’s Crunch, a playful Frito Pie-style snack made with prawn crisps and pork chili. There are nods to Mora’s Puerto Rican heritage too, like lump crab Bacalaitos fritters, and seafaring spins on comfort classics, including Lobster Pups (corndog-battered lobster tails with Old Bay tartar) and the indulgent Gam Burger with chaos sauce.

For dessert, the sticky toffee pudding drenched in navy-strength Jamaican rum caramel is reason enough to linger. Beyond food and drink, Quick Eternity also gives back, supporting the New Davonhaime Food Bank and NYC mutual aid efforts—ensuring its community impact goes far beyond the bar.

Quick Eternity is open Sunday through Thursday from 5PM to 12AM, and until 1AM on Fridays and Saturdays. Walk-ins are welcome at the bar, with upstairs tables available via same-day reservations.

For more details, visit quicketernity.nyc and follow @quicketernity_nyc.

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