Knot Too Shabby
The West Village’s New Luxe Sports Bar

We know it's been hard.

The sleepless nights. The trouble getting out of bed. We've been there too.

Yes, we've all been waiting for something, anything to fill the gaping void in our fair city's sports bar scene left by the departure of ESPN Zone.

Relax. A replacement has arrived. And better yet, it's nothing like the ESPN Zone.

Welcome to The Windsor, a gentlemanly new sports bar, opening Wednesday in the old Charles space in the West Village.

Really, we're not sure we should be calling it a sports bar. Because it looks almost like a country club, with cherry-red leather banquettes, white oak tables and pinstripe walls. And there are some decidedly un-nacho items on the menu—like truffle mac-and-cheese and a red velvet cupcake served in a mason jar.

But then again, this place is built for watching sports. There are eight flat-screens on the walls, and the small space makes it feel like more. And the best seat in the house—ideal for taking in, say, the Knicks opener Wednesday night—is a 12-person banquette, stationed across from a flat-screen. (Why yes, you can and should use that touchscreen control on the wall to watch anything but a World Series played without the Yankees.)

As for what to drink, you could enjoy a three-liter Oktoberfest-style glass boot of beer. You could. Or you could celebrate in style, with a Nebuchadnezzar of champagne, the equivalent of roughly 20 bottles.

Which should be handy if the Knicks clinch a championship.