Dive Right In to Esther’s High Dive in Providence

Esther’s High Dive at the Aloft Providence hotel. Photography by Angel Tucker

The decor at Esther’s High Dive channels a midcentury modern resort in Palm Springs. Inside the ground floor bar of the Aloft Providence Downtown hotel, palm motif walls, glossy green booths, a sleek marble top bar and shiny gold accents play off one another. A glowing neon sign depicts a woman taking a plunge and a suspended flashy disco ball hangs from the ceiling. The blend is the vision of the owners — who also manage Yellow Door Taqueria next door — and bar manager, Max Karlin.

The Mango Sticky Rice cocktail. Photography by Angel Tucker

“You can’t just open up a dive bar — it becomes one over time,” Karlin says. “The word dive was used here so we don’t come across as pretentious, like some cocktail bars can be. There are little, subtle things we’ve done to make people feel more welcome.”

It’s all in the details. Familiar bottles like Jack Daniels Fire get top shelf placement. Water comes in plastic cups. The laminated menus tell it like it is.

“Our Split Personality [brown butter and peanut butter bourbon cocktail], for example, has a very, very long process, and I’m happy
to expand on all that with someone if they were inquiring, but I don’t need to list milk-washed or clarified or all those molecular gastronomy terms,” Karlin says. “The ingredients are there — that’s all you really need to know.”

Karlin, whose career includes stints in New York hospitality, a Florida gastropub, a Martha’s Vineyard wine shop and a Nashville cocktail bar, had a direct hand in developing Esther’s beverage and food program. His bespoke menu is the best example of Esther’s hybrid nature, offering up elaborate cocktails, nostalgic mixtures, boilermakers, shooters and draft cocktails.

The Late Check-Out cocktail. Photography by Angel Tucker

The Split Personality cocktail. Photography by Angel Tucker

You can sip pretty on the Late Check-Out — a force-carbonated dirty martini — or get adventurous with the Mango Sticky Rice rum-based milk punch while your bestie washes away a bad day with a Mind Eraser (where vodka meets coffee liqueur and club soda) and your designated driver enjoys a Phony Negroni. As for fare, you can easily pair any of the drinks with Esther’s signature smashburger, a classy Caesar salad, a “secret-family recipe” crab Rangoon dip, and more bar bites.

“I wanted it to be the fun neighborhood spot where we have a little bit of everything,” Karlin says.

Since Esther’s opening in December, it’s been one big party. A late night might bring out Polaroid cameras and bubble guns to entertain guests. The question of “Who’s Esther?” may be answered with a quarter shot and an explainer on the former Olympic swimmer turned Hollywood starlet, and a knocked over glass sometimes means your next drink gets served in a sippy cup.

“I’ll always come back to saying, drinking is supposed to be fun,” Karlin says. “That’s the idea: Not to take everything too seriously.”

But make no mistake: “You’re gonna get a great drink.” 191 Dorrance St., Providence, esthershighdive.com