Met friends at The Crosby Bar for brunch Sunday.

Checked out the online reviews first, of course. Every reviewer ranted about the cocktail prices that apparently go boldly where no others dare to go. Some just raised an eyebrow and some ranted on. They are right; starting at $18, cocktails at the bar-restaurant in the new Crosby Hotel will turn Joe Six Pack into Joe One Tap.

Fortunately for us, G. and I are on a cocktail-hiatus but we still approached with trepidation. I picture crowds lined up outside, squeezing in to wait for their table to be called, and oh the noise, said the Grinch. As happens so often, I was wrong.

G. and I arrived first, so we have time to look around. The spacious room is half empty. The hostess is polite and doesn’t make us wait until our whole party arrived to be seated.

The decor cannot be labeled; it’s retro, it’s modern, it’s homey but not cluttered. I am so tired of the minimalist gray and black decor that screams I am trendy. Candy-colored fabric covers the booths in front, earth-tone fabric lines the back area. A Fifties-style cluster of neon-colored lamps hang from the middle of the room, but the lamps against the walls are old-fashioned wrought-iron.

The ladies room is worth a visit, even for aesthetic reasons. Two winding floors down, the restroom is larger than some studio apartments, with a pink chairs and marble walls. Two little girls with their mom dart from one thing to another, awestruck at the pink chairs and other pink accents among the gray marble.

The food? Okay. Pretty good, even. Worth the price? No, but it’s great to spend a relaxing couple of hours with good friends in a great atmosphere. The Crosby Bar may draw Beautiful People, but the comfortable atmosphere allowed no Beautiful-Person chill to enter the air.