Underneath the clatter of dinner service at Marseille in Hell's Kitchen, a once-quiet basement that held mostly wine is now pouring cocktails after hours. The sultry, subterranean lounge has been recast as a French-minded speakeasy, turning a former storage space into a bunkerlike hideout for neighborhood regulars and pre-theater crowds along Midtown's dining corridor.
According to Bar Bas, the clublike lounge sits directly beneath Marseille and lists its entrance at 357 W. 44th Street. Operator Chef Driven Hospitality also includes the spot on its roster, describing an intimate cocktail lounge serving French-inspired drinks and small plates. Online listings for the venue highlight late-night hours, weekend DJs and a candlelit layout geared to both pre-show groups and after-dinner guests.
A film vault beneath the dining room
As reported by W42ST, the cellar still holds a massive old film vault whose walls measure roughly two feet thick, giving the room its hushed, bunkerlike feel. The building, part of the neighborhood’s Film Center fabric, was originally constructed to store highly flammable nitrate film, and more than 100 similar vaults in the complex have since been removed or repurposed. Operators told reporters that before the current revamp, this particular vault served as Marseille’s wine cellar.
From nitrate storage to French cocktail den
The look and menu lean into a sun-soaked French mood rather than a novelty theme. The Manual described Bar Bas as a Francophilic cocktail den, with drinks flavored by Provençal herbs and Champagne service setting the tone. Journalists at the opening noted that the former Friki Tiki room has been outfitted with plush seating, low lighting and curated music to match the intimate vibe, in step with a broader Midtown trend of fitting hidden cellars and quirky historic spaces with small, design-forward bars.
The Infatuation flags a $39 three-course prix fixe during early evening service and lists small plates such as shrimp beignets and duck liver mousse aimed squarely at pre-show diners. Upstairs, Marseille remains a long-running Hell's Kitchen brasserie and neighborhood anchor, per Marseille's site, which helps the two-level operation cover both classic brasserie dining and a clubby after-dinner scene. Together the rooms now give the block a traditional French table above and a cellar bar with late-night energy below.
The result is a quietly dramatic reuse of old film-industry infrastructure, with cocktails and DJs now humming where reels and nitrate drums once sat in storage. Whether you are headed out for a pre-show prix fixe or hunting for a low-light bar to linger in afterward, Bar Bas has turned subterranean history into one more reason to roam Hell's Kitchen.
