a place that prides itself on its ability to make drinks should be able to make a good, straight up manhattan. and barchef failed on that front. my manhattan had far too much bitters in it -- it was really surprising.
my friends' drinks were ok, but, in my opinion, too sickly sweet.
in a way, the drinks seemed to cater to the modern credo of just making it a little sweeter, and your clientele will smile.
the reason i'm giving the place 3 stars is because the woody smokiness in the air was quite nice, and the atmosphere was really appealing. go here and get a very simple drink that they can't mess up, and relax.