In the midst of the chaos that is the Lower East Side, in a rather quiet strip on Rivington Street, an inconspicuous set of stairs leads down to The Hideout Chai Bar—a descent into the world of masala chai.

The story starts with Christopher Brunet, The Hideout’s owner, who spent two years at two-Michelin-starred restaurant COI in San Francisco. While living in the Bay Area, Brunet was exposed to Masala Chai for the first time, becoming enamored with the alchemy of unique spices and herbs that make up the drink.

“I started frequently attending a tea shop that served masala chai and I was blown away,” Brunet tells Hotbook. “At that moment I was hooked and played around with the concept of either opening a restaurant or a café.”

But upon returning to his hometown, New York City, Brunet missed his local tea shop. That longing, as it turns out, would become a bar.”

“I missed my chai spot so much that I knew I had to create my own vision,” Brunet says. “And now it’s been 10 years running my dream.”

The inconspicuous spot is easily missed by those not in the know, with a large windowsill that overlooks the minimalist interiors. Just a few steps down, visitors are greeted by crisp white walls adorned by minimalist shelves and knick-knacks, surrounding a large communal table. A large mirror sits beside a clothing rack bringing the neighborhood’s fashion indoors. Towards the back, a small register serves as a barrier between the kitchen—where Brunet crafts the chai from scratch every day—and the visitors.

Made from ginger, green cardamom, cloves, black pepper, cinnamon, and black tea, the chai at The Hideout is not like the rest. It’s rich yet delicate, sweet but never cloying, and is as complex as a drink can be. Arriving at the recipe, which Brunet says “it’s at a place of perfection,” took rounds of trial and error and three to four hours to brew.

Today, chai is a fixture in every coffee shop on every corner. It was not always that way— it was once only a dream that Brunet carried over from his time on the West Coast.

That vision has become a decade-long commitment—one from which Brunet has not wavered.

“I opened ten years ago when masala chai was mostly just a concentrate in a coffee shop that the general public accepted as chai tea,” Brunet adds. “Obviously Indian restaurants always made masala chai from scratch but I still felt like there was a disconnect from a truly Indian masala chai and the concentrate at your local coffee shop. I wanted to bridge that gap.”

Now ten years later, Brunet has succeeded in that, making The Hideout Chai is a staple not only for chai lovers, but to its community.

“The Lower East Side has always been where the cool kids hang out and that will never change,” he says. But beyond the cool factor, The Hideout Chai Barfeels cozy and warm.

“I want people to feel at home,” Burnet says, “The smell, vibe, arrangement should make you feel relaxed and take a moment to appreciate a delicious balanced masala chai.”