Cocktails, wine bars and dives: drinking in New York City for grown-ups.
Cocktail bars, wine bars, dive bars and gastropubs: drinking in New York City for grown-ups.
Death & Co on East 6th Street has set the East Village cocktail benchmark in New York City since 2007. Phil Ward's Oaxaca Old Fashioned was invented behind this bar.
Signature drink: Oaxaca Old Fashioned
Food: Snacks and bar bites
Tip: Walk-ins only; the door takes names from 18:00. Wait at Hi-Fi next door for the text; it usually runs 90 minutes.
Attaboy on Eldridge has poured bartender-choice cocktails in the Lower East Side, New York City since 2013. No menu, no door bell, ring for entry. Sam Ross's Penicillin is the house drink.
Signature drink: Penicillin
Food: None
Tip: Ring the unmarked grey door. Order by mood and base spirit; the bar does the rest. Cash, card, no reservations.
Sean Muldoon and Jack McGarry's three-floor Financial District bar in New York City sits high in the World's 50 Best list. Irish coffee and historical cocktails downstairs.
Signature drink: Irish Coffee
Food: Pub food and oysters
Tip: The downstairs Taproom takes walk-ins; the Parlor upstairs needs a booking. Order Irish Coffee at the Taproom counter.
Employees Only on Hudson Street has poured classic cocktails in the West Village, New York City since 2004. White-jacketed bartenders, late kitchen, deep wine and Champagne list.
Signature drink: Ginger Smash
Food: Bar bites and full kitchen
Tip: The back dining room runs walk-ins; the front bar fills by 21:00. Order the Ginger Smash and the chicken liver mousse.
Dutch Kills in Long Island City Queens runs Milk & Honey's tradition of bespoke cocktail-making in New York City. No menu, low light, classic cocktails, large clear ice cubes.
Signature drink: Dutch Kills Old Fashioned
Food: None
Tip: Ring the bell; the door is unmarked. Tell the bartender what you have been drinking lately and let them choose.
Double Chicken Please on Allen Street has run the city's most ambitious flavour-led cocktail program in New York City since 2020. Top of the World's 50 Best Bars in 2023.
Signature drink: Cold Pizza
Food: Fried chicken sandwiches
Tip: Front Room walk-in; Coop in the back takes reservations on Resy. The Cold Pizza is the showpiece, the Pina Colada the runner-up.
Temple Bar on Lafayette Street has reopened the 1989 NoHo cocktail room in New York City. The espresso martini revival in 2022 happened largely in this room.
Signature drink: Espresso Martini
Food: Cheese, charcuterie, snacks
Tip: The bar runs walk-ins from 17:00. Order the espresso martini at the bar, not the tables; the bartender pulls the shot.
Kings County Imperial on Skillman Avenue in Williamsburg runs Chinese American food alongside tea-infused cocktails in New York City. Genmaicha Mai Tai is the house drink.
Signature drink: Genmaicha Mai Tai
Food: Chinese American kitchen
Tip: The garden out back is open April to October. The egg roll and the Mai Tai pairing is the editor pick.
Old Town Bar near Union Square has poured Bass Ale from a 55-foot mahogany bar in New York City since 1892. Tin ceiling, tile floor, the room Mad Men shot the pilot scene around.
Signature drink: Bass Ale draught
Food: Burgers and pub food
Tip: Sit in the upstairs dining room for the burger; the bar is for the draught and the bar food. Cash preferred.
White Horse Tavern on Hudson Street has poured Guinness in the West Village, New York City since 1880. Dylan Thomas drank 18 whiskeys here in 1953; the room has not changed.
Signature drink: Guinness draught
Food: Burgers and pub food
Tip: Sit in the front room; the back is reserved for diners. The burger is the second order after the first pint.
Amor y Amargo on East 6th has poured bitters-forward cocktails in the East Village, New York City since 2011. Ten-seat bar, no spirit lighter than amaro, no sweetness.
Signature drink: All-bitters cocktails
Food: Snacks
Tip: Tell the bartender you want a base spirit; they build around the bitter. Two drinks is the right ration.
Jimmy's Corner near Times Square has poured cheap beer and bourbon to off-Broadway crowds in New York City since 1971. Boxing photos on the walls, jukebox, no cocktail list.
Signature drink: Cheap beer and bourbon
Food: None
Tip: Cash only. The bar takes Bud, Bass and Bourbon orders. Sing along with the jukebox.
Ear Inn on Spring Street has poured pints to dockworkers in SoHo, New York City since 1817. The B in BAR fell off in the 1970s and stayed off; the bar took the name Ear.
Signature drink: Draught beer
Food: Pub food, oysters
Tip: Sunday afternoon jazz from 14:00. The room is small and loud; the oysters are surprisingly good.
Bemelmans Bar at the Carlyle Hotel has poured cocktails under Ludwig Bemelmans's Central Park murals in New York City since 1947. Live piano from 18:00 nightly.
Signature drink: Old Cuban
Food: Hotel-bar snacks
Tip: Walk-ins after 18:00 carry a $35 minimum per person music charge. Earlier visits skip the charge but miss the piano.
KGB on East 4th Street runs a Soviet-themed second-floor bar in the East Village, New York City. Free reading series Mondays and Tuesdays, red walls, communist memorabilia.
Signature drink: Russian Standard vodka
Food: None
Tip: Reading series start at 19:00. Climb to the third-floor speakeasy The Red Room for the bar without the readings.
El Quijote at the Hotel Chelsea has poured Spanish drinks since 1930 in New York City. The 2022 restoration kept the Don Quixote murals and the original tiled bar.
Signature drink: Spanish gin and tonic
Food: Spanish kitchen
Tip: The bar takes walk-ins; the dining room needs Resy. The Iberico ham and the gin and tonic on the bar is the pre-dinner combo.
Maison Premiere on Bedford Avenue has poured absinthe and shucked oysters in Williamsburg, Brooklyn, New York City since 2011. James Beard winner 2016.
Signature drink: Absinthe service and house Sazerac
Food: Raw bar with 30+ oyster varieties and seasonal plates
Tip: Oyster happy hour 16:00 to 19:00 weekdays is the way in; the garden opens April through November and books weeks ahead.
Peak food season in New York City is year-round.
Local dining hours: lunch around 12:30, dinner from 19:30.
service is typically included; small extra is welcome but not expected.
Ask the next local you meet what they would order. New York City rewards trust.