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.
Food program: Pub food, oysters
Tip: Sunday afternoon jazz from 14:00. The room is small and loud; the oysters are surprisingly good.
Address: 326 Spring St, New York, NY 10013, New York City
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.
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.
