Cocktail barDive bar$$$sohoDaily 11:30-04:00
Ear Inn on Spring Street has poured pints to dockworkers in SoHo, New York City since 1817. The B in BAR fell off in the 1970s and stayed off.
Signature drink: Draught beer
Food: Pub food, oysters
Tip: Sunday afternoon jazz from 14:00. The room is small and loud; the oysters are surprisingly good.
Cocktail barHotel bar$$$upper-east-sideSun-Mon 12:00-00:00, Tue-Thu 12:00-00:30, Fri-Sat 12:00-01:00
Bemelmans Bar at the Carlyle Hotel has poured cocktails under Ludwig Bemelmans's Central Park murals in New York City since 1947. Located in Upper East Side.
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.
Cocktail barLiterary bar$$$east-village
KGB on East 4th Street runs a Soviet-themed second-floor bar in the East Village, New York City. Free reading series Mondays and Tuesdays, red walls.
Signature drink: Russian Standard vodka
Food: None
Tip: Reading series start at 19:00. Climb to the third-floor speakeasy The Red Room for the bar without the readings.
Cocktail barHotel bar$$$chelseaSun 05:00-23:00
El Quijote at the Hotel Chelsea has poured Spanish drinks since 1930 in New York City. Order the spanish gin and tonic. At 226 West 23rd Street.
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.
Cocktail barOyster and cocktail bar$$$williamsburgMon-Thu 12:00-01:00, Fri 12:00-02:00, Sat 10:00-02:00, Sun 10:00-01:00
Maison Premiere on Bedford Avenue has poured absinthe and shucked oysters in Williamsburg, Brooklyn, New York City since 2011. James Beard winner 2016.
Signature drink: Absinthe service and house Sazerac
Food: Raw bar with 30+ oyster varieties and seasonal plates
Tip: Oyster happy hour 16:00-19:00 weekdays is the way in; the garden opens April through November and books weeks ahead.
Cocktail barCocktail bar$$$east-villageMon-Wed 18:00-01:00, Thu-Sat 18:00-02:00, Sun 18:00-01:00
Death & Co on East 6th Street has set the East Village cocktail benchmark in New York City since 2007. Order the oaxaca old fashioned. At 433 East 6th Street.
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.