Attaboy ★ 4.6
$$$$
Lower East SideDaily 17:00-03:00.
Attaboy at 134 Eldridge has no sign, just a metal door you knock at. Inside, bartenders work without a menu and build drinks around what you like to taste.
TipKnock once, the door slides open at capacity. Parties of six or fewer only, no standing room, cocktail around $20.
Death & Co ★ 4.7
$$$$
East VillageMon-Wed 18:00-01:00, Thu-Sat 18:00-02:00, Sun 18:00-01:00.
Death & Co on East 6th opened New Year's Eve 2006 and has run the modern New York cocktail template since: dark room, single seat at the bar, no standing.
TipLimited Tock reservations, otherwise first-come for groups up to eight. Wait list opens at the door from 18:00.
Dante ★ 4.7
$$$$
West VillageMon-Thu 08:30-00:00, Fri 08:30-02:00, Sat 10:00-00:00, Sun 10:00-02:00.
Dante on MacDougal has poured Negronis since 1915, now under owners Linden Pride and Naren Young, who took the room from neighborhood cafe to World's Best.
TipWalk in for the bar, Resy for a table. The Garibaldi, made with hand-fluffed orange juice, is the order.
Employees Only ★ 4.4
$$$$
West VillageDaily 17:00-04:00.
Employees Only has run a tarot reader at the entrance of its Hudson Street room since 2004. Bartenders in white coats build pre-Prohibition cocktails.
TipThe kitchen serves until 03:30, the latest in the West Village. Free bowl of chicken soup arrives at the end of your tab.
Apothéke ★ 4.3
$$$$
ChinatownMon 18:30-00:00, Tue-Sat 18:30-02:00, Sun 18:30-00:00.
Apothéke hides behind an unmarked door on Doyers Street, the curved Chinatown alley once known as Bloody Angle. Bartenders in lab coats build.
TipFirst-come, first-served only, no reservations. Sundays through Thursdays brings live jazz, burlesque or brass starting around 21:00.
The Back Room ★ 4.2
$$$$
Lower East SideMon 18:00-01:00, Tue-Thu 18:00-02:00, Fri-Sat 18:00-03:00, Sun 18:00-01:00.
The Back Room on Norfolk Street is one of only two NYC speakeasies that actually ran during Prohibition. Drinks still arrive in teacups; the entrance goes.
TipWalk through the iron gate alley off Norfolk between Delancey and Rivington. Reservations help on weekends; cash bar.