The 27 Best Bars in NYC, Right This Way

Best for: A night of Old Manhattan elegance with East River views

This Art Deco cocktail lounge on the top floor of the Beekman Tower, a historic building at the edge of the East River, is legit stunning. There's a wraparound terrace that offers 360-degree views of the city (read: all of the skyline sparkles), and the bar inside is topped with glass.

Order original—and v IG-worthy—creations like Ophelia’s Ascension (pepper-infused mezcal, bourbon, bitters, and cedar smoke) and the Purple Tuxedo (Empress 1908 gin, aquavit, velvet falernum, absinthe, and plum bitters).

Best for: Crazy spice-filled drinks that sound like they shouldn’t work—but they *do*

This longtime cocktail haven in the West Village is filled with plants, and offers elaborate herb-and-spice influenced drinks. Each one is named for the main plant in it! The Cardamom, for example, combines vodka, cold brew, vanilla, coco nibs, ghost chili, banana water, white soy sauce, and amoro, which has cardamom in it. Trust us, this cocktail weirdly works! Be sure to pair your drinks with small bites like roasted little neck clams, cassava fries, and vegan mac and cheese with wild mushrooms.

Best for: Supporting women in beer (who should not be as rare as they are!)

The beer industry may be dominated by men, but the women behind Talea—Tara Hankinson and LeAnn Darland; the bar's name is a combo of their own names—are hoping to change that. They joined forces in 2018 to make approachable, accessible, and inclusive beer, and opened this cheerful taproom and brewery in Greenpoint in 2021, with a second location in Cobble Hill that just opened in June 2022.

If you like fruity, sour beers, you’ll be right at home here, but they also have hazy IPAs, pilsners, and lagers. And if you can’t decide, go for the tasting flight, which will give you four 4-oz. pours for $20. Stop by Saturday mornings for taproom yoga...followed by a post-flow brew.

Best for: The tastiest Negroni outside of Italy

This iconic Italian bar has been around since 1915, and in 2019, it scored the number one spot on the World’s 50 Best Bars, which is basically the Oscars of the cocktail world. All of which is to say: The bartenders know their way around a good drink. In fact, they have almost single handedly increased the popularity of aperitivo (Italian happy hour) in NYC. Dante has an entire menu devoted to Negronis (there are 12 of them), as well as other classics like a Manhattan, Old Fashioned, several martinis, and a long list of spritzes. But you’re really there for the Negroni, so don’t mess around.

Best for: A fun, Japanese-inspired atmosphere

This beloved West Village Japanese bar has a fun atmosphere (check out the vintage Japanese movie posters and the red-lit room in the lower level) along with top-quality drinks like the Hinoki Martini (grey goose, spring 44 mountain gin, fino sherry, junmai daiginjo, hinoki tree essence) and Meguroni #2 (iichiko saiten shochu, genever, aged umeshu, caffo red bitter, kinome).

Pair your drinks with well-crafted bar food like sticky soy garlic wings, deviled eggs with Japanese mustard and white miso, and the downright addictive nori fries with Japanese curry sauce.

Best for: The MOST iconic New York night

While hotel bars can often feel a bit soulless, Bemelmans—which is located inside the legendary Carlyle, A Rosewood Hotel—is an iconic piece of NYC history that’s absolutely brimming with character and classy vibes. To drink here is to experience a sliver of Old New York, the kind that gives you #MainCharacterEnergy in your very own New York-based movie. Don't miss the masterpiece murals painted in 1947 by Ludwig Bemelmans, the creator of the classic Madeline children’s books, and keep an eye out for celebs, who've been known to pop in for a drink.

Also of note: A pianist plays at 5:30 p.m. every day, and later, a jazz trio takes the stage, though there’s a cover charge. Make sure you’re all dressed up...no athleisure allowed!

Best for: An island excursion (in NYC)

Going to Roosevelt Island, a small island between Manhattan and Queens accessible by tram or subway, may not be on your NYC to-do list—but the Panorama Room will make you think twice about that. This stunning ode to Art Deco design on top of the Graduate Hotel Roosevelt Island has incredible views of Manhattan, Queens, Brooklyn, and even the Bronx from certain spots, allowing for never-before-seen skyline angles, and excellent bridge panoramas (hence the name). But you're also here for the drinks, and they will not disappoint—nor will the A+ raw bar menu.

Best for: Boat lovers

New Orleans imports Alex and Miles Pincus made a name for themselves in NYC by opening restaurants on boats. The brothers own Pilot in Brooklyn and Grand Banks in Manhattan, both establishments found on docked schooners, and Holywater is their latest venture—and their first on land.

Located in Tribeca, Holywater has maritime-inspired décor (check out the faux-hammerhead shark adjacent to the bar and the hanging boat hull in the back room) and cozy, candlelit tables. Drinks are divided into New Orleans and New York sections—you’ll find the excellent Mezcal Hurricane (mezcal, passion fruit, orange liquor, hibiscus, and lime) under New Orleans, and the super smooth Old Pal (their own Captains Courageous single-barrel rye whiskey, Campari, and dry vermouth) under New York. Unsurprisingly, the food menu has a lot of seafood on it, like oysters, tater tots with caviar (!!), and lobster frites. If you have room for dessert, the classic New Orleans pralines is their mom’s recipe.

Best for: All of the sake

Honestly, both Bar Goto Niban (in Park Slope) and its big sister, Bar Goto (on the Lower East Side), are excellent spots. But we’re giving Niban some extra love since it opened right before the pandemic lockdown, and had a bit of a tough time gaining ground as a result. Both spots are Asian-influenced cocktail bars where the food and the drinks are both delish.

Pro tip: Come for happy hour between 5 and 6 p.m. to score a $10 martini. If you don’t want a cocktail, the sake and shochu lists are on point, too.

Best for: Cozy craft cocktails in Brooklyn

This BK cocktail den is inspired by the Prohibition era, and it shows in the décor (think velvet couches and tufted leather banquettes) as well as the varied drink list. Snag a seat in the cozy back room with a fireplace, or show up on weekends for the delish and filling brunch. Either way, get the namesake Clover Club cocktail, made with gin, dry vermouth, lemon, raspberry, and egg white—and you’ll see why this bar has managed to stick around for more than a decade.

Best for: A neighborhood-y wine night

Located on a quiet corner in Brooklyn, Place des Fêtes practically ~defines~ cozy neighborhood wine bar vibes. There's a welcoming bar up front when you walk in, and a back room with a communal table and a few smaller tops—not to mention excellent food from a Michelin-starred team. The move here is to hang out, try a new wine, have a few snacks (it's mostly seafood-focused plates), and enjoy.

Best for: Geeking out on wine

All you winos out there will looooove Temperance, where the sommelier curates the list of more than 100 wines (all of which are offered by the glass). Try new pours and delight in old faves as you snack on shareable plates, or test your skills with a blind tasting offered weekdays between 4 and 6 p.m. and all day on Sunday. If you can name all four grape varietals correctly, your flight is free!

Best for: An unpretentious, dive bar kinda night

Sometimes you don’t want to pay $18 for a cocktail and get all dressed up. Sometimes you need to just post up at the bar and order a cheap beer from the completely unpretentious bartender. When that dive bar need beckons, head to Bed Stuy’s Do or Dive and lose yourself amid the exposed brick walls, vinyl barstools, and kitschy throwback décor. And if you do want a cocktail, no worries—they’ve got a few classics, plus their version of the homemade Nutcracker bottled drinks people peddle in Prospect Park—you know you want Electric Blue.