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Aperol spritz at Bar Pisellino. — Aperol spritz at Bar Pisellino

The Essential Cocktail Bars of New York City

Dressed-up and casual spots with classic cocktails and new creations

by Eater Staff Updated Sep 29, 2023, 10:54am EDT

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Aperol spritz at Bar Pisellino

| Nitzan Rubin/Eater

by Eater Staff Updated Sep 29, 2023, 10:54am EDT

What makes a cocktail bar go from good to great? Is it the scene, knowledgable bartenders, cocktails that overperform, a Nicholas Cage-themed drinks list, or — let’s be honest, this is Eater — a food menu that goes beyond the usual olives and oysters?

A combination of all of these elements must be at play when a bar graduates from a neighborhood watering hole to a citywide drinking destination. Think of this guide as a checklist of the city’s essential cocktail bars, whether the occasion calls for a chilled martini (dirty, espresso, or 50/50) or custom drinks that come about in talking to a bartender rather than reading off a menu. To find the city’s newest cocktail bars, dim-lit spots where flash photography from influencers might light up a room, head here.

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Sugar Monk

This lively Harlem bar features over 20 original cocktails named after a work of art, event, or piece of music as well as an interesting line of botanical highballs, low-ABV cocktails, and seasonal sippers. The food menu includes mostly small plates: olives, popcorn, dumplings, and dessert. Check out its jazz lineup on Mondays.

2292 Frederick Douglass Blvd, New York, NY 10027

Visit Website

A dark bar with high shelves. — Behind the bar at Sugar Monk.

Also featured in:

Where to Eat Around City College

Bemelmans Bar

A new generation of customers have claimed this swanky Upper East Side bar at the Carlyle as their own, says the New York Post, but if you’re craving Old New York, it remains an institution with great drinks and service, live piano music, an eclectic mix of patrons, and murals by Ludwig Bemelmans. Note: There’s a cover charge that starts at $10 per person.

35 E 76th St, New York, NY 10021

Visit Website

Bemelmans’ dining room, with cartoon murals on the wall — The murals at Bemelman’s.

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Pebble Bar

Spread across three stories of a Midtown townhouse, Rockefeller Center’s Pebble Bar comes from a roster of nightlife veterans and celebrity investors, including Pete Davidson of Saturday Night Live. The cocktail bar on the second floor is reserved for walk-ins, and don’t be surprised to find an after-work crowd wearing button-ups and backpacks. A brief food menu, geared towards after-work luxury, runs from $10 to $190 for a raw bar tower, served on the third floor, where a reservation is usually required. Drinks start at $20.

67 W 49th St, New York, NY 10112

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Banquettes in a dark barroom. — Upstairs at the Pebble Bar.

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The Campbell

Originally the Campbell apartment, this tucked-away venue is where millionaire railroad executive John W. Campbell one had an office in Grand Central. He died in 1957, and it was turned into a signalman’s office, before becoming an MTA Police office, where officers stored guns. It also held a stint as a small jail. Suffice it to say, the space has a past. In the late ’90s and early 2000s, building was restored. Today, the Campbell remains a destination for jazz and cocktails, and, if you must, a snack or two.

15 Vanderbilt Ave, New York, NY 10017

Visit Website

A photo looks down on the dining room of the Campbell, a tucked-away cocktail bar in Grand Central. — The interior of the Campbell.

Also featured in:

Dutch Kills

Created by late cocktail visionary Sasha Petraske, Dutch Kills is still one of the top places to go for original cocktails. Request a specialty cocktail based on liquor and taste preferences or order off the menu full of specific riffs on classic cocktails like the Tiger Chilled Coffee, two types of rum with cold brew, absinthe, and a float of sweet whipped cream. An upstairs music venue, Debbie’s, is in the works.

Open in Google Maps

2724 Jackson Ave, Long Island City, NY 11101

Visit Website

Katana Kitten

Japanese cocktail bar Katana Kitten has two settings depending on the mood: Upstairs is a more open area for sipping cocktails like its Amaretto Sour (rye, amaretto, salted plum, honey, lemon, egg white, red shiso), while the downstairs den is rowdier, closer in style to an izakaya. In its first year on the scene, Katana Kitten made a splash, taking home a title for “best new American bar.”

531 Hudson St, New York, NY 10014

Visit Website

Katana Kitten has a bar to the right with stools and lights hanging above — Katana Kitten has two floors of fun.

Also featured in:

Bar Pisellino

This diminutive bar from restaurateur Jody Williams and chef Rita Sodi features espresso and bomboloni during the day and wine and cocktails in the evening. Check out the collection of vermouth and amari. Drinks fall around the $16 range; snacks like panini are minimal.

52 Grove Street, 7th Ave S at, New York, NY 10014

Visit Website

Bar Pisellino’s interiors. — The inside of Bar Pisellino.

Also featured in:

Dante

This cocktail establishment transformed the 100-year-old Caffe Dante in 2015, reinvigorating the space with a contemporary all-day cafe and all-night drinking vibe. The signature concoction, the Garibaldi, simply mixes “fluffy” (fresh-pressed) orange juice with Campari for an easy-to-sip cocktail. Balance more liquor-forward drinks and discounted happy hour negronis with a few rounds of fresh pasta and flatbreads.

Open in Google Maps

79-81 MacDougal St, New York, NY 10012

Visit Website

The inside of a bar with white tiles and black stools. — Inside Dante.

Also featured in:

Death & Company

This influential bar is an icon of the craft cocktail revival. Having been credited with having the “world’s best cocktail menu” in 2010, it runs from drinks made with macadamia nut and chocolate black tea to red miso and eucalyptus. The bar is walk-in only, and cocktails start at around $15 each.

433 E 6th St, New York, NY 10009

Visit Website

Amor y Amargo

A bar that put Ravi DeRossi’s places on the map will close at the end of the year and reopen as All Hands in 2024; visit before this local legend closes. Since 2011, Amor y Amargo has been a destination for bitters cocktails. In 2021, the team expanded with a neighboring general store for customers interested in stocking up their at-home bars.

443 E 6th St, New York, NY 10009

Visit Website

Amor y Amargo.

Also featured in:

Bar Goto

Kenta Goto opened this contemporary Lower East Side izakaya in 2015 after years of bartending at the trailblazing Pegu Club, which closed in 2020. Here, Goto has crafted a list of eye-opening cocktails highlighting Japanese flavors and spanning all tastes. The small space also serves great food: Don’t sleep on the miso chicken wings or the okonomiyaki.

245 Eldridge St, New York, NY 10002

Visit Website

A wooden, L-shaped cocktail bar is outfitted with bar stools and an ample supply of bottled spirits. — Bar Goto on the Lower East Side.

Also featured in:

Double Chicken Please

This swanky bar from cocktail vets GN Chan and Fay Chen has a front room with “taptails” on draft, while the back room sells cocktails that reimagine familiar dishes in liquid form, like Japanese cold noodles, pizza, Key lime pie, beet salad, and mango sticky rice. Bar snacks include salted egg yolk chicken sandwiches and a macaron inspired by McDonald’s Big Macs.

115 Allen St, New York, NY 10002

Visit Website

Two people stand in front of a menu in a dimly lit bar. They each are wearing a black tunic over a white shirt. — GN Chan and Fay Chen of Double Chicken Please.

Attaboy

Two Milk & Honey veterans, Sam Ross and Michael McIlroy, opened this cocktail lounge in their former employers’ original home. They nixed the reservation-only system but kept the practice of making cocktails by request. Pony up a favorite liquor, or a desired flavor, and out comes the cocktail of your dreams. (Hopefully.) With its dim lighting and intimate vibe, this is a great place to start or end a night, which are also the times when it’s easiest to get a table.

134 Eldridge St, New York, NY 10002

Visit Website

Also featured in:

Overstory

Located on the 64th floor of 70 Pine Street, the fancy Overstory, sibling to Saga, offers one of the most dramatic views of any bar in the city. Cocktails range from a spin on an Old-Fashioned to vermouth cocktails, and a solid no-ABV collection. Look for popcorn, tater tots, fried chicken, and a black-truffle grilled Taleggio among snacks. Note there’s a $50 food and drink minimum.

70 Pine St 64th Floor, New York, NY 10005

Visit Website

A bar and its views of the city. — Overstory views.

Also featured in:

The Dead Rabbit

This acclaimed cocktail bar recently celebrated a decade on Water Street. In that time, the Dead Rabbit survived a fire and expanded its dining room, whose floors are still lined with sawdust shavings. Its Irish coffee still reigns supreme, but the cocktail list has since grown to include a diverse collection of cocktails from Ireland and elsewhere, with a couple of booze-free options, too.

30 Water St, New York, NY 10004

Visit Website

Bottles line the back shelf of a bar, the Dead Rabbit in the Financial District, whose floors are lined with sawdust shavings. — Sawdust shavings line the floor of the Dead Rabbit.

Also featured in:

Sunken Harbor Club

The upstairs bar at Gage & Tollner, tiki destination Sunken Harbor Club, opened in 2021, helmed by Fort Defiance’s St. John Frizell. The nautical touches in the space are accentuated by a drinks list that lists punch bowls adorned with flowers and other tropical libations. Reservations are available on weekdays; weekends are walk-in only.

372 Fulton St 2nd Floor, Brooklyn, NY 11201

Visit Website

An ornate indoor dining room, with a white countertop bar to the left and tables set for the service to the right. — Sunken Harbor Club is hidden above the main dining room of Gage & Tollner, pictured here.

Also featured in:

Clover Club

This cocktail bar from industry legend Julie Reiner functions as both a casual after-work hangout and a celebratory date-night destination. The menu lists egg nogs, hot drinks, non-alcoholic cocktails, and boozy punch bowls portioned for groups of four to six. Unlike some of the other bars on this list, it’s almost always possible to get a seat here — except maybe during brunch hours, when parents in the neighborhood gather for its sourdough waffles and huevos rancheros. Note: there’s a fireplace.

210 Smith St, Brooklyn, NY 11201

Visit Website

Also featured in:

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Sugar Monk

2292 Frederick Douglass Blvd, New York, NY 10027

This lively Harlem bar features over 20 original cocktails named after a work of art, event, or piece of music as well as an interesting line of botanical highballs, low-ABV cocktails, and seasonal sippers. The food menu includes mostly small plates: olives, popcorn, dumplings, and dessert. Check out its jazz lineup on Mondays.

2292 Frederick Douglass Blvd, New York, NY 10027

Visit Website

A dark bar with high shelves. — Behind the bar at Sugar Monk.

Bemelmans Bar

35 E 76th St, New York, NY 10021

A new generation of customers have claimed this swanky Upper East Side bar at the Carlyle as their own, says the New York Post, but if you’re craving Old New York, it remains an institution with great drinks and service, live piano music, an eclectic mix of patrons, and murals by Ludwig Bemelmans. Note: There’s a cover charge that starts at $10 per person.

35 E 76th St, New York, NY 10021

Visit Website

Bemelmans’ dining room, with cartoon murals on the wall — The murals at Bemelman’s.

Pebble Bar

67 W 49th St, New York, NY 10112

Spread across three stories of a Midtown townhouse, Rockefeller Center’s Pebble Bar comes from a roster of nightlife veterans and celebrity investors, including Pete Davidson of Saturday Night Live. The cocktail bar on the second floor is reserved for walk-ins, and don’t be surprised to find an after-work crowd wearing button-ups and backpacks. A brief food menu, geared towards after-work luxury, runs from $10 to $190 for a raw bar tower, served on the third floor, where a reservation is usually required. Drinks start at $20.

67 W 49th St, New York, NY 10112

Visit Website

Banquettes in a dark barroom. — Upstairs at the Pebble Bar.

The Campbell

15 Vanderbilt Ave, New York, NY 10017

Originally the Campbell apartment, this tucked-away venue is where millionaire railroad executive John W. Campbell one had an office in Grand Central. He died in 1957, and it was turned into a signalman’s office, before becoming an MTA Police office, where officers stored guns. It also held a stint as a small jail. Suffice it to say, the space has a past. In the late ’90s and early 2000s, building was restored. Today, the Campbell remains a destination for jazz and cocktails, and, if you must, a snack or two.

15 Vanderbilt Ave, New York, NY 10017

Visit Website

A photo looks down on the dining room of the Campbell, a tucked-away cocktail bar in Grand Central. — The interior of the Campbell.

Dutch Kills

2724 Jackson Ave, Long Island City, NY 11101

Created by late cocktail visionary Sasha Petraske, Dutch Kills is still one of the top places to go for original cocktails. Request a specialty cocktail based on liquor and taste preferences or order off the menu full of specific riffs on classic cocktails like the Tiger Chilled Coffee, two types of rum with cold brew, absinthe, and a float of sweet whipped cream. An upstairs music venue, Debbie’s, is in the works.

Open in Google Maps

2724 Jackson Ave, Long Island City, NY 11101

Visit Website

Katana Kitten

531 Hudson St, New York, NY 10014

Japanese cocktail bar Katana Kitten has two settings depending on the mood: Upstairs is a more open area for sipping cocktails like its Amaretto Sour (rye, amaretto, salted plum, honey, lemon, egg white, red shiso), while the downstairs den is rowdier, closer in style to an izakaya. In its first year on the scene, Katana Kitten made a splash, taking home a title for “best new American bar.”

531 Hudson St, New York, NY 10014

Visit Website

Katana Kitten has a bar to the right with stools and lights hanging above — Katana Kitten has two floors of fun.

Bar Pisellino

52 Grove Street, 7th Ave S at, New York, NY 10014

This diminutive bar from restaurateur Jody Williams and chef Rita Sodi features espresso and bomboloni during the day and wine and cocktails in the evening. Check out the collection of vermouth and amari. Drinks fall around the $16 range; snacks like panini are minimal.

52 Grove Street, 7th Ave S at, New York, NY 10014

Visit Website

Bar Pisellino’s interiors. — The inside of Bar Pisellino.

Dante

79-81 MacDougal St, New York, NY 10012

This cocktail establishment transformed the 100-year-old Caffe Dante in 2015, reinvigorating the space with a contemporary all-day cafe and all-night drinking vibe. The signature concoction, the Garibaldi, simply mixes “fluffy” (fresh-pressed) orange juice with Campari for an easy-to-sip cocktail. Balance more liquor-forward drinks and discounted happy hour negronis with a few rounds of fresh pasta and flatbreads.

Open in Google Maps

79-81 MacDougal St, New York, NY 10012

Visit Website

The inside of a bar with white tiles and black stools. — Inside Dante.

Death & Company

433 E 6th St, New York, NY 10009

This influential bar is an icon of the craft cocktail revival. Having been credited with having the “world’s best cocktail menu” in 2010, it runs from drinks made with macadamia nut and chocolate black tea to red miso and eucalyptus. The bar is walk-in only, and cocktails start at around $15 each.

433 E 6th St, New York, NY 10009

Visit Website

Amor y Amargo

443 E 6th St, New York, NY 10009

A bar that put Ravi DeRossi’s places on the map will close at the end of the year and reopen as All Hands in 2024; visit before this local legend closes. Since 2011, Amor y Amargo has been a destination for bitters cocktails. In 2021, the team expanded with a neighboring general store for customers interested in stocking up their at-home bars.

443 E 6th St, New York, NY 10009

Visit Website

Amor y Amargo.

Bar Goto

245 Eldridge St, New York, NY 10002

Kenta Goto opened this contemporary Lower East Side izakaya in 2015 after years of bartending at the trailblazing Pegu Club, which closed in 2020. Here, Goto has crafted a list of eye-opening cocktails highlighting Japanese flavors and spanning all tastes. The small space also serves great food: Don’t sleep on the miso chicken wings or the okonomiyaki.

245 Eldridge St, New York, NY 10002

Visit Website

A wooden, L-shaped cocktail bar is outfitted with bar stools and an ample supply of bottled spirits. — Bar Goto on the Lower East Side.

Double Chicken Please

115 Allen St, New York, NY 10002

This swanky bar from cocktail vets GN Chan and Fay Chen has a front room with “taptails” on draft, while the back room sells cocktails that reimagine familiar dishes in liquid form, like Japanese cold noodles, pizza, Key lime pie, beet salad, and mango sticky rice. Bar snacks include salted egg yolk chicken sandwiches and a macaron inspired by McDonald’s Big Macs.

115 Allen St, New York, NY 10002

Visit Website

Two people stand in front of a menu in a dimly lit bar. They each are wearing a black tunic over a white shirt. — GN Chan and Fay Chen of Double Chicken Please.

Attaboy

134 Eldridge St, New York, NY 10002

Two Milk & Honey veterans, Sam Ross and Michael McIlroy, opened this cocktail lounge in their former employers’ original home. They nixed the reservation-only system but kept the practice of making cocktails by request. Pony up a favorite liquor, or a desired flavor, and out comes the cocktail of your dreams. (Hopefully.) With its dim lighting and intimate vibe, this is a great place to start or end a night, which are also the times when it’s easiest to get a table.

134 Eldridge St, New York, NY 10002

Visit Website

Overstory

70 Pine St 64th Floor, New York, NY 10005

Located on the 64th floor of 70 Pine Street, the fancy Overstory, sibling to Saga, offers one of the most dramatic views of any bar in the city. Cocktails range from a spin on an Old-Fashioned to vermouth cocktails, and a solid no-ABV collection. Look for popcorn, tater tots, fried chicken, and a black-truffle grilled Taleggio among snacks. Note there’s a $50 food and drink minimum.

70 Pine St 64th Floor, New York, NY 10005

Visit Website

A bar and its views of the city. — Overstory views.

The Dead Rabbit

30 Water St, New York, NY 10004

This acclaimed cocktail bar recently celebrated a decade on Water Street. In that time, the Dead Rabbit survived a fire and expanded its dining room, whose floors are still lined with sawdust shavings. Its Irish coffee still reigns supreme, but the cocktail list has since grown to include a diverse collection of cocktails from Ireland and elsewhere, with a couple of booze-free options, too.

30 Water St, New York, NY 10004

Visit Website

Bottles line the back shelf of a bar, the Dead Rabbit in the Financial District, whose floors are lined with sawdust shavings. — Sawdust shavings line the floor of the Dead Rabbit.

Related Maps

Sunken Harbor Club

372 Fulton St 2nd Floor, Brooklyn, NY 11201

The upstairs bar at Gage & Tollner, tiki destination Sunken Harbor Club, opened in 2021, helmed by Fort Defiance’s St. John Frizell. The nautical touches in the space are accentuated by a drinks list that lists punch bowls adorned with flowers and other tropical libations. Reservations are available on weekdays; weekends are walk-in only.

372 Fulton St 2nd Floor, Brooklyn, NY 11201

Visit Website

An ornate indoor dining room, with a white countertop bar to the left and tables set for the service to the right. — Sunken Harbor Club is hidden above the main dining room of Gage & Tollner, pictured here.

Clover Club

210 Smith St, Brooklyn, NY 11201

This cocktail bar from industry legend Julie Reiner functions as both a casual after-work hangout and a celebratory date-night destination. The menu lists egg nogs, hot drinks, non-alcoholic cocktails, and boozy punch bowls portioned for groups of four to six. Unlike some of the other bars on this list, it’s almost always possible to get a seat here — except maybe during brunch hours, when parents in the neighborhood gather for its sourdough waffles and huevos rancheros. Note: there’s a fireplace.

210 Smith St, Brooklyn, NY 11201

Visit Website

Related Maps