clock menu more-arrow no yes mobile
A cocktail at Jac’s on Bond.
A cocktail at Jac’s on Bond.
Max Flatow/Authentic Hospitality

NYC’s Hottest New Cocktail Bars, March 2023

A cocktail bar from a Don Angie alum and a new party spot backed by Nicholas Braun make the list this month

View as Map
A cocktail at Jac’s on Bond.
| Max Flatow/Authentic Hospitality

Welcome to the Cocktail Heatmap, a guide to the hottest places to grab a dirty martini — okay fine, maybe an ironic Dirty Shirley — in New York City right now. After subsisting on takeout drinks served from plastic cups for the first year of the pandemic, the city’s cocktail bars are back in full swing, reinventing classics and cashing in on nostalgia.

Health experts consider dining out to be a high-risk activity for the unvaccinated; it may pose a risk for the vaccinated, especially in areas with substantial COVID transmission.

Read More
If you buy something or book a reservation from an Eater link, Vox Media may earn a commission. See our ethics policy.

Nubeluz

Copy Link

Following the opening of Zaytinya last fall, restaurateur José Andrés debuted Nubeluz, a rooftop bar at the Ritz-Carlton in Nomad. Cocktails like the Foggy Hill, made with mezcal, vermouth, Cynar, Aperol, and an orange-thyme “aromatic cloud” pair with sky-high views and caviar service.

The Manhattan skyline is visible from a cocktail bar with velvet chairs and booths.
Nubeluz sits on the 50th floor of the Ritz Carlton Nomad.
Bjorn Wallander/Nubeluz

Discolo

Copy Link

Discolo is the latest in a series of openings at this storied Chelsea address, which was once home to the upscale Italian restaurant Del Posto. Mel’s pizzeria came first, followed by Al Coro, the Italian tasting menu spot helmed by chef Melissa Rodriguez. This underground cocktail bar with a light-up ceiling that syncs to music is bringing up the rear.

A bartender pours a red mixer into a stainless steel container.
The ceiling syncs to music at Discolo.
Jutharat Pinyodoonyachet/Eater NY

Shinji's

Copy Link

Michelin-starred sushi bro destination Noda from Shigeyuki Tsunoda opened Shinji’s, a cocktail bar in the front of the restaurant. It’s named for the Tokyo fixer Shinji Nohara who, for 20 years, has connected travelers to food and restaurants around Tokyo — including the late Anthony Bourdain. Grab a seat at the horseshoe bar and order a couple of luxe snacks, like crab and uni, or wagyu with truffle mayo on milk bread, to go with cocktails like a vesper, dirty martini, or a soba cha cha cha

Martiny’s

Copy Link

New Yorkers mourned the closing of Angel’s Share in the East Village, but for cocktail enthusiasts, the same exacting standards of a Japanese bar — crystal-clear ice, balanced cocktails, and detail-oriented service — live on at Martiny’s. Takuma Watanabe, the head bartender at Angel’s Share for eight years, has converted a historic carriage house in Gramercy into his own establishment spanning three floors. Martinis are the specialty at this cozy spot, but Watanabe also has a collection of rare Japanese whiskies.

A low ball glass with a green matcha cocktail.
A matcha cocktail at Martiny’s.
Melanie Landsman/Eater NY

Pubkey opened in Greenwich Village last fall, taking over a subterranean space that has housed various pubs and dive bars over the last hundred years. Cocktails are straightforward and well-priced for the area but the biggest draw might be the food menu, served until late. Greg Proechel, a chef who trained at Eleven Madison Park, is serving hot dogs in a handful of regional styles, plus chopped cheeses, smash burgers, and loaded fries. The spot now accepts Bitcoin.

Patrons line up at a lengthy wooden bar counter, talking and sipping drinks.
Pubkey bills itself as a bitcoin bar.
Jutharat Pinyodoonyachet/Eater NY

Bar Americano

Copy Link

Did Greenpoint need another bar serving apertivi? Probably not. But the new spot, located at the street level of a landmarked apartment building, has apertivi aplenty and neighborhood charm. Saddle up to the rounded bar, and stop by for cocktails (there’s a surprisingly not-too-sweet appletini), wine, and beer, alongside several non-alcoholic apertivi options. Snacks include Mallorcan bread with tomato, croquettes with sofrito, and burrata with lavender.

A rounded bar with a wall of liquor.
Bar Americano’s golden glow is ideal for a date.
Bar Americano

Jac's on Bond

Copy Link

Jac’s on Bond in an 1830s townhouse, loops together the partners running what had been the Smile in the space since 2009, and Pebble Bar folks —plus the Wildair guys who designed the culinary side of the menu. Partner Carlos Quirarte described it to Vogue this way: “We wanted it to be a watering hole—a place where you can go get a drink that’s not too fancy, but you know, fancy enough.” Expect excellent people-watching, particularly because Cousin Greg aka Nicholas Braun is an investor.

A creamsicle pie is coming to Bond Street.
Food comes from the duo behind Wildair.
Max Flatow/Authentic Hospitality

Milady's

Copy Link

The Soho dive bar that closed in 2014 has been revived by Julie Reiner of Leyenda and Clover Club, where a Big Apple Martini and fancy gelatin shots are on the menu, side-by-side with a shot and a beer. (There’s also a zero-proof menu for January.) The food menu is equally as polarized, with chilled lobster tails as well as chicken tenders and loaded potato skins.

Blue pineapple-shaped jelly shots are presented in clam shells.
Gelatin shot called jigglers at Milady’s in Soho.
Shannon Sturgis/Milady’s

Eavesdrop

Copy Link

High-end audio equipment and fancy acoustic paneling set this cocktail bar apart from the many neighborhood bars in this stretch of Brooklyn. Eavesdrop opened last year, bringing a cocktail lounge and “listening bar” (think: vinyl records and live DJs playing from a custom speaker system) to Greenpoint. The team is going for a laid-back, living room-like atmosphere with light wood walls.

A wood paneled room is filled with records and small tables with black barstools.
Inside Eavesdrop, a cocktail lounge and “listening” bar in Greenpoint.
Peter Fisher/Eavesdrop

The East Village’s newest cocktail bar comes from the owners of Joyface, a ’70s-themed bar next door that can feel like a club on weekends. At HiLot, the vibe is more reined in, but only slightly. Cocktails start at around $20 each, with names like “the OnlyFans,” and tables can be reserved on Tock ahead of time. (The bar claims to accept walk-ins, but really, it’s worth making a reservation.) While Joyface has come to be known for its waterbed, at HiLot, find sexy design touches like a mirrored ceiling and clawfoot tub in its bathroom.

A 1970s-themed booth.
HiLot is dripping in vibes.
Rachel Robshaw/HiLot

Wiggle Room

Copy Link

At Wiggle Room — from the team behind hot spots like Mister Paradise and Pretty Ricky’s — find riffs on classic cocktails. The vesper martini, known for its potent mix of gin and vodka, is reborn as the wiggle ’tini and gets a touch of cherry blossom. For espresso martini lovers, their version, which they have on tap, is made from vodka, cacao rum, and cold brew. Any of these drinks are liable to lead to a night out, as the first floor is set up for dancing with a rotating lineup of DJs.

A highball glass with a fizzy cocktail and several ice cubes on a black-and-white table.
A highball from Wiggle Room.
Jenna Murray/Spilled Milk Creative

Beyond The Pale

Copy Link

A family all from Ireland and veterans of Fiddlesticks Pub, with a brother who is a Don Angie alum, have teamed up to open Beyond the Pale bar. The cocktails here are grouped from the low-ABV “calm, cool, and collected,” and “hyped-up highballs,” to “truth comes out,” with washed martini drinks, and “ready to rumble” espresso-based cocktails. And yes, there’s a “stone-cold sober” section, too.

Juneshine

Copy Link

Southern California-based brand Juneshine has opened in Brooklyn with a 64-seat bar, its first on the East Coast. The corner space is spread out over two areas: a relaxed taproom up front and a lounge in the back with group seating and live DJs. Choose among around a dozen hard kombuchas in pints and flights, with flavors like honey-ginger and blood orange-mint. The fermented drinks all hover around six-percent ABV — a hair stronger than a Blue Moon — with Juneshine canned cocktails, natural wine, sparkling cosmopolitans, and other drinks for sale. A small food menu lists oysters, tinned fish, shrimp cocktails, and cheese.

A high-ceilinged dining room is decorated with light wood furniture and hanging lights.
Juneshine’s first east coast taproom is in Williamsburg.
Liz Clayman/Juneshine

South Soho Bar

Copy Link

It’s been two years since the owners of Chinese Tuxedo opened the Tyger, their pan-Asian restaurant on the edge of Soho and Chinatown. Last fall, the team followed up with a small bar next door with a bar counter, booth seating, and a list of classic cocktails — negronis, martinis, margaritas, and so on — priced at $19 each. There’s a short food menu ranging from chicken nuggets and hot dogs to steak and fries.

H&H Reserve

Copy Link

Falling somewhere between a dive bar and a tavern, H&H Reserve, from the folks behind Temkin’s in Greenpoint, brings a new option for cheap drinks and late-night food to Williamsburg. Draft cocktails, including a Negroni and a Ferrari (half Fernet-Branca and half Campari), are priced at $10 each, and massive 25-ounce mugs of beer start at $6. The bar is open from noon until 4 a.m. every day, with Chicago dogs, Italian beef sandwiches, and other foods from Dog Day Afternoon available at a window in the back until 2 a.m. 

A Chicago dog and food in a blue coffee cup on a red tray.
Chicago dogs, Italian beef sandwiches, and more are served until 2 a.m.
Luke Fortney/Eater NY

Nubeluz

Following the opening of Zaytinya last fall, restaurateur José Andrés debuted Nubeluz, a rooftop bar at the Ritz-Carlton in Nomad. Cocktails like the Foggy Hill, made with mezcal, vermouth, Cynar, Aperol, and an orange-thyme “aromatic cloud” pair with sky-high views and caviar service.

The Manhattan skyline is visible from a cocktail bar with velvet chairs and booths.
Nubeluz sits on the 50th floor of the Ritz Carlton Nomad.
Bjorn Wallander/Nubeluz

Discolo

Discolo is the latest in a series of openings at this storied Chelsea address, which was once home to the upscale Italian restaurant Del Posto. Mel’s pizzeria came first, followed by Al Coro, the Italian tasting menu spot helmed by chef Melissa Rodriguez. This underground cocktail bar with a light-up ceiling that syncs to music is bringing up the rear.

A bartender pours a red mixer into a stainless steel container.
The ceiling syncs to music at Discolo.
Jutharat Pinyodoonyachet/Eater NY

Shinji's

Michelin-starred sushi bro destination Noda from Shigeyuki Tsunoda opened Shinji’s, a cocktail bar in the front of the restaurant. It’s named for the Tokyo fixer Shinji Nohara who, for 20 years, has connected travelers to food and restaurants around Tokyo — including the late Anthony Bourdain. Grab a seat at the horseshoe bar and order a couple of luxe snacks, like crab and uni, or wagyu with truffle mayo on milk bread, to go with cocktails like a vesper, dirty martini, or a soba cha cha cha

Martiny’s

New Yorkers mourned the closing of Angel’s Share in the East Village, but for cocktail enthusiasts, the same exacting standards of a Japanese bar — crystal-clear ice, balanced cocktails, and detail-oriented service — live on at Martiny’s. Takuma Watanabe, the head bartender at Angel’s Share for eight years, has converted a historic carriage house in Gramercy into his own establishment spanning three floors. Martinis are the specialty at this cozy spot, but Watanabe also has a collection of rare Japanese whiskies.

A low ball glass with a green matcha cocktail.
A matcha cocktail at Martiny’s.
Melanie Landsman/Eater NY

Pubkey

Pubkey opened in Greenwich Village last fall, taking over a subterranean space that has housed various pubs and dive bars over the last hundred years. Cocktails are straightforward and well-priced for the area but the biggest draw might be the food menu, served until late. Greg Proechel, a chef who trained at Eleven Madison Park, is serving hot dogs in a handful of regional styles, plus chopped cheeses, smash burgers, and loaded fries. The spot now accepts Bitcoin.

Patrons line up at a lengthy wooden bar counter, talking and sipping drinks.
Pubkey bills itself as a bitcoin bar.
Jutharat Pinyodoonyachet/Eater NY

Bar Americano

Did Greenpoint need another bar serving apertivi? Probably not. But the new spot, located at the street level of a landmarked apartment building, has apertivi aplenty and neighborhood charm. Saddle up to the rounded bar, and stop by for cocktails (there’s a surprisingly not-too-sweet appletini), wine, and beer, alongside several non-alcoholic apertivi options. Snacks include Mallorcan bread with tomato, croquettes with sofrito, and burrata with lavender.

A rounded bar with a wall of liquor.
Bar Americano’s golden glow is ideal for a date.
Bar Americano

Jac's on Bond

Jac’s on Bond in an 1830s townhouse, loops together the partners running what had been the Smile in the space since 2009, and Pebble Bar folks —plus the Wildair guys who designed the culinary side of the menu. Partner Carlos Quirarte described it to Vogue this way: “We wanted it to be a watering hole—a place where you can go get a drink that’s not too fancy, but you know, fancy enough.” Expect excellent people-watching, particularly because Cousin Greg aka Nicholas Braun is an investor.

A creamsicle pie is coming to Bond Street.
Food comes from the duo behind Wildair.
Max Flatow/Authentic Hospitality

Milady's

The Soho dive bar that closed in 2014 has been revived by Julie Reiner of Leyenda and Clover Club, where a Big Apple Martini and fancy gelatin shots are on the menu, side-by-side with a shot and a beer. (There’s also a zero-proof menu for January.) The food menu is equally as polarized, with chilled lobster tails as well as chicken tenders and loaded potato skins.

Blue pineapple-shaped jelly shots are presented in clam shells.
Gelatin shot called jigglers at Milady’s in Soho.
Shannon Sturgis/Milady’s

Eavesdrop

High-end audio equipment and fancy acoustic paneling set this cocktail bar apart from the many neighborhood bars in this stretch of Brooklyn. Eavesdrop opened last year, bringing a cocktail lounge and “listening bar” (think: vinyl records and live DJs playing from a custom speaker system) to Greenpoint. The team is going for a laid-back, living room-like atmosphere with light wood walls.

A wood paneled room is filled with records and small tables with black barstools.
Inside Eavesdrop, a cocktail lounge and “listening” bar in Greenpoint.
Peter Fisher/Eavesdrop

HiLot

The East Village’s newest cocktail bar comes from the owners of Joyface, a ’70s-themed bar next door that can feel like a club on weekends. At HiLot, the vibe is more reined in, but only slightly. Cocktails start at around $20 each, with names like “the OnlyFans,” and tables can be reserved on Tock ahead of time. (The bar claims to accept walk-ins, but really, it’s worth making a reservation.) While Joyface has come to be known for its waterbed, at HiLot, find sexy design touches like a mirrored ceiling and clawfoot tub in its bathroom.

A 1970s-themed booth.
HiLot is dripping in vibes.
Rachel Robshaw/HiLot

Wiggle Room

At Wiggle Room — from the team behind hot spots like Mister Paradise and Pretty Ricky’s — find riffs on classic cocktails. The vesper martini, known for its potent mix of gin and vodka, is reborn as the wiggle ’tini and gets a touch of cherry blossom. For espresso martini lovers, their version, which they have on tap, is made from vodka, cacao rum, and cold brew. Any of these drinks are liable to lead to a night out, as the first floor is set up for dancing with a rotating lineup of DJs.

A highball glass with a fizzy cocktail and several ice cubes on a black-and-white table.
A highball from Wiggle Room.
Jenna Murray/Spilled Milk Creative

Beyond The Pale

A family all from Ireland and veterans of Fiddlesticks Pub, with a brother who is a Don Angie alum, have teamed up to open Beyond the Pale bar. The cocktails here are grouped from the low-ABV “calm, cool, and collected,” and “hyped-up highballs,” to “truth comes out,” with washed martini drinks, and “ready to rumble” espresso-based cocktails. And yes, there’s a “stone-cold sober” section, too.

Juneshine

Southern California-based brand Juneshine has opened in Brooklyn with a 64-seat bar, its first on the East Coast. The corner space is spread out over two areas: a relaxed taproom up front and a lounge in the back with group seating and live DJs. Choose among around a dozen hard kombuchas in pints and flights, with flavors like honey-ginger and blood orange-mint. The fermented drinks all hover around six-percent ABV — a hair stronger than a Blue Moon — with Juneshine canned cocktails, natural wine, sparkling cosmopolitans, and other drinks for sale. A small food menu lists oysters, tinned fish, shrimp cocktails, and cheese.

A high-ceilinged dining room is decorated with light wood furniture and hanging lights.
Juneshine’s first east coast taproom is in Williamsburg.
Liz Clayman/Juneshine

South Soho Bar

It’s been two years since the owners of Chinese Tuxedo opened the Tyger, their pan-Asian restaurant on the edge of Soho and Chinatown. Last fall, the team followed up with a small bar next door with a bar counter, booth seating, and a list of classic cocktails — negronis, martinis, margaritas, and so on — priced at $19 each. There’s a short food menu ranging from chicken nuggets and hot dogs to steak and fries.

H&H Reserve

Falling somewhere between a dive bar and a tavern, H&H Reserve, from the folks behind Temkin’s in Greenpoint, brings a new option for cheap drinks and late-night food to Williamsburg. Draft cocktails, including a Negroni and a Ferrari (half Fernet-Branca and half Campari), are priced at $10 each, and massive 25-ounce mugs of beer start at $6. The bar is open from noon until 4 a.m. every day, with Chicago dogs, Italian beef sandwiches, and other foods from Dog Day Afternoon available at a window in the back until 2 a.m. 

A Chicago dog and food in a blue coffee cup on a red tray.
Chicago dogs, Italian beef sandwiches, and more are served until 2 a.m.
Luke Fortney/Eater NY

Related Maps