The Best Cocktail Bars in New York City

New York invented the modern cocktail bar, then spent twenty years reinventing it. The first wave (Milk & Honey, Angel's Share, Little Branch) brought back the classics and the house rules. The second (Death & Co, PDT, Employees Only) turned the speakeasy into a global template. The current wave is weirder and more fun: martinis made with clarified tomato, highballs from Japanese bartending masters, Mexican-American drinks under red lights, tiki in a sunken ship.

This list covers all three generations, because the best of each are still pouring. We used 2026 award lists, official sites and recent coverage to confirm every bar is open, and we left out a few famous names that closed or that we could not verify. Prices here are rough: expect $18 to $25 for most cocktails.

The speakeasy question

Is the hidden-door bar still worth it? Short answer: sometimes.

The phone booth, the unmarked door, the ring-the-bell entrance: these were a gimmick even when they were new, but at the original bars the gimmick protected something real. A tiny room, a limited number of seats, a bartender who could actually talk to you. The problem is that a thousand imitators copied the door and skipped the drinks.

Our rule: go for the bartending, not the entrance. PDT, Employees Only, Raines Law Room, Little Branch and Angel's Share all still earn their mystique because the drinks are excellent and the rooms are run with care. If a bar's whole pitch is "you'll never find it," you probably should not bother.

PDT (Please Don't Tell)

East Village · 113 St Marks Pl · $$$

The one everyone knows: you walk into Crif Dogs, step into the vintage phone booth, pick up the receiver, and a wall swings open. What keeps it relevant is the bar program, which won a James Beard Award and still turns out some of the most precise drinks in the city. The hot dogs from next door, made in collaboration with the bar, are part of the deal.

Go for: a bourbon drink and a bar-exclusive hot dog. Know before you go: book on Resy, where tables release seven days out; a few bar seats go to walk-ins at the 5pm opening.

Employees Only

West Village · 510 Hudson St · $$$

Enter through a psychic's storefront into an Art Deco bar run by white-jacketed bartenders since 2004. It is a regular on world best-bar lists and one of the city's great late-night industry hangs. The kitchen runs until 3am and the bar until 4am.

Go for: a gin drink at 1am, when the industry crowd arrives. Know before you go: Sundays bring burlesque; weekends get very crowded.

Raines Law Room

Chelsea · 48 W 17th St · $$$

Ring the bell, wait to be seated, and use the call button at your table to summon a drink. The velvet rooms, Chesterfield sofas and tin ceilings make it one of the most romantic bars in the city. The original Chelsea location reopened after a building fire, and a second, four-room outpost runs at The William hotel at 24 E 39th St.

Go for: a quiet date with classic cocktails. Know before you go: there is often a wait at the door on weekends.

Little Branch

West Village · 20 7th Ave S · $$

Sasha Petraske's 2005 basement bar, still pouring impeccable classics with a live jazz combo most nights. House rules are strict: no name-dropping, no loud behavior, no hats for men. It is walk-in only and cash only.

Go for: a gimlet and a jazz set on a Tuesday. Know before you go: bring cash, and expect a line after 10pm. Our jazz clubs guide has more live-music drinking.

Angel's Share

West Village · 45 Grove St · $$$

The pioneering Japanese-style bar that opened in the East Village in 1993, closed in 2022 and reopened in the West Village in 2023 under the founder's daughter. The original mural, door and chandelier made the move. Drinks are meticulous, the room is calm, and the rules survived: no reservations, no standing, groups of four or fewer.

Go for: a quiet, precise drink with one other person. Know before you go: walk-in only; go early.

The new guard

Sip & Guzzle

West Village · 29 Cornelia St · $$$

Named the best bar in North America for 2026, and it earns it. Shingo Gokan and Steve Schneider split a townhouse into Guzzle, a lively street-level bar, and Sip, a smaller, quieter room downstairs. The Mirepoix martini and the Dirty Mango martini are the signatures, and the oversized espresso martini is a crowd-pleaser.

Go for: a martini flight upstairs, then a slow drink in Sip. Know before you go: open until 2am Wednesday to Saturday; expect a line.

Superbueno

East Village · 13 1st Ave · $$

A red-lit Mexican-American cocktail bar that has been on world best-bar lists since shortly after opening. The Green Mango Martini is the order, and the huitlacoche margaritas show how far the bar pushes flavor. It is loud, fun and serious about drinks all at once.

Go for: a Green Mango Martini and whatever the bartender is excited about. Know before you go: open until 2am nightly; arrive early for a seat.

Attaboy

Lower East Side · 134 Eldridge St · $$

No menu. You tell the bartender what you like, and they make something for you. Attaboy lives in the old Milk & Honey space and carries that bar's DNA forward in a small, narrow room. It is open until 3am daily and takes walk-ins and reservations.

Go for: a bespoke drink built around your favorite spirit. Know before you go: it is small; the doorman controls the flow. Pair it with our Lower East Side guide.

Double Chicken Please

Lower East Side · 115 Allen St · $$$

A two-part bar: the front room, Free Range, pours cartoon-inspired drinks, while the back room serves cocktails built to taste like dishes (the Japanese Cold Noodle and Mango Sticky Rice are the famous ones). It has been ranked among the best bars in the world. The execution is impressive, and the drinks are genuinely delicious, not just clever.

Go for: the back-room menu with a friend, ordering to share. Know before you go: reservations are required for the back room.

Death & Co

East Village · 433 E 6th St · $$$

The dim, dark-wood bar that helped define the modern cocktail menu when it opened in 2007. The rotating menus still set trends, and signatures like Occam's Razor (mezcal, yuzu, coconut cream) show the range. It remains one of the best places in the city to learn what you like.

Go for: a seat at the bar and a conversation about agave. Know before you go: arrive at 6pm opening to skip the wait.

Katana Kitten

West Village · 531 Hudson St · $$

A Japanese-American highball bar that has ranked among the world's best. Upstairs is bright and loud, downstairs is moodier, and the Mortadella Katsu Sando is essential. Highballs here are a religion.

Go for: a whisky highball and the sando. Know before you go: open until 2am most nights.

Bar Goto

Lower East Side · 245 Eldridge St · $$

Kenta Goto's Japanese-inflected cocktail bar blends Japanese precision with New York energy. The drinks are elegant and the snacks (okonomiyaki, miso chicken wings) are as good as the cocktails. It is a reliable, unpretentious great bar.

Go for: a sakura martini and okonomiyaki. Know before you go: it is small; go on a weeknight.

Schmuck.

East Village · 97 1st Ave · $$

A bar that puts unusual flavors (fennel-tomato, cinnamon bun) into drinks that somehow work. It has a sister bar next door, and both are among the most talked-about openings of recent years. Come curious.

Go for: the strangest thing on the menu. Know before you go: closed Mondays.

Seed Library

Midtown East · 51 E 30th St · $$

A low-lit bar with a hidden entry through an orange door or the Park Rose restaurant, known for unfiltered martinis and a koji hardshake with miso, egg white and cream. It is the best cocktail bar in the Koreatown and NoMad zone.

Go for: an unfiltered martini before dinner nearby. Know before you go: closed Sunday and Monday.

Nothing Really Matters

Midtown · 210 W 50th St · $$

A disco-ball speakeasy built into the 50th Street subway station, with drinks like a gazpacho-like Margherita Martini. It is the rare Times Square-adjacent bar New Yorkers seek out on purpose.

Go for: a post-theater drink. Know before you go: open until 2am Monday to Saturday.

Brooklyn

Sunken Harbor Club

Downtown Brooklyn · 372 Fulton St, 2nd floor · $$

A tiki bar designed like the inside of a sunken ship, upstairs from Gage & Tollner. The drinks are serious and elaborate, the room is fully committed to the bit, and it ranks near the top of Time Out's 2026 best bars list.

Go for: a rum-heavy drink with a crew of four. Know before you go: closes at 11pm on weeknights and midnight on weekends.

Clover Club

Carroll Gardens · 210 Smith St · $$

Julie Reiner's cocktail parlor, open since 2008 and still one of the best-run bars in Brooklyn. The Victorian-style room, the punch bowls and the classic-leaning menu make it a great first stop in Carroll Gardens.

Go for: a punch bowl with friends on a Saturday afternoon. Know before you go: it opens at noon on weekends.

Maison Premiere

Williamsburg · 298 Bedford Ave · $$$

A New Orleans-style oyster and absinthe bar with a horseshoe bar and a garden out back. The Old King Cole martini is shaken tableside, and the absinthe selection is the deepest around. Weekday oyster happy hour is famous. See our Williamsburg guide for more nearby.

Go for: oysters and an absinthe drip. Know before you go: expect a wait on weekends.

The grand rooms

Bemelmans Bar

Upper East Side · 35 E 76th St (The Carlyle) · $$$$

Murals by the creator of Madeline, red-jacketed bartenders, a live piano and some of the best martinis in the city. A Vesper runs about $28, a Manhattan about $30. It is not cheap, and it does not need to be.

Go for: one martini during the piano set. Know before you go: there is a cover when music plays; dress up a little.

The Dead Rabbit

Financial District · 30 Water St · $$

An award-winning Irish bar with a world-class Irish Coffee and a perfect pint of Guinness downstairs and a full cocktail parlor upstairs. It has been pouring since 2013 and is open until 3am on weekends.

Go for: an Irish Coffee at 4pm. Know before you go: downstairs gets live music and loud crowds.

The Shout NY take

For a first night, do the Lower East Side triangle: Attaboy, Double Chicken Please and Bar Goto, all a few minutes' walk apart. For a date, Raines Law Room or Angel's Share. For a celebration, Sip & Guzzle. And if you prefer a room with a view, head to our rooftop bars guide. For wine instead of spirits, try our natural wine bars guide.