12 Essential Cocktail Bars in New York City

In a dingy dorm room on the night before graduation, my roommate waxed poetic about the siren call of New York City. Hailing from Nevada, he was planning to move to Manhattan for an entry-level finance job. New York was the place to be, he explained over swigs of Mumms, because it united the most elite actors in every field and profession. Gotham amassed not only the shrewdest financiers but culture’s brightest lights—the most creative chefs, the most beautiful models, the most influential intellectuals and artists. My friend hungered for big lights and Broadway nights—for summits of glory as lofty as the pinnacles of the skyscrapers. 

His take on New York’s tradition of excellence applies to cocktail bars as much as any other industry. Worthy cocktail bars grace even the most unexpected corners of America, but nowhere rivals New York for the sheer quantity and variety of temples of mixology. From menus hyper-focused on Japanese or Italian libations to Jazz Age speakeasies and avant-garde lounges, it’s the Cocktail Capital of the Universe. Below are some standout cocktail bars across the five boroughs, a medley of well-known institutions and a few noteworthy newcomers.

Located within the historic Hotel Martinique, a French Renaissance belle from the 1920s, the Bronze Owl is quintessential New York—the type of bar where you half expect to see the ghosts of Frank Sinatra or Anthony Bourdain. Even the maître d’, Yannis, looks like a character from a Martin Scorsese movie with his pencil-thin mustache and three-piece suit. With soft lighting, plush banquettes, and a quiet atmosphere, the Bronze Owl is a date-night spot par excellence. 

The cocktail menu cleaves to pre-Prohibition classics—think Sidecars, Manhattans, and Last Words—but with an emphasis on Italian amari. The food also leans towards Bella Italia, with tapas-like plates of meatballs, charcuterie, crudo, and one of the best pizzas in Herald Square.

Adorned with calligraphy scrolls and perfumed with rare incense, Odo might be the closest approximation of Kyoto’s elegant refinement on this side of the Pacific Ocean. There are four distinct restaurants within Odo, and walking from the front to the back of the premises is like unnesting a matryoshka doll, with each chamber revealing its own unique menu, artwork, and aesthetic. 

While the speakeasy Odo Lounge is the star for cocktails, note that HALL, the entrance bar, serves an A5 wagyu burger that ranks among New York City’s finest. Beyond HALL lies a beautiful wooden counter, where chef Hiroki Odo serves Michelin-awarded kaiseki, a parade of small plates that showcase seasonal ingredients. Walk past the kaiseki counter and, finally, like a mystical pilgrim ascending the circles of Paradise, you’ll reach Odo Lounge. Softly illuminated and appointed with plush couches and a tiny two-seater bar, it houses a cache of near-mythical Japanese whiskeys. 

Rhon, Odo Lounge’s head bartender, is like the Walter White of mixology—geeking out on the molecular interactions of ingredients with the obsession of a mad chemist. He features sake and shochu in many of his cocktails and has a penchant for inventing Nipponified riffs on classic cocktails. The “Reverse Manhattan” comes paired with a bowl of A5 wagyu jerky—thin slices of beef that almost dissolve in your mouth. To pair with the cocktails, the menu includes treats like wagyu steaks decked with fresh uni, sushi, and mango soft serve.

The Flatiron Room boasts a whiskey collection rivaling that of Jack Rose, the Washington D.C. bar home to the largest public whiskey library on earth. In addition to its god-tier whiskey collection, The Flatiron Room hosts virtuosic live jazz most nights of the week.

Each member of the Flatiron Room’s bar staff completes training with David Broom, an internationally renowned whiskey expert and author. The thick, leather-bound whiskey menu is a roster of rare treasures from Kentucky—including a few choice picks from the Van Winkle Family—as well as Scotches, Japanese whiskeys, and bourbons from small distilleries across the U.S. The food menu is a tight list of luxurious morsels like sushi, aged steaks, and caviar. 

Union Square has no shortage of exceptional dining, but Singlish, a Singaporean cocktail bar, stands out even in such a gastronomically vaunted neighborhood. Like the dialect of Singlish itself—English inflected with Chinese, Malay, and Tamil—the cocktails showcase the kaleidoscope of flavors characteristic of the Lion City. The building was once the home of a reclusive writer, and the exposed wooden rafters and beautiful chandeliers lend an intimate ambiance.

The bartenders at Singlish are fond of inventing new recipes for milk punch, incorporating Southeast Asian ingredients like osmanthus syrup and hibiscus tea. Milk Punch is difficult to make—entailing curdling milk with citrus juice and then straining the mixture to remove the solids—but the time-intensive process yields a cocktail with a delightfully silky mouthfeel. Central to Singlish’s mission is to introduce New Yorkers to lesser-known Asian spirits like baijiu and shochu. The food is mostly light bites, with Southeast Asian favorites like papaya salad and duck tongue. For more filling fare, order the Api Api chicken sliders—crispy fried bird on a slider bun and flavored with Singaporean spices.

Superbueno is another perennial honoree on the 50 Best List. If there were a Cardinal College of agave spirits Superbueno would be consecrated as an international shrine. Superbueno’s cocktails feature vivid Mexican ingredients like pasilla chili, sal de gusano, and huitlacoche—the inky black corn fungus known as the truffle of Mexico. The cocktail selection rotates regularly, with excellent mocktails alongside tequila- and mezcal-based elixirs. Dishes, mostly small plates, include fish tacos, grilled cheeses stuffed with birria, and guacamole as flavorful as you’d find in a beach town in Jalisco.

Death & Co. is a New York City institution as timeless as Peter Luger, Aquavit, or Smith & Wollensky—a must-visit destination on many a NYC culinary bucket list. (It also has locations in Denver, Washington, D.C., and Los Angeles.) In the early aughts, an era when cocktails were largely limited to sugar bombs and tiki drinks, Death & Co. took a bold step back to the basics. By reviving classic recipes and prioritizing high-quality ingredients, Death & Co. helped inaugurate the craft cocktail movement in the United States. Like Alan Lomax, the cultural anthropologist who traveled the country archiving timeless American folk songs, Death & Co.’s team researched and revived long-forgotten cocktail recipes from the Jazz Age. 

Wait times can be lengthy, especially on weekends, but the reward is well worth your patience. The ambiance is lively but still feels intimate, with leather booths, dark wood paneling, and moody lighting. The menu is expansive, showcasing both timeless recipes and whimsical inventions from the masterful bartenders. My personal strategy at Death & Co. is the Japanese omakase approach: I share my preferred spirits and mood with the bartender and let him surprise me. So far, this method has yet to disappoint.

Like Proteus, the shape-shifting Greek god, Hidden Bar—the speakeasy tucked behind Back Bar in the Kimpton Eventi Hotel—recreates the ambiance, cocktails, and menus of renowned bars across the world. Past collaborations have included Two Schmucks in Barcelona and BlackTail, another iconic New York City bar.

Recently, Hidden Bar joined forces with 67 Orange Street, one of New York’s oldest Black-owned bars. The cozy, wood-paneled salon has been meticulously designed to the bygone Harlem watering hole’s distinctive charm, complete with its wallpaper, décor, and curated playlists. Along the walls, you’ll find vinyl records from legendary hip-hop, R&B, and funk artists, as well as a small library featuring classic works from the Harlem Renaissance.

Hidden Bar has a small but expertly curated whiskey selection, including premium bottles from Japan. My favorite cocktail from their 67 Orange collab is the The Kansas City Refresher, bourbon enlivened with ginger, cardamom, and lemon. The food is also an homage to Harlem, and the fried chicken sandwich ranks among the best in Chelsea.

A core principle of Japanese craftsmanship—whether in fashion, automobile design, or the culinary arts—is monozukuri, obsessive attention to detail paired with a desire for eternal improvement. This ideal is famously illustrated in the documentary Jiro Dreams of Sushi, in which the 90-year-old sushi master Jiro Ono states that even after nearly 70 years behind the counter, he continues to hone his craft. Sip&Guzzle exemplifies monozukuri in the art of mixology.

The original Sip&Guzzle is in Tokyo, and the vibe of the Greenwich Village location is a spiritual marriage between Japan and New York. This location is partitioned into two salons: Guzzle, the buzzier and more spacious upper level; and Sip, a subterranean sanctuary in which cocktail craft is elevated to the elegance of Zen calligraphy. In addition to coveted whiskeys from Yamazaki, Hibiki, and Chichibu, you’ll find rare spirits like Okinawan rum, shochu, and umeshu. The dishes are as creative and luxurious as the cocktails. Standouts include the A5 wagyu sandwich, marbled slices of steak between loaves of milk bread and garnished with house-made pickles, and the foie gras, spaghetti-like strands of duck pate atop brioche. 

When friends ask me where to find the best martini in New York City, my knee-jerk answer is Vestry, a mainstay inside The Dominick Hotel. The Vespry Martini, crafted with Procera Blue Dot gin and a dash of Cyril Zangs—a delicate cider from Normandy—is as pristine and pleasing as the dining room’s minimalist decor. With soft lofting and subdued vibes,Vestry is a sure bet when the occasion calls for charming Tinderella.  

As for food, Vestry is famous for artistically presented dishes from the masterful hand of chef Shuan Heggatt. The bread service comes with nori-infused butter, and the menu in general emphasizes the sea. Hamachi crudo, fresh oysters, and seafood towers are highlights. The wines are as resplendent as the cocktails, with curated treasures from Europe, Australia, and California. 

A lively salon adorned with polished brass and warm wooden accents, Dear Strangers is my favorite haunt for catching up with friends over drinks. The cocktails are of a classic bent but with nods to Latin American, Spain, and India. Dear Strangers makes their tonic water in house, and the extensive list of gin & tonics runs the flavor gamut from clean and simple to wild-hair concoctions infused with South Asian spices like fenugreek and cumin. 

Dishes are eclectic light bites and, like the cocktail menu, the food amalgamates the flavors of Latin America and South Asia. The smoked chicken croquettes, reminiscent of coxinha, fried chicken dumplings served in Brazilian bars, are a superb shareable snack. For something more filling, the short rib, garnished with chorizo puree and avocado, hits the spot.

I would be remiss to limit any New York City story to Manhattan and Brooklyn. Dutch Kills is more than a cocktail bar—it’s helped transform Long Island City, a Queens enclave once primarily known for taxi lots, into a thriving and trendy neighborhood. Dutch Kills’ owner, Richie Boccato, was a protégé of the late Sasha Petraske, the legendary bartender and author of the essential cocktail guide Regarding Cocktails. Both Pretraske and Boccato were instrumental mixologists in reigniting national interest in classic cocktails and speakeasy culture. 

The bar’s quirky name comes from the Dutch word for “creek” or “brook,” an homage to the era long ago when the flag of the Netherlands flew over the East River. Boccato approaches ice-making with the precision of an aerospace engineer, and his other venture, Hundredweight Ice, supplies most of New York City’s best cocktail bars. The Tiger Chilled Coffee, made with two types of dark rum, cold brew coffee, and absinthe, remains the tastiest coffee cocktail I have ever tasted. And, heed ye, bourbon lovers: Pours of Pappy Van Winkle at Dutch Kills are, believe it or not, relatively affordable.

Wayward Fare, a recently opened restaurant in Brooklyn’s Prospect Heights, has one of my favorite menus in New York—a whimsical mosaic of Spanish, Moroccan, and South Asian flavors dreamed up by chef Aktar Nawab. Next door to Wayward Fare, Alta Calidad, another brainchild of chef Nawab, is ostensibly a Mexican restaurant, but the cocktails also feature an eclectic medley of global influences. Alongside the mezcal and tequila behind the bar, you find the likes of Indian masalas and Italian amari. 

Alta Calidad won a Michelin Bib Gourmand in 2024, and the well-curated food menu features dishes from across Mexico. One of the more eccentric dishes is the Shrimp Gobernador tacos, succulent fried crustaceans garnished with a peanut-matcha salsa. When I patronize Alta Calidad on a cold winter night, I usually order the short rib entree, which comes with elote and charred shishito peppers.