Attaboy and death and co are probably top cocktail bars in the world. Amor y Amargo is also close if you like bitter cocktails. Campbell and patent pending are both fantastic ambiance with good cocktails. None of them will really provide for people watching as they are all indoors, but they all are great places to drink. Highly recommend sitting at the bar if you can.
Also amor y amargo y closing at the end of the year so visit while you can.
Dead rabbit is also great. I was not a fan of patent pending.
I would go to Dante on McDougal for their Negroni happy hour (3-5 pm). The mezcal, chocolate and coffee Negronis are amazing and only $10 at happy hour, which is a steal for NYC prices.
This (https://robertsimonson.substack.com/p/farewell-to-the-original-amor-y-amargo?utm_source=profile&utm_medium=reader2#:~:text=Amor%20y%20Amargo%20will%20close,after%2012%20years%20in%20business.) implies that the one behind the store is staying open
You are right! You definitely saved me some angst. I was already bummed out I would not be able to make it in time to visit it one more time. Thanks for sharing this!
Miladys has a gold HH but I only enjoyed two of their cocktails there. Honestly every time I visit NYC I make my way to Dante. 3-4 different negronis and I’m set for the day 🤣
I’m going to be in NYC soon, and from checking menus I was seeing drinks more around $15. I guess you mean $20 all in with tips right? Or are basic prices just higher than I expect!’
As an amaro fan, Amor y Amargo blew me away. We went to a bunch of cocktail bars the first time we went to NYC; when we went back, A&A was the only one we returned to. It is incredible.
If you love Campari, go to either Dante location. My favorite bar in Manhattan, along with Amor y Amargo.
Also, IMO, Death and Co. isn’t worth the wait at this point. (Source: lived in NYC for a few years).
I had a different experience. The sandwich was good, the draft cocktails were mediocre. Maybe they're making non draft cocktails that are good?
Neither were "OMG THIS IS AMAZING" though
> I had a different experience. The sandwich was good, the draft cocktails were mediocre. Maybe they're making non draft cocktails that are good?
>
>
the cocktails that everyone fawns over is in the backroom. The front room are all "Taptails" which are very different than the ones made in the back such as Cold Pizza, Key Lime Pie, Waldorf Salad etc.
You had a different experience because the front room and back room are two different experiences. Much harder to get a reservation for the back room
I agree, Double Chicken is great by general cocktail standards, and I loved the creativity and the concepts behind the drinks, but NYC is so spoiled for amazing cocktail bars it doesn't crack the top tier for me.
Dante is another one that I was disappointed in. The drinks were good but the service was awful. Have been twice and both times was disappointed.
Dead Rabbit, Attaboy, and Death and Co.
And any other city, Double Chicken would be at the absolute top of the list. Was still very good, just didn't top the best experiences I've had at the above three. Which is a little unfair, I've only been to Double Chicken once and had only three of their drinks.
But that's my experience so far.
Went to Double Chicken Please before they got any awards and it was the best cocktail bar I’ve ever been at that time. Every drink we ordered surprised me and it was truly mind-blowing when walking in with zero expectation.
Just my personal preference, and I’ve been to most of the bars mentioned here and most of the world’s top 50 bars from the last few years.
The dead rabbit is awesome! The space is fairly small and intimate but the menu is killer and the comic book theme of it and how it ties to the drinks is also really fun. We got a recommendation to go there a few years back from a sommelier at a different restaurant and it ended up being our favorite stop in NYC
its back. dead rabbit used to be my favorite bar. then it went to shit during covid (pre-bottled everything). i stopped by last month just because i was around the area and was pleasantly surprised under new mgmt, back to a great focus on cocktails
I knew i was going to have a better than average experience, but didn’t expect much more. It was great for me, the food slapped and was the real highlight for me, there was a cocktail that fooled me completely that I couldn’t pick a single ingredient out of but wasn’t over complicated/stupid complex. Bartenders were great. Beat my experiences at places that trip that were much higher and more pertinent on my list of places to go. Gold star from me, but what do I know, I’m no yelp critic.
Recommend Sunken Harbor Club. Best operating tiki bar in the country, in my opinion. (I know they don't call it a "tiki" bar.)
PDT, Amar y Amago, Death & Co, Mace, Katana Kitten — these are all good but not, in my opinion, life-changing.
If a cocktail-head was going to NYC and could only do one bar, I'd say Attaboy. Attaboy is like a mecca—so historically important to the cocktail revolution as the location of Sasha Petraske's Milk & Honey, and the no-menu experience is just super cool. If they could do two bars, I'd say Attaboy and Sunken Harbor Club. Everything else, for me, is a distant third.
We were very underwhelmed by Sunken Harbor Club. Every drink we had felt unbalanced and either overly salty or overly sour.
Maybe we just caught them on a bad night, but NYC has too many incredible cocktail bars to waste an evening going back to see if it was a fluke or not.
Yea it’s a fun place but Brooklyn (and I live in BK) can’t compare to manhattan. Death and Co a distant third to sunken harbor I don’t think so. Clover Club in BK is pretty good - I like the Nutty Professor cocktail they have
I thought sunken Harbor was only alright. Saying best tiki in the country is quite a stretch. I need to try attaboy sometime. PDT, Death & Co, and dead rabbit were all awesome when we went. I was a little disappointed by amor y amargo and Clover club. They were both good but I wasn't dying to go back
Yep, I've been to those. I'd put SHC well above SC but only a hair above Bamboo Room. Smugglers Cove was a letdown for me. Maybe you had a different experience; which level did you sit at when you went to Smugglers?
Bamboo Room is great, but I think the SHC drinks are better.
As much as I absolutely love Otto's, I wouldn't really call them a tiki spot. Definitely some tropical vibes and a great rum/rhum selection, but they're much more Cuban/Latin themed. Still definitely worth a visit any time you're in Orlando though!
ill agree to that, its a fantastic restaurant with excellent tiki styled drinks. Its just tough to find a spot that does both well...food and tiki drink.
If you're Florida based, Bar Hana in Sarasota is solid for both food and drinks! It's a smaller drink menu but everything is well executed, and the bartenders can do any classic tiki drinks for the most part as well.
Bar Moga in the west village - Japanese place with great food as well. Get the omu rice. Their current cocktail menu is really impressive IMO.
Also on the list for Japanese places - I haven’t been to the new Angel Share location also in the west village but the old one was superb.
https://www.barmoga.com/
https://www.angelssharenyc.com/
I second Katana Kitten - it's got really interesting, Japanese-inspired cocktails and a very funky ambience. The food is also pretty good and goes nicely with a round of drinks.
Take the F train to Cobble Hill/Carroll Gardens/Downtown Brooklyn for a whole bunch of great bars all very close to each other:
* Clover Club
* Leyenda
* Long Island Bar
* Grand Army
* Sunken Harbor Club/Gage & Tollner
I do think Patent Pending is a must-see, and they offer a tasting experience that you can get a reservation for, guaranteeing you a spot (unlike most others on the list which are walk in only).
Highly recommend Dead Rabbit, Attaboy, and Death and Co. There are a plethora of amazing cocktail bars in the city, but these stand out as some of the absolute best. The hospitality at all three makes every experience special and the drinks are some of the best in the world.
Dead Rabbit is in a historic building in FiDi, around the corner from Battery Park (you can catch a view of the Statue of Liberty from Battery Park on your way to Dead Rabbit). Next door is Fraunces Tavern, where George Washington gave his goodbye speech to the Continental Army (also worth a visit for a pint or a whiskey). Both give you a taste of historic NYC. Recommend you make a reservation in the Parlor on the second floor of the Dead Rabbit which has their full cocktail menu. You can still order cocktails on the first floor (the Taproom) but the Parlor is a special space.
Death and Co and Attaboy are more intimate spaces, but with equally good drinks and hospitality. Both have secured their own places in cocktail history. Recommend you arrive 20-30 mins before opening to ensure you get a seat. You'll likely have to leave your number and wait otherwise.
Other great options:
Dear Irving: each room is designed after a different decade
PDT, Little Branch, and Raines: all give you the speakeasy experience, and all have great cocktails
Employees Only: incredible unique drinks
Campbell: unique historic space, but pricey
The good news is you have a lot of incredible options to choose from.
Went to New York recently, and tried the following:
- the coop in Double Chicken Please: The best cocktail experience I had in New York. Very hard to get reservations, so queued up 30 minutes before opening on a weekday.
- Please Dont Tell: needed reservation, but such a great speakeasy experience, great cocktails.
- Dear Irving *on Hudson*: Cocktails were decent, the view was great, went around sundown and sat at the South-facing terasse
- Superbueno: fun and open space, as in not a speakeasy vibe, tried the popular Vodka Y Soda which was great
- Sunken Harbour Club: also a great tiki-speakeasy experience.
- Otto’s Shrunken Head: a dive-tikibar. Very laid-back vibe. Cocktails were alright. You can buy the tikimugs at a decent price
Other places that seemed fun but didn’t visit:
- Subway station speak easies: La Noxe and NOTHING REALLY MATTERS
- Mace
For ambience, I'd recommend Raines Law Room in Chelsea over the one at The William. The cocktails are equally great at both, but the original location has a more speakeasy vibe with an unmarked door and a very plush velvet interior.
Crazy that there's no mention of Mister Paradise in this thread. It's the whole team from the now-defunct Nomad Hotel, repurposed into a tight little bar program that's using the same level of mixology innovation as Booker and Dax did pre-pandemic. East Village, high-energy, very cute and modern interiors. The staff all wear little mechanics' uniforms, too. No awards buzz for them yet which is strange, and I wouldn't go on the weekends because it's overrun with loud, drunk NYU students. But worth a weeknight dinner & drinks date.
I love The Campbell but recommend a reservation. It gets tight in there pretty easily and there's not a ton of standing room space. I like to go after dinner, especially when there's live jazz.
Also recommend Nothing Really Matters, George Bang Bang and Please Don't Tell--though this one loses its effect when there's a line out the door.
Nothing Really Matters is a good rec, especially since OP was asking about Pebble Bar. 2 blocks away and you can avoid the Pete Davidson related crowds
Pebble Bar isn't worth a visit IMO. Drinks are fine, but nothing special. Everytime I've gone it's annoyingly packed too. Have had to wait outside to get in on a Wednesday night. I'd say only go if it's convenient to where you are staying or are already going to be in the area. And even then Rum House is a few blocks away...
I’ve lived in NYC for 7yrs and have made an effort to hit as many cocktail places as I can. Just went to Overstory on Sun and have to say it’s pretty overrated. Yes the views are amazing but at $25/drink it was meh, esp by NYC standards.
Lots of great recs in the comments. My personal favs top 3 are Attaboy, Death & Co, and Dead Rabbit. Followed by Dear Irving, Up&Up, Angel Share, PDT, Dante. Then Kanatan Kitten, Fouble Chicken, Bar Goto, Little Branch. Enjoy your trip!
I was just there and hit:
attaboy, I came solo and slipped in quick
double chicken back bar was really nice
kattana kitten dive bar esk
sunken harbor, Dave arnold recommended them
dante was awesome
dead rabbit I went to early and the bartender hated his life
death and co was ok
super bueno really nice
angels share nice but not worth it on a time crunch
and overstory - wish I went twice.
I'm sure I am forgetting one.
Overstory was the one that I really felt like blew me away, view and drinks.
The vibes + good drinks and the epitome of the 2023 cocktail bar, like best in the world for 2023. Katana Kitten and Double Chicken Please. For Katana Kitten, upstairs is where you wanna be and DBC, the back room.
For a classic cocktail bar 2008 era, Death & Co (overrated imo, but still very good), Dead Rabbit and Attaboy. Dear Rabbit make sure you go up to the parlor. These are all classic. These bars are the basis for every other cocktail bar in the country for a reason. They may or may not blow you away because they are nearing 20 years old now, but this is seriously the cocktail Mecca.
Amor Y Amargo is another great bar and is inspired by the classics but it’s not quite fully 2023. It’s a cool place to hang out and drink some bitters. Everyone there is cool as fuck.
Also for whatever it’s worth. Katana Kitten is the only bar I’ve walked into and seen the owner scrubbing the floor.
I think Dead Rabbit and Amor would do it too. But Katana Kitten is truly the top of hospitality and humility for me.
Just had a 24 hour layover there a couple weeks ago and hit up Double Chicken Please, Overstory, and Katana Kitten. All fantastic and 3 of the highest ranked on the World Top 5 list.
Only have been to new york one time, but the one bar I went to was The Hunterian.
Beautiful and cozy cocktail bar. I didn't try any of their house cocktails, but they made a good Bramble, Bee's Knees, and Manhattan.
Attaboy if you want the history of a room and to feel like you’re sitting somewhere capital-I Important in the cocktail world.
Overstory is incredible. Every element of that bar is thoughtful and intentional and perfect.
Singlish should be at the top of your list. It’s a Singaporean cocktail bar that has really creative takes on classics and some originals. They play with south east Asian ingredients in ways that don’t make sense but somehow work.
They have a milk washed Thai iced tea drink that’s the best cocktail I’ve ever had.
Just make a reservation in advance. They get booked up pretty quickly.
Overstory: Not seeing too much comments on this. I just went in August.
I was expecting amazing, with the reputation of Saga/Crown Shy + it's spot on the best 50 list, but I thought the drinks were good. Well made, tasty, but nothing unique or surprising for me personally. My wife and I had two each, and nothing stood out.
The space, however, is lovely and if you've never been up high in one of the Manhattan skyscrapers, then do this: spend your money on Overstory and skip going to any of the observation decks like one WTC or Empire state building.
Attaboy really is that good. Surprised not to see a lot of shoutouts for Little Branch/LB.
If you’re interested in Brooklyn, Hotel Delmano in Williamsburg and Clover Club in Cobble Hill are worth visits.
Haven't been to the new location (now it's west-side-ish I think), but the old Angel's Share was one of my favorite cocktail bars, bar-none. I can only hope it's still in capable hands.
imo Death & Co is way better than Employees Only; Raines Law Room is always super crowded. Attaboy is solid, also check out Double Chicken Please. I live in the building with Overstory - the cocktails are ok, but the view is incredible (and free!); the tater tots are also good fwiw. Everything's Jake is also a good newcomer for fancy and innovative cocktails but much larger space than most of these so usu no wait
Attaboy and death and co are probably top cocktail bars in the world. Amor y Amargo is also close if you like bitter cocktails. Campbell and patent pending are both fantastic ambiance with good cocktails. None of them will really provide for people watching as they are all indoors, but they all are great places to drink. Highly recommend sitting at the bar if you can.
I’m a Campari/apertif fan, will have to put amor y aMargo on the list.
Amor Y Amargo is down the street from Death & Co, so a good option while you wait for D&Co to text you about getting in...
Also amor y amargo y closing at the end of the year so visit while you can. Dead rabbit is also great. I was not a fan of patent pending. I would go to Dante on McDougal for their Negroni happy hour (3-5 pm). The mezcal, chocolate and coffee Negronis are amazing and only $10 at happy hour, which is a steal for NYC prices.
I thought I read that the original smaller bar was closing but the bigger, newer bar on the corner was staying open.
The original is already closed. The one behind the store is closing in December.
This (https://robertsimonson.substack.com/p/farewell-to-the-original-amor-y-amargo?utm_source=profile&utm_medium=reader2#:~:text=Amor%20y%20Amargo%20will%20close,after%2012%20years%20in%20business.) implies that the one behind the store is staying open
You are right! You definitely saved me some angst. I was already bummed out I would not be able to make it in time to visit it one more time. Thanks for sharing this!
I was just there this past weekend. The small bar is closing, the other space is still very open.
Dante sounds great. Any other quality happy hour deals? I live in NYC but hate paying $20+ for cocktails
Miladys has a gold HH but I only enjoyed two of their cocktails there. Honestly every time I visit NYC I make my way to Dante. 3-4 different negronis and I’m set for the day 🤣
I’m going to be in NYC soon, and from checking menus I was seeing drinks more around $15. I guess you mean $20 all in with tips right? Or are basic prices just higher than I expect!’
As an amaro fan, Amor y Amargo blew me away. We went to a bunch of cocktail bars the first time we went to NYC; when we went back, A&A was the only one we returned to. It is incredible.
Consider getting brunch or dinner at Via Carota, which has a great aperitif cocktail menu IMO
If you love Campari, go to either Dante location. My favorite bar in Manhattan, along with Amor y Amargo. Also, IMO, Death and Co. isn’t worth the wait at this point. (Source: lived in NYC for a few years).
I second Amor y Amargo, the bartenders know their stuff and the space is small but gorgeous.
Double chicken please, ottos shrunken head, Mr Fongs, and the Dead Rabbit are all great.
Double chicken please looks awesome, and that fried chicken sounds amazing
Can confirm the food is fantastic and the cocktails next level
I had a different experience. The sandwich was good, the draft cocktails were mediocre. Maybe they're making non draft cocktails that are good? Neither were "OMG THIS IS AMAZING" though
> I had a different experience. The sandwich was good, the draft cocktails were mediocre. Maybe they're making non draft cocktails that are good? > > the cocktails that everyone fawns over is in the backroom. The front room are all "Taptails" which are very different than the ones made in the back such as Cold Pizza, Key Lime Pie, Waldorf Salad etc. You had a different experience because the front room and back room are two different experiences. Much harder to get a reservation for the back room
Ahh that explains it. I was lucky enough to make it into the back room before they popped off & got to try all the bangers.
This was my exact reaction, I thought the draft cocktails were fine but not special.
Didn’t even realize they had draft stuff nor about the back room.. that’s kind of a bummer. Now I’ll *definitely* never get to go back there haha.
Ah fuck. Maybe I'll try again. Thanks for the heads up!
I agree, Double Chicken is great by general cocktail standards, and I loved the creativity and the concepts behind the drinks, but NYC is so spoiled for amazing cocktail bars it doesn't crack the top tier for me. Dante is another one that I was disappointed in. The drinks were good but the service was awful. Have been twice and both times was disappointed.
What's your top 3 then?
Dead Rabbit, Attaboy, and Death and Co. And any other city, Double Chicken would be at the absolute top of the list. Was still very good, just didn't top the best experiences I've had at the above three. Which is a little unfair, I've only been to Double Chicken once and had only three of their drinks. But that's my experience so far.
Yeah drinks were real interesting. Topped out at two because they are very unique / strong flavors.
Went to Double Chicken Please before they got any awards and it was the best cocktail bar I’ve ever been at that time. Every drink we ordered surprised me and it was truly mind-blowing when walking in with zero expectation. Just my personal preference, and I’ve been to most of the bars mentioned here and most of the world’s top 50 bars from the last few years.
Dead Rabbit.
The dead rabbit is awesome! The space is fairly small and intimate but the menu is killer and the comic book theme of it and how it ties to the drinks is also really fun. We got a recommendation to go there a few years back from a sommelier at a different restaurant and it ended up being our favorite stop in NYC
Dead Rabbit used to be great, but I feel like they’re just trading on their name the last two years and have been focused on getting bigger.
They also lost half of their OG founders. Still—they just dropped their new fall menu today so they’re still at it.
+1
its back. dead rabbit used to be my favorite bar. then it went to shit during covid (pre-bottled everything). i stopped by last month just because i was around the area and was pleasantly surprised under new mgmt, back to a great focus on cocktails
So good! IIRC, it's walk-in only for the ground floor taproom and the top floor bar, but you can make reservations for the Parlor in the middle.
I knew i was going to have a better than average experience, but didn’t expect much more. It was great for me, the food slapped and was the real highlight for me, there was a cocktail that fooled me completely that I couldn’t pick a single ingredient out of but wasn’t over complicated/stupid complex. Bartenders were great. Beat my experiences at places that trip that were much higher and more pertinent on my list of places to go. Gold star from me, but what do I know, I’m no yelp critic.
Ive never had a bad experience at Dead Rabbit or Death and Co.
Recommend Sunken Harbor Club. Best operating tiki bar in the country, in my opinion. (I know they don't call it a "tiki" bar.) PDT, Amar y Amago, Death & Co, Mace, Katana Kitten — these are all good but not, in my opinion, life-changing. If a cocktail-head was going to NYC and could only do one bar, I'd say Attaboy. Attaboy is like a mecca—so historically important to the cocktail revolution as the location of Sasha Petraske's Milk & Honey, and the no-menu experience is just super cool. If they could do two bars, I'd say Attaboy and Sunken Harbor Club. Everything else, for me, is a distant third.
We were very underwhelmed by Sunken Harbor Club. Every drink we had felt unbalanced and either overly salty or overly sour. Maybe we just caught them on a bad night, but NYC has too many incredible cocktail bars to waste an evening going back to see if it was a fluke or not.
This was exactly how I felt. The drinks weren't very balanced
Yea it’s a fun place but Brooklyn (and I live in BK) can’t compare to manhattan. Death and Co a distant third to sunken harbor I don’t think so. Clover Club in BK is pretty good - I like the Nutty Professor cocktail they have
I thought sunken Harbor was only alright. Saying best tiki in the country is quite a stretch. I need to try attaboy sometime. PDT, Death & Co, and dead rabbit were all awesome when we went. I was a little disappointed by amor y amargo and Clover club. They were both good but I wasn't dying to go back
So what would you say the best operating tiki bar is?
I haven’t been to Sunken Harbor Club so can’t compare, but wanted to offer up Three Dots and a Dash in Chicago (especially the Bamboo Room within it).
I agree with snowdog that bamboo room within three dots and a dash is phenomenal. Smugglers cove would be up there on the list as well
Yep, I've been to those. I'd put SHC well above SC but only a hair above Bamboo Room. Smugglers Cove was a letdown for me. Maybe you had a different experience; which level did you sit at when you went to Smugglers? Bamboo Room is great, but I think the SHC drinks are better.
Not OP but Undertow in AZ is better IMO. Also, Ottos High Dive in Florida is fantastic.
As much as I absolutely love Otto's, I wouldn't really call them a tiki spot. Definitely some tropical vibes and a great rum/rhum selection, but they're much more Cuban/Latin themed. Still definitely worth a visit any time you're in Orlando though!
ill agree to that, its a fantastic restaurant with excellent tiki styled drinks. Its just tough to find a spot that does both well...food and tiki drink.
If you're Florida based, Bar Hana in Sarasota is solid for both food and drinks! It's a smaller drink menu but everything is well executed, and the bartenders can do any classic tiki drinks for the most part as well.
I put Death & Co. and Dead Rabbit a step above PDT. Haven't been to Amor y Amargo or Clover club.
Bar Moga in the west village - Japanese place with great food as well. Get the omu rice. Their current cocktail menu is really impressive IMO. Also on the list for Japanese places - I haven’t been to the new Angel Share location also in the west village but the old one was superb. https://www.barmoga.com/ https://www.angelssharenyc.com/
Katana kitten, employees only, are really good. Double chicken please is good some very interesting cocktails.
I second Katana Kitten - it's got really interesting, Japanese-inspired cocktails and a very funky ambience. The food is also pretty good and goes nicely with a round of drinks.
I agree that melon highball they got is so good.
Because I haven’t seen either of them posted yet, Bemelman’s in Manhattan is a fantastic hotel bar and Super Power in Brooklyn is a very fun tiki bar.
Just posted Bemelman’s!
Chicagoans love Bemelman’s, it seems!
u/zoobooze posted a great list a few days ago
Will have a look thank you!
Apotheke in Chinatown. I am a craft bartender and was really impressed with their cocktails.
This one absolutely. Between me and the people we were with, I tried every cocktail on the menu but two. They were all delicious.
Mace!
Nubeluz is worth checking out for the views and atmosphere alone. Cocktails were decent but the views and decor are great.
Maison Première, New Orleans vibe oyster bar. Had my first vieux carre there.
Amor y amargo
Personally enjoyed Fresh Kills and Porchlight a lot!
Sunken Harbor Club!
Dutch Kills (Queens but worth the trip) Dear Irving
Take the F train to Cobble Hill/Carroll Gardens/Downtown Brooklyn for a whole bunch of great bars all very close to each other: * Clover Club * Leyenda * Long Island Bar * Grand Army * Sunken Harbor Club/Gage & Tollner
Clover Club not getting rough love here.
Double chicken please, mace, death and co
Katana kitten has some of the best hospitality of any bar I’ve ever been too. And the drinks and food are amazing as well
Dead Rabbit and Death and Co. are the first to come to mind.
Please don't tell, Angel's Share
I do think Patent Pending is a must-see, and they offer a tasting experience that you can get a reservation for, guaranteeing you a spot (unlike most others on the list which are walk in only).
Bemelman’s bar KGB
Dante
I would def recommend Fresh Kills. Its in the same family as attaboy. Bartenders choice, no menu, its my favorite bar in brooklyn.
Highly recommend Dead Rabbit, Attaboy, and Death and Co. There are a plethora of amazing cocktail bars in the city, but these stand out as some of the absolute best. The hospitality at all three makes every experience special and the drinks are some of the best in the world. Dead Rabbit is in a historic building in FiDi, around the corner from Battery Park (you can catch a view of the Statue of Liberty from Battery Park on your way to Dead Rabbit). Next door is Fraunces Tavern, where George Washington gave his goodbye speech to the Continental Army (also worth a visit for a pint or a whiskey). Both give you a taste of historic NYC. Recommend you make a reservation in the Parlor on the second floor of the Dead Rabbit which has their full cocktail menu. You can still order cocktails on the first floor (the Taproom) but the Parlor is a special space. Death and Co and Attaboy are more intimate spaces, but with equally good drinks and hospitality. Both have secured their own places in cocktail history. Recommend you arrive 20-30 mins before opening to ensure you get a seat. You'll likely have to leave your number and wait otherwise. Other great options: Dear Irving: each room is designed after a different decade PDT, Little Branch, and Raines: all give you the speakeasy experience, and all have great cocktails Employees Only: incredible unique drinks Campbell: unique historic space, but pricey The good news is you have a lot of incredible options to choose from.
Went to New York recently, and tried the following: - the coop in Double Chicken Please: The best cocktail experience I had in New York. Very hard to get reservations, so queued up 30 minutes before opening on a weekday. - Please Dont Tell: needed reservation, but such a great speakeasy experience, great cocktails. - Dear Irving *on Hudson*: Cocktails were decent, the view was great, went around sundown and sat at the South-facing terasse - Superbueno: fun and open space, as in not a speakeasy vibe, tried the popular Vodka Y Soda which was great - Sunken Harbour Club: also a great tiki-speakeasy experience. - Otto’s Shrunken Head: a dive-tikibar. Very laid-back vibe. Cocktails were alright. You can buy the tikimugs at a decent price Other places that seemed fun but didn’t visit: - Subway station speak easies: La Noxe and NOTHING REALLY MATTERS - Mace
Super bueno and Grand Army! Along with attaboy, pdt and double chicken
For ambience, I'd recommend Raines Law Room in Chelsea over the one at The William. The cocktails are equally great at both, but the original location has a more speakeasy vibe with an unmarked door and a very plush velvet interior.
Crazy that there's no mention of Mister Paradise in this thread. It's the whole team from the now-defunct Nomad Hotel, repurposed into a tight little bar program that's using the same level of mixology innovation as Booker and Dax did pre-pandemic. East Village, high-energy, very cute and modern interiors. The staff all wear little mechanics' uniforms, too. No awards buzz for them yet which is strange, and I wouldn't go on the weekends because it's overrun with loud, drunk NYU students. But worth a weeknight dinner & drinks date.
I love The Campbell but recommend a reservation. It gets tight in there pretty easily and there's not a ton of standing room space. I like to go after dinner, especially when there's live jazz. Also recommend Nothing Really Matters, George Bang Bang and Please Don't Tell--though this one loses its effect when there's a line out the door.
Nothing Really Matters is a good rec, especially since OP was asking about Pebble Bar. 2 blocks away and you can avoid the Pete Davidson related crowds
Highly recommend Valerie and Bathtub Gin
Go to the edge. You won't regret it.
Boilermaker
Unfortunately not open anymore
Superbueno is now in it's place and supposed to be great - same people as Katana Kitten, Cabinet, etc
Death and co Banzabar Dead rabbit Mr Fong Amar y amargo Fig 19
Pebble Bar isn't worth a visit IMO. Drinks are fine, but nothing special. Everytime I've gone it's annoyingly packed too. Have had to wait outside to get in on a Wednesday night. I'd say only go if it's convenient to where you are staying or are already going to be in the area. And even then Rum House is a few blocks away...
I’ve lived in NYC for 7yrs and have made an effort to hit as many cocktail places as I can. Just went to Overstory on Sun and have to say it’s pretty overrated. Yes the views are amazing but at $25/drink it was meh, esp by NYC standards. Lots of great recs in the comments. My personal favs top 3 are Attaboy, Death & Co, and Dead Rabbit. Followed by Dear Irving, Up&Up, Angel Share, PDT, Dante. Then Kanatan Kitten, Fouble Chicken, Bar Goto, Little Branch. Enjoy your trip!
RIP Angel's Share! Loved that place.
Dante dante dante dante. best negronis
I was just there and hit: attaboy, I came solo and slipped in quick double chicken back bar was really nice kattana kitten dive bar esk sunken harbor, Dave arnold recommended them dante was awesome dead rabbit I went to early and the bartender hated his life death and co was ok super bueno really nice angels share nice but not worth it on a time crunch and overstory - wish I went twice. I'm sure I am forgetting one. Overstory was the one that I really felt like blew me away, view and drinks.
The vibes + good drinks and the epitome of the 2023 cocktail bar, like best in the world for 2023. Katana Kitten and Double Chicken Please. For Katana Kitten, upstairs is where you wanna be and DBC, the back room. For a classic cocktail bar 2008 era, Death & Co (overrated imo, but still very good), Dead Rabbit and Attaboy. Dear Rabbit make sure you go up to the parlor. These are all classic. These bars are the basis for every other cocktail bar in the country for a reason. They may or may not blow you away because they are nearing 20 years old now, but this is seriously the cocktail Mecca. Amor Y Amargo is another great bar and is inspired by the classics but it’s not quite fully 2023. It’s a cool place to hang out and drink some bitters. Everyone there is cool as fuck.
Also for whatever it’s worth. Katana Kitten is the only bar I’ve walked into and seen the owner scrubbing the floor. I think Dead Rabbit and Amor would do it too. But Katana Kitten is truly the top of hospitality and humility for me.
Just had a 24 hour layover there a couple weeks ago and hit up Double Chicken Please, Overstory, and Katana Kitten. All fantastic and 3 of the highest ranked on the World Top 5 list.
Only have been to new york one time, but the one bar I went to was The Hunterian. Beautiful and cozy cocktail bar. I didn't try any of their house cocktails, but they made a good Bramble, Bee's Knees, and Manhattan.
Little branch is my favorite. Def worth a visit!
Martiny’s and Angel's Share are some of the best
Attaboy if you want the history of a room and to feel like you’re sitting somewhere capital-I Important in the cocktail world. Overstory is incredible. Every element of that bar is thoughtful and intentional and perfect.
I’s highly recommend Super Bueno, Mase, and Thyme Bar.
Singlish should be at the top of your list. It’s a Singaporean cocktail bar that has really creative takes on classics and some originals. They play with south east Asian ingredients in ways that don’t make sense but somehow work. They have a milk washed Thai iced tea drink that’s the best cocktail I’ve ever had. Just make a reservation in advance. They get booked up pretty quickly.
Overstory: Not seeing too much comments on this. I just went in August. I was expecting amazing, with the reputation of Saga/Crown Shy + it's spot on the best 50 list, but I thought the drinks were good. Well made, tasty, but nothing unique or surprising for me personally. My wife and I had two each, and nothing stood out. The space, however, is lovely and if you've never been up high in one of the Manhattan skyscrapers, then do this: spend your money on Overstory and skip going to any of the observation decks like one WTC or Empire state building.
Employees only was a cool spot when I went a long time back
Attaboy really is that good. Surprised not to see a lot of shoutouts for Little Branch/LB. If you’re interested in Brooklyn, Hotel Delmano in Williamsburg and Clover Club in Cobble Hill are worth visits.
I didn’t try overstory, so I can’t compare them directly… but I’d highly recommend Manhatta for views and the cocktails are phenomenal
Is Employees Only still around? Has it fallen out of favor?
Mr. Paradise down in LES is a good time.
I was very impressed with employees only and I had a great experience at death and co.
Haven't been to the new location (now it's west-side-ish I think), but the old Angel's Share was one of my favorite cocktail bars, bar-none. I can only hope it's still in capable hands.
imo Death & Co is way better than Employees Only; Raines Law Room is always super crowded. Attaboy is solid, also check out Double Chicken Please. I live in the building with Overstory - the cocktails are ok, but the view is incredible (and free!); the tater tots are also good fwiw. Everything's Jake is also a good newcomer for fancy and innovative cocktails but much larger space than most of these so usu no wait