The 50 best bars in NYC right now

Mace has been a regular on local and international “best of” lists since it first opened in 2015. A recent move to West 8th Street gives the perennial fave a little more room for outdoor dining, in addition to a comfortable interior and 27-foot zinc bar. Its record of excellence, combined with a fresh new location helps it land in our top spot. Sip spice and botanical-forward cocktails like the rye-based Lavender or frozen Wasabi + Cilantro with rum, and see how fast you’ll make Mace your own personal recommendation.

Neither its famously unmarked door nor its barely concealed entrance up a staircase and through Village Yokocho restaurant have been secret for quite some time, but our enduring fondness for Angel’s Share is evidence that the place is simply special even in the absence of speakeasy gimmicks. The recent addition of outdoor seating has made it a little easier to sample the refined cocktails here, but you should still arrive early in small parties and prepare to wait. 

Not all spin-offs are created equal. Luckily for Gotham’s cocktail-swigging masses, this Milk and Honey redux falls into the former school—but with a livelier, lighter air. Attaboy’s up-tempo retro tunes and nicely lit, lived-in digs (whitewashed brick, tarnished sign hanging on the wall), amount to a breezy evolution of its form. Expect custom-mixed drinks at the brushed-steel bar. 

A revivalist spirit is at the core of this retrofitted wonder that has a way of filling up fast. The recent addition of outdoor seating . . . hasn't eased the crowds that much, actually, but it's worth the wait for best-in-class gimlets and kicky new frozen options. 

A pair of Belfast bar vets conjured up this version of a rough-and-tumble 19th-century tavern, then put a refined cocktail parlor upstairs so you can imbibe like a boss. Taking its name from the Five Points–era gang, the Dead Rabbit evokes the kind of watering hole where bare-knuckle dudes puff out their chests and throw back pints.

There is no cocktail menu at this Grand Street staple that changed hands last year, but you can still order whatever you wish from its “if you know it, we can make it” un-menu. Maracuja also has a dozen-some-odd tap and bottle beer selections, plenty of wine varieties and a $5-$8 happy hour from 4pm-7pm every day. Those cocktails you dream into creation are otherwise $11, and entrées like pulpo y papas and paella make it easy to turn drinks into dinner. Show up early for a spot in the secret garden. 

A canonical NYC destination, Sunny’s still feels serendipitous when you luck into it on a random, meandering afternoon. It has nautical nods, a long bar and booths up front, tables and enough room for twangy live music in the back and a side yard for alternating breaths of fresh air and the opposite of fresh air. There’s a full bar, but they’re particularly adept at making beer here. 

Good Judy has been “a home for queers + allies to join together in unity and solidarity” since it opened last July. Enter through the narrow facade and you’ll find a half-dozen seats at the glossy bar on the main level, a piano lounge upstairs and a patio in the back. Soak up cocktails with vegan dogs, soft pretzels and queso. 

The Central Casting ideal of Old New York, the Carlyle Hotel’s throwback grandeur is juxtaposed with Ludwig Bemelmans’ whimsical original murals. It’s as expensive as you’d expect, and the $15 cover charge from 6pm-9pm gets you a seat and nothing more, but $21 cocktails like the JFK daiquiri, mezcal martini and Earl Grey-infused Grey Goose with lemon and honey aren’t too much more than you’ll spend in less lovely environs. 

This recently reopened, lovely NOLA-inspired salon—where the green walls are fogged with a faux patina that suggests decades of Gauloises smoke—is devoted to the twin pleasures of oysters and absinthe. Sip one of the potent varieties of the anise-flavored liqueur, best enjoyed in the lush backyard.

This casual low-rise rooftop is just as enjoyable as some of its sky-high peers. The first come, first sit, second floor fills up fast, however, so dispatch a member of your party to get there early and make sure to reward ‘em with gimlets, old blossom rum lemonades and frozens into the evening. 

If you’re weary of craft-cocktail bars aching to impress with unnecessary embellishments, this LIC standout is a welcome shift. Compared to many of its cramped Manhattan counterparts, Dutch Kills’ space allows you to enjoy its well-balanced elbow-benders without feeling like you’re sipping on the subway nearby.

This standard-bearing cocktail parlor from mixology matriarch Julie Reiner (Leyenda, Flatiron Lounge) expresses its Victorian bent in intricate tile work, curved leather booths, marble tables, vintage sofas and a functioning fireplace. The centerpiece is the 19th-century mahogany bar, where vest-clad barkeeps stir and shake throwback potions, handily defined in the novel-like menu. Choose among regal crystal bowls of punch or finely wrought drinks, both classic and new.

This unmarked boîte is the sort of contrived hideout that might be cooked up by an overgrown kid with a chemistry set. The bar is littered with old vials, the cocktails are referred to as “prescriptions,” and the bartenders-cum-pharmacists are in rare form.

Concealed from the outside by heavy red curtains, this seems like the sort of place you’ll get up to something. The swingin,’ multi-textured lounge is lined with deep shades and dim lights across a couple of levels separated by a few stairs. Break in your platforms over “Old Friends,” (mules, martinis, margaritas, etc.), “New Friends,” like The Joyface (a Miller High Life topped with tequila, aperol and lime) and “Friends” like a bundle of six pony beers and accompanying shots. 

New from the team behind The Garret bars, Bandit’s getting away with the best parts of 1970s style. Its wood-paneled interior and almost avocado-green accents can accommodate 32 inside, and a more-stylish-than-most curb shed fits an additional 30. For snacks, it’s got all types of tots and drinks include wine, beer and shots. Cocktails like the Bradshaw on Bedford (vodka, lemon juice, rose petal, rhubarb, sun dried tomato and basil) call to mind one famous fictional West Village character. 

At press time, this breezily-chic bar’s frequently-updated cocktail menu is “Summer Cocktails Starring . . . Nicholas Cage.” Imagine with that what you will, and know that it includes, of course, the Wild at Heart (a martini with manzanilla and orange wine), mezcal-based Snake Eyes and a Moonstruck spritz, named for the film that shot nearby. 

The nattily attired bartenders are deadly serious about drinks at this Gothic saloon, a pioneer in New York's now relentless mania for craft cocktails. Behind the imposing wooden door, jet black walls, cushy booths and chandeliers set a luxuriously somber mood. Tipples here are consistently among the city's best, many of which have propelled mixology trends across the country. 

This woman-owned brewery opened its first taproom in Williamsburg in March. In addition to refreshing, summery, fruit-forward beer, cocktails, wine, and snacks are also on the evning menu. Sit inside our out, and grab draft and canned beer to go when it's time to say goodnight. 

At Peachy’s, you’re bound to break half of the rules. NO PHOTOS, NO FIGHTING, the hot-pink neon-lit sign commands as you descend below Doyers Street into the Chinese Tuxedo–owned cocktail bar. While nothing stirs us to brawl, it’s harder to resist snapping pics of the cool-kid cavern with its Gucci tiger-print wallpaper, flickering candles and flower arrangements that could be plucked straight from a wedding at the Plaza. Indeed, the bar is all #vibes, right down to the cocktails. 

Elsa serves up its original (and since closed) East Village locale's cutesy-fancy feels in this Cobble Hill iteration designed by Home Studios, the team behind many of the city’s most aesthetically pleasing interiors. The drinks incorporate ingredients like grated cinnamon in the Cloudbusting daiquiri and dandelion and burdock in the Broken Mirror.

With the right mix of tacky and glamorous '70s casino-esque décor, Goldie's has become one of New York's most evocative bars. This Greenpoint favorite magically always has the perfect amount of people in it, so you never have to worry about folks crowding the pool table. There's a backyard, too. 

The team behind Dear Irving and Raines Law Room opened the second outpost of the former in midtown. Dear Irving on Hudson is a bi-level cocktail bar that takes up the 40th and 41st floors of the Aliz Hotel in Times Square. While the bustling location is worlds away from the quiet block of Irving Place, the founders are sticking to some familiarities. Most noticeably, a handful of cocktails and a "time travel" theme, with one floor akin to 1960s James Bond and another decked out in Art Deco finishes.

Evil Twin commands a following for its innovative suds amongst craft beer lovers. Now, Jeppe Jarnit-Bjergsø and his wife have opened a permanent brewery and taproom with cans like Cherry Cola Sour and Spicy Avocado Margarita you can enjoy in the greenhouse space and beer garden.

There is no bar to belly up to at this louche lounge. Drinks are prepared in a beautiful but half-hidden back room surrounded by gleaming examples of every tool and gizmo a barkeep could wish for. From this gorgeous tableau comes an austere cocktail list, which includes classics like the Manhattan and Negroni, and variations thereof. Who needs a barstool anyway?

In lieu of coarse language, you’ll find picturesque French cocktails on the menu at this basement bar from the duo behind Ladurée in Soho. The narrow, 30-seat space, fitted with blue-and-gold damask wallpaper and budget replicas of famous paintings, also serves traditional small plates.

Bartenders at this effortlessly cool downstairs bar have served fantastic sips in such unlikely vessels as upturned “lightbulbs,” honey bears and even glowing approximations of lava lamps. Retro tunes and amber hues play off of wood paneling and beaded curtains inside, and there’s a dreamy, vine-lined garden out back. 

The entrance to this taxidermy-strewn saloon is hidden behind an old phone booth inside Crif Dogs. Pick up the receiver and a hostess opens the back wall of the booth. Inside, a team of barkeeps offer thoughtful cocktail creations. The staff is happy to talk you through any libation on the menu, or suggest an haute dog brought in from next door. It’s that kind of dedication that makes getting in worth the effort.

The crowds that started filing into Leyenda for Best American Bartender Ivy Mix’s “pan-Latin inspired” cocktails when it first opened in 2015 have seldom slowed since then. Though it’s roomy, spots in the Smith Street space, where candle light flickers off a tin ceiling, fill up quick for freshly shaken and draft drinks. 

A giddy enthusiasm electrifies the rooftop bar that crowns the Freehand New York. Located in the less-fun nexus of Gramercy and Flatiron, the Miami import is packed with happy-go-lucky twenty- and thirtysomethings that just seem relieved that it even exists, let alone that they are there. Unlike some rooftops around the city, with sleek designs and glass parapets, Broken Shaker is meticulously crafted to look and feel like a well-worn oasis. 

Curious drinkers can find plenty of ways to mix edification and inebriation at this colorful nook. The focus here is on amaro and other bitters, which can be sampled via tasting flights and in excellent stirred cocktails. Sip your way through a range of fernet or herbal liqueurs made by Carthusian monks, then try a modern-day cocktail.

Those of us who can’t squeeze into Jody Williams and Rita Sodi’s megahit Via Carota might try our luck at the couple’s spot across the street, Bar Pisellino. The Italian jewel box serves coffee, pastries and sandwiches during the day, and it shines for the plays on Italian classics you’ll note in pistachio and spumoni cocktails. 

The decades-old East Village mainstay—whose barstools are said to have hosted Frank Sinatra, Allen Ginsberg and Joey Ramone—is a welcome anomaly in a city with so much turnover. And though the place has been spruced up some—duct-taped booths traded for green banquettes, neon beer signs for gilded sconces—the joint hasn’t been scrubbed clean of its charm.

A nod to David Bowie’s fourth album, Hunky Dory is a joyful, groovy spot for snacks and sips. Takes on martinis, palomas and Irish coffees incorporate pickled okra, whey and vanilla-oat whip, respectively. Sample a smattering when they’re $11 at happy hour until 5pm on weekdays. 

Across the galleria from Le Bernardin, Aldo Sohm’s vino-hub is far less buttoned-up than its big brother, but the level of detail here proves this grape didn’t fall far from the vine. Toss out any preference—bold and spicy, sweet and bubbly—and your sommelier-server will deliver. Between pours, you can get schooled on the ins and outs of grapes and regions—without any sniff-and-swirl snootiness.

Magician is the least-themed bar in New York city, eschewing tropes for cheap drinks, a good jukebox when it works, a long, worn bar, plenty of tables suitable for big groups and a bring-your-own food policy with plenty of options to order from nearby. 

Tørst—Danish for “thirst”—is helmed by brewer Jeppe Jarnit-Bjergsø and chef Daniel Burns, formerly of the planet’s hottest restaurant, Noma in Copenhagen. Their take on the taproom is in a minimalist space that looks and smells like a modernist log cabin, with rare brews from throughout Europe and North America. 

Helmed by beloved neighborhood fixture Lucy herself, Lucy’s is best experienced in the lively evening hours. After dark, locals shoot pool on two worn tables and choose tunes from a jukebox that includes Paul Stanley and polka king Stan Yankovic. Plan to pay cash for your beer and shots. 

This Prospect Heights wine bar and restaurant highlights lesser-seen European natural wines. LaLou takes its name from Lalou Bize-Leroy, a "trailblazing" Burgundy winemaker. Here, dishes are meant to pair well with the of 150+ bottles and by-the-glass wine options.     

The only reason the East Village wine bar Lois left its place on this list is because it recently changed hands and became Accidental Bar. New owner Austin Powers has shifted the focus to sake in the familiar space where natural light pours in before big glass globe lights illuminate the tin ceiling overhead. Wine, bubbly, beer and cider are still available, along with otsumami plates for a variety of snack pairings. 

Think of the Grimm team as mad scientists of beer, concocting novel creations like an IPA with gummy bear hops and a Key lime pie sour, both in colorful cans. Snacks transcend expected beer bar fare, swapping stale pretzels with soppressata and goat cheese. 

The jammed Wayland may be the nieghborhood's most versatile barroom, with a menu infused with DIY flourishes, crafting proprietary bitters and jams from a pantry of seasonal ingredients. Meanwhile, the memory of Banjo Jim's, a honky-tonk dive that used to occupy the space, is kept alive with Miller High Life longnecks, eclectic tunes on the speakers and an upright piano that hosts the occasional jam session.

Subverting snobbery at every turn, the owners here (formerly of Eleven Madison Park) have been known to offer Tracksuit Tuesdays, Wine Boot Camps and other hospitable parties. Wine director Caleb Ganzer has crafted an approachable list of vin that’s complemented by chef Eric Bolyard’s “fringe France” cooking.

Welcome to one of New York’s most underrated bars. Pokito is run by artists, which is evident in design details that punctuate the colorful, cozy space. The delightful decor extends even to the restroom, which is outfitted with mismatched wall art. Cocktails are infused with flavors like jasmine tea, rosewater and lavender.

Though it’s presently operating at truncated hours, Getaway is known for its zero-proof cocktails and alcohol-free beer and wine, making it an appealing social setting even if you don't drink. Expect flavors like fig, fennel, or strawberry rhubarb.

The team behind Harlem’s popular ramen destination ROKC (where drinks quickly became the main attraction) was at it again at the end of 2019 when they opened NR on East 75th Street. Here, super-simply named cocktails betray their show-stealing presentation: the mezcal-based Grapefruit is literally smoking, the tequila Cucumber is served in a green bell pepper, and the Pineapple + Passionfruit with rum is on fire.