The 14 coolest underground bars in NYC

One of many bars to usher in NYC’s cocktail renaissance in the early 2000s, Little Branch was one of few to do so sans-gimmick and with drinks that lived up to its reputation–and wait times. Its tiny triangle entrance betrays a comfortable space downstairs with exquisite classic cocktails that manages to still feel special all these years later. 

Another one of the old new class of NYC cocktailers, PDT’s as tough a table as ever, even with an unlikely new outdoor extension above. The routine remains: Skip down a few stairs, pop into Crif Dogs, fire up the old-timey phone booth and get ready to wait for the speakeasy-themed bar’s lovely libations. 

One of the few best of NYC’s recent speakeasy-style bar revival spots, even if it does not exactly lean into the genre, Nothing Really Matters is underground in Manhattan’s own underground: The subway! And you don’t even need a MetroCard to enter its location downstairs near the downtown-bound 1 train platform at 50th street. 

NYC’s favorite piano bar briefly operated virtually before reopening live at 2020’s end to happy show tunes heard all around town. To borrow a phrase, we love a whoopee spot where the gin is cold, but the piano’s hot. Especially when the mercury's high. 

The “ON AIR” sign outside’s been a beacon for late night eaters and drinkers for years, but Decibel also has one of the best happy hour deals in town if you arrive a little earlier. From 6pm-7pm, select sake cocktails and lychee martinis are $9, and you can get a whole pitcher of the latter for $38. Not only will you beat the crowds, you’ll be heading out just as the sun starts easing its grasp on the East Village. 

Finally reopening Friday and Saturday nights after pausing in 2020 and hosting intermittent events in recent months, Le Boudoir’s big return cocktail menu was authored by top bartender, Mace’s Nico de Soto. Enter through Chez Moi, the French restaurant upstairs to speak with the host for access to the secret bookshelf entrance. 

Realize your Phantom fantasies below Chinese Tuxedo in the basement of a former opera house. The sleek and dimly lit haunt splashed with sparks of cool-hued neon is back open until 1am, six nights a week, after a period of more sporadic hours that, ironically, gave it more “speakeasy” credibility than ever before. 

Named one of The World’s 50 Best Bars the year it opened, Katana Kitten now holds the number 10 spot on that same list, four years later. Upstairs, natural light is diffused through a skylight in the back, and the basement’s space is as cool as they come with the same sensational sips you’ll find above ground. 

While many of our Old New York favorites evoke general Jazz Age/Hemingway/choose-your-own cliché vibes, The Flower Shop is a throwback of more recent origin: The 1970s. It has a little vinyl, a little wood paneling and a lot of air conditioning, plus cocktails, wine and good old Miller Lite on tap. 

Although it’s lit low in true basement fashion, The Up & Up’s vintage prints and fun floral color scheme are so cute we’d almost forgive a neighboring table for turning on the phone flash for one photo frame. But only one. Keep the low-key mood chill over the bar’s many multi-ingredient cocktails.

Home to some of the most photogenic cocktails in town, The Honey Well has a chill basement for days and nights when it’s just too hot to sit and sip in its lovely back garden. The bar here controls smoke, lights fires and pours delicious tipples into darling vessels sure to rack up the Instagram hearts. 

Chelsea Market’s cellar space is ideally located to escape the heat after hosting tourists around the High Line nearby. Its literal underground location will give your out of town guests a thrill, and cocktails, beer and wine will take the edge off that trip to the M&M’s store you’ve got looming on the itinerary. 

This is another straight out of Central Casting spot that’ll dazzle your visiting pals after a few turns around Midtown, and it’s quite a bit roomier than many of its contemporaries. Bo Peep’s lengthy general interest menu is sized to match, with crowd-pleasing bar snacks, apps and half-a-dozen pizzas alongside its multi-section cocktail menu. 

Though there is a picture window at sidewalk level, Botanica’s almost as shady as deeper digs in town. Divey enough in spite of its Nolita address, there are a few cocktails on its tidy menu, but keep in mind that they make a good beer here.