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The Spotted Pig
Photograph: Courtesy The Spotted PigThe Spotted Pig

The coziest restaurants and bars in NYC

Warm your bones with wintry booze, steaming soup and fiery hearths at the coziest bars and restaurants in New York

Written by
Rheanna O’Neil Bellomo
,
Dan Q Dao
&
Lauren Rothman
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Carving out a comfortable spot to unwind in the city that never sleeps is easy—if you know where to look. Tucked away inside New York's top-notch restaurants, bars and coffee shops are some of the best nooks to relax in. From fancy drinks dens with warm, winter cocktails to neighborhood bars with roaring fireplaces, these are the coziest bars and restaurants in New York.

RECOMMENDED: Full guide to best restaurants in NYC

Coziest restaurants and bars in NYC

Art Bar
  • Bars
  • Lounges
  • West Village
  • price 2 of 4
Though this dive radiates a 1970s vibe up front (argyle-patterned walls, oversize vinyl booths), it's the tucked-away, moody back room—lit by soft-glowing chandeliers and an ornate fireplace—that wins over the West Village crowd.
  • Bars
  • Gastropubs
  • Flatiron
  • price 2 of 4
Journey north for the winter at this mountain-lodge takeover of Eataly’s rooftop bar, La Birreria, revamped with pine trees, vintage Dolomite artwork and Adirondack chairs, each draped with a warm blanket to snuggle into. Warm up further with melted raclette cheeses and three caldi (hot) cocktails with bases of tea, hot chocolate or eggnog; and classic-riffing cups like a Barr Hill Gin–charged White Hot Negroni and a frosty, espresso-laden Grappacino. 
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Black Mountain Wine House
  • Bars
  • Wine bars
  • Gowanus
  • price 2 of 4
The rustic vino bar is even toastier inside than its log-cabin exterior suggests. With a glass of red in hand while sitting fireside, you'll feel like you're vacationing in the sleepy upstate woods, not hitting happy hour in the heart of Gowanus.
Bookmarks Rooftop Lounge at the Library Hotel
  • Bars
  • Hotel bars
  • Midtown East
  • price 4 of 4
Escape the chill at this inviting rooftop lounge, where you can imbibe by the fireplace in the bookshelf-adorned writer’s den, or get lost in a novel—and a glass of wine—in the adjoining greenhouse. Cushy leather couches are one draw; literary-inspired cocktails like the lime-and-ginger Tequila Mockingbird are another.
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The Brooklyn Inn
  • Bars
  • Beer bars
  • Boerum Hill
  • price 1 of 4
This may or may not be the oldest bar in Brooklyn, but it for damn sure is the coziest. Dark wood, high ceilings and grizzled old regulars sidled up to the bar make it the alcoholic equivalent of a hug. Next time it snows, grab a book (and some cash—no credit cards accepted) and hunker down to sling back a few pints and play some tunes from the jukebox. Get ready for instant fuzzy feels.
  • Bars
  • Lounges
  • Carroll Gardens
  • price 2 of 4
We understand if you've never gotten beyond the 19th-century mahogany bar, fancy-pants cocktails—go classic with fizzes and sours—and exceptional small bites like steak tartare. But the back room is where you want to be. Behind a curtain (and sometimes a velvet rope), there's an exclusive chamber, heated by fireplace, where you can whisper, woo and be waited on.
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  • Restaurants
  • American
  • Lower East Side
  • price 2 of 4
This LES joint has come to be regarded as the tastemaking cabin-in-the-’hood at the end of the now-legendary alley. Its oft-copied taxidermied interior evokes a kind of hipster hunting lodge with worn, blanket-draped leather chairs, wooden bookshelves scattered with classic titles and a working fireplace. Reinforcing the cozy hideaway feel are hearty plates like Colorado lamb stew and house Cheshire pork and apple sausage. 
  • Bars
  • Cocktail bars
  • Chelsea
  • price 3 of 4
This winter pop-up at rooftop bar Gallow Green is fitted out like an old-timey cabin, complete with wall-mounted, candlestick-style lamps, cozy, flannel-draped armchairs and a desk scattered with pinecones and parchment. Keep to the cabin, where you can flip through sepia-paged books and even snuggle into a bunk bed, or wander outside towards a crackling fire pit surrounded by plush overstuffed couches. No cold-weather getaway is complete without a warm drink (or two) in hand, so grab a fortifying Maple Toddy, an earthy mulled wine or a spiced-up Irish coffee, grab a seat by one of the fresh evergreens, and pretend you’re one of those rare breed of New Yorkers that—gasp!—has access to an actual country home.
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Housing Works Bookstore Cafe
  • Shopping
  • Toys and games
  • Soho
  • price 1 of 4
The expansive bookshop is full of reading selections and a quaint café for spending an afternoon paging through your favorites. Plus, it's flooded in warm lighting that sets the mood for a chill afternoon to get lost in a deep conversation with a few friends.
Hudson Bar and Books
  • Bars
  • Cocktail bars
  • West Village
  • price 4 of 4
The original Bar and Books location, the first dedicated cigar bar in the city, is a sophisticated spot for smoking cigars (indoors!) and sipping cognac. The shelved books, dark wood details and warm lighting, coupled with a full bar and light dishes, should give you enough incentive to avoid going back out into the cold. ​
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