Best cocktail bars in New York City
The top 3 according to 2,173 votes from people: Employees Only · PDT (Please Don't Tell) · Death & Co. (Updated Mar 3, 2026.)
Speakeasies, hotel classics and world-beating bars: the New York cocktail bars drinks writers and bartenders recommend.
Top 10
-
1
Employees Only
West Village speakeasy behind a psychic's storefront.
-
2
PDT (Please Don't Tell)
Entered through a phone booth inside Crif Dogs.
-
3
Death & Co
East Village bar that helped define the modern cocktail revival.
-
4
Attaboy
No menu: bartenders make drinks to your taste.
-
5
Dante
Greenwich Village café-bar famous for its Negronis.
-
6
The Dead Rabbit
Irish bar in the Financial District with a cocktail parlour.
-
7
Dutch Kills
Long Island City bar with hand-cut ice.
-
8
The Campbell
Restored 1920s office of a tycoon inside Grand Central Terminal.
-
9
Bemelmans Bar
Jazz bar at The Carlyle with Ludwig Bemelmans's murals.
-
10
Amor y Amargo
Tiny bar devoted to bitters.
Candidates
They don't make it into the top 10… yet. Vote for them to move them up.
-
11
King Cole Bar
St. Regis bar where the Bloody Mary was popularised.
-
12
Katana Kitten
Japanese-American highball bar in the West Village.
-
13
Angel's Share
Speakeasy-style Japanese cocktail bar in the East Village, one of the pioneers of the revival.
-
14
Clover Club
Julie Reiner's Victorian-style cocktail bar in Cobble Hill, Brooklyn, opened in 2008.
-
15
Double Chicken Please
Lower East Side bar opened in 2020, known for drinks inspired by dishes.
How is this ranking ordered? By people's votes: each ▲ adds a point and each ▼ takes one away. Anyone can vote and add what is missing.
Is something missing?
Comments (20)
Death & Co, the bar that shaped modern cocktails.
Book Attaboy early, small place.
Dante's Negroni Sessions at happy hour.
The Dead Rabbit, best Irish coffee in NYC.
Dead Rabbit's menu is a comic book!
Missing Clover Club in Brooklyn.
Employees Only, the classic.
Double Chicken Please, the most creative menu in the city.
NYC is the cocktail capital of the world.
PDT through the hot dog phone booth, iconic.
King Cole Bar, where the Bloody Mary was born.
Bemelmans with the live piano, so classy.
Great list for a weekend.
Attaboy, no menu, just tell them what you like.
The Campbell in Grand Central, gorgeous.
And Angel's Share in the East Village.
Katana Kitten, Japanese highballs, love it.
Expensive but worth it.
Dutch Kills in LIC, worth the trip.
Amor y Amargo, bitters only, unique.