Guide Details

Best Bars in Manhattan: 10 Cocktail, Beer, and Wine Stops

10 source-backed bars in Manhattan, with official hours, cocktail and beer classifications, price context, and room-specific guidance.

Manhattan, New York City1 guide10 mapped stops
Nightlife/Manhattan

Best Bars in Manhattan: 10 Cocktail, Beer, and Wine Stops

Guide: Cocktail Bars, Breweries, Wine, and Late Rooms

The broader bar guide in Manhattan, after the dives have their own list: cocktail rooms, breweries, wine bars, rooftops, restaurant-bars, live music, and social late-night spaces. Each stop is selected for what it pours and how the room works.

  • Bemelmans BarBemelmans is The Carlyle's cocktail room, distinguished by Ludwig Bemelmans murals, piano and jazz performances, formal service, and Upper East Side theater. Covers, minimums, and dress guidance apply at certain times.
  • The Dead RabbitThe Dead Rabbit gives FiDi both a casual Irish pub side and a more composed cocktail room upstairs, with food, whiskey, and enough energy for a planned Lower Manhattan night. It is one of the city's clearest crossover spots between pub culture and serious drinks.
  • Employees OnlyEmployees Only is a West Village cocktail institution where the speakeasy idea still has enough hospitality and speed to work. Go for a late drink, a bar seat if you can get one, and the old-school downtown buzz; reservations help when the night is tight.
  • Please Don't TellPlease Don't Tell hides a small cocktail room behind a phone booth inside Crif Dogs, pairing serious drinks with hot dogs from next door. Reservations and compact party sizes matter in the narrow East Village space.
  • AttaboyAttaboy has no printed menu; the bartender builds each cocktail from a conversation about spirits, flavors, and mood. The Lower East Side room is tiny, so patience and a party of one or two produce the best version of it.
  • DanteDante is the Greenwich Village aperitivo bar for negronis, spritzes, Martinis, and Italian-leaning food in a room that works from afternoon into evening. It is a strong cocktail bar when the night should begin with a drink rather than end with one.
  • Death & CoDeath & Co is a dark, intimate East Village cocktail bar known for balanced drinks, a detailed menu, and attentive service. Reservations or early arrival suit the small room better than a large group.
  • Angel's ShareAngel's Share is a Japanese-influenced cocktail room built around precise drinks, restrained service, and quiet focus rather than spectacle.
  • King Cole BarKing Cole Bar is the Midtown hotel-bar classic where the Maxfield Parrish mural, martinis, and Red Snapper lore do the heavy lifting.
  • OverstoryOverstory is a reservation-led cocktail bar high above 70 Pine Street, pairing technically precise drinks with wraparound terraces and Lower Manhattan views. The useful decision points are the room, pours, crowd, and late-night posture rather than trend status.
Overstory venue sourceAngel's Share venue sourceEater NY - Essential barsKing Cole Bar venue source

Reviewed by RGuide EditorialVenue details checked

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