The Broken Shaker

Eighteen floors above Gramercy, at the top of the Freehand Hotel, two indoor bars open onto matching outdoor terraces with retractable roofs and a clear view of the Empire State and Chrysler buildings. Chefs Jeremiah Stone and Fabian von Hauske run a Latin-leaning kitchen of ceviche, skewers and a jerk chicken sandwich until 9pm, after which it's cocktails only. The room reads less like a hotel bar and more like a beach-house party someone let you into: leather couches, greenery spilling over the railings, reggae on the speakers. On warm evenings it fills fast, and the elevator line can run long before you're even inside.