Best cocktail bars for a date in New York
A proper drink between dinner and dessert.
226 spots · Jump to the list
These are bars you go to for the drinks themselves — a considered menu, careful technique, a bartender who can make you something that isn't on it. They sit best in the middle of a night: after dinner, before dessert, or as the nightcap. Restaurants with a strong bar are on the restaurant lists instead.
This guide ranks 226 cocktail bars in New York, from East Village / LES to Flatiron / Gramercy and Carroll Gardens / Cobble Hill. Editors' picks come first, then the rest by rating, and the plans below build a whole evening around the best of them.
The list
Editors' picks first, then by rating.
Skylark
4.8(20)Park Slope / Gowanus · $$
Due West
4.8(18)West Village / Greenwich Village · $$
Bar Kabawa
4.8(17)East Village / LES · $$
BABA on Withers
4.8(17)Williamsburg · $$
The Raines Law Room Chelsea
4.8(16)Chelsea / Hell's Kitchen · $$$
Undercote
4.8(16)Flatiron / Gramercy · $$$
All Blues
4.8(12)Tribeca · $$$
The Tusk Bar
4.8(11)Flatiron / Gramercy · $$$
Mister Paradise
4.8(10)East Village / LES · $$
Tigre
4.8(9)East Village / LES · $$$$
Oldies
4.8(8)Sunset Park · $$
The Up & Up
4.8(8)SoHo / NoHo / Nolita · $$$
Vineapple
4.8(6)DUMBO / Brooklyn Heights
Nobody Told Me
4.8(6)Upper West Side · $$
George Bang Bang
4.8(5)Flatiron / Gramercy · $$$
The Raines Law Room
4.8(5)Midtown Manhattan · $$$
Dokidoki
4.8(5)Williamsburg · $$
Bar Rêve
4.8(4)Carroll Gardens / Cobble Hill · $$
Analogue
4.8(4)West Village / Greenwich Village · $$
The Red Pavilion
4.8(4)Bushwick / Ridgewood · $$$
222 Speakeasy
4.8(4)Upper West Side · $$
Carreau Club
4.7(24)Carroll Gardens / Cobble Hill
2nd Floor Bar & Essen
4.7(20)Upper East Side · $$$
Ray's
4.7(19)East Village / LES · $
Showing 25–48 of 226 spots
Good to know
- What's the best cocktail bar in New York for a date?
- Our top pick is Skylark in Park Slope / Gowanus, rated 4.8 out of 5. Due West and Bar Kabawa round out the top 3.
- Which New York neighborhoods have the best cocktail bars?
- East Village / LES (4), Flatiron / Gramercy (3) and Carroll Gardens / Cobble Hill (2) have the most spots in the top 24.
- Are there affordable cocktail bars in New York?
- Yes — Skylark, Due West and Bar Kabawa are all $$ or under.
- Do I need a reservation?
- It depends on the spot. Book ahead for Tigre, while Undercote takes walk-ins.
- What should we do before or after?
- Make it a cocktail night: dinner, then cocktails, then something sweet. The plans on this page pair each top spot with the best-rated places within about a 20-minute walk.