Best cocktail bars for a date in New York
A proper drink between dinner and dessert.
224 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 224 cocktail bars in New York, from West Village / Greenwich Village to East Village / LES and Bushwick / Ridgewood. 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.
The Up & Up
4.5(8)SoHo / NoHo / Nolita · $$$
Vineapple
4.5(6)DUMBO / Brooklyn Heights
Doris
4.5(6)Fort Greene · $$
Nobody Told Me
4.5(6)Upper West Side · $$
Marian's
4.5(4)Bushwick / Ridgewood · $
Le Boudoir
4.5(4)Carroll Gardens / Cobble Hill · $$
Bar Rêve
4.5(4)Carroll Gardens / Cobble Hill · $$
Analogue
4.5(4)West Village / Greenwich Village · $$
The Red Pavilion
4.5(4)Bushwick / Ridgewood · $$$
Dear Irving On Hudson
4.5(4)Midtown Manhattan · $$$$
222 Speakeasy
4.5(4)Upper West Side · $$
Angel's Share
4.4(24)West Village / Greenwich Village · $$$
Experimental Cocktail Club
4.4(21)Flatiron / Gramercy · $$
2nd Floor Bar & Essen
4.4(20)Upper East Side · $$$
Orient Express
4.4(20)West Village / Greenwich Village · $$$
Ray's
4.4(19)East Village / LES · $
Romeos
4.4(18)East Village / LES · $$
Mace
4.4(18)West Village / Greenwich Village · $$
Midnights
4.4(17)Williamsburg · $$
The Roxy Bar
4.4(17)SoHo / NoHo / Nolita · $$
Gair
4.4(16)DUMBO / Brooklyn Heights · $$$
The Lab at Patent Pending
4.4(16)Flatiron / Gramercy · $$$
320 Club
4.4(16)Williamsburg · $$
Fig. 19
4.4(14)East Village / LES · $$
Showing 97–120 of 224 spots
Good to know
- What's the best cocktail bar in New York for a date?
- Our top pick is The Up & Up in SoHo / NoHo / Nolita, rated 4.5 out of 5. Vineapple and Doris round out the top 3.
- Which New York neighborhoods have the best cocktail bars?
- West Village / Greenwich Village (4), East Village / LES (3) and Bushwick / Ridgewood (2) have the most spots in the top 24.
- Are there affordable cocktail bars in New York?
- Yes — Doris, Nobody Told Me and Marian's are all $$ or under.
- Do I need a reservation?
- It depends on the spot. Book ahead for Experimental Cocktail Club, while Angel's Share and Fig. 19 take 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.