Deciding whether to check out a new bar is a dilemma of Seinfeld-ian proportions: If you stick to your favorite haunt it will be good, but it’ll be the same. But if you go someplace else, it will be different, but it might not be as good. It’s a gamble. Well get ready to roll the dice because we’ve scoured the city for the best new bars popping up just in time for summer. Cheers!
Best Born-Again Bar: 200
Having closed the space for two years to fight for permits, the owners of 200 Orchard could have easily reopened their wannabe lounge in its former capacity, and would have quickly learned that the days of red leather banquettes and fog machines are coming to an end. Instead, they went the opposite route, stripping down the walls to reveal the weathered brick beneath and converting the old dance floor into a private beer-hall. The result—a warm, low-key space filled with friendly Irish bartenders who will just as happily shake you up a fiery jalapeno-infused margarita as pour you a proper pint of Guinness. This is one make-under worth admiring!
200 Orchard St. (@ Houston st.), Lower East Side, 212.253.2235
Best Basement Bar: Janis
Hanging out in a friend’s basement was a rite of passage for any teen growing up in suburbia. It was the scene of most of our milestones—the first game of spin the bottle, the first clandestine sip of alcohol, the first make out session we prayed our parents wouldn’t walk in on. For most of us, the days of the basement party have ended…or so we thought. Enter Janis, the new underground lounge from the folks at the West Village eatery De Santos. A cozy, unrefined hideaway, Janis has quickly become a go-to spot where the fashionable arrive fashionably late to get a little dirty on the dance floor. Go on, take a trip down memory lane…we won’t judge you for making-out in the corner.
139 W. 10th St. (Greenwich & Waverly Pl.), West Village, 212.206.9229
Best New College Bar for the Unenrolled: West 3rd Common
There’s a time and a place for Down the Hatch and Off the Wagon-style revelry, but if that time has passed and you’re still around NYU, the place to be is West 3rd Common. From the owners of the low-key East Village favorite Common Ground, West 3rd Common is twice the size, with high ceilings and crystal chandeliers that elevate it way beyond your typical sports bar. A solid happy hour pretty much guarantees you’ll be challenging your neighbors to one of their many board games, but no one’s complaining…who doesn’t love a game of drunken Jenga?
1 W. 3rd St. (@ Broadway), NoHo, 212.529.2059
Best New Hidden Bar: Cienfuegos
The bartenders are spiking the punch over at this new clandestine haunt, and thankfully there are no prom chaperones to stop them. Offering twenty-four different rum-infused cocktails, in four different sizes might we add, this Havana-themed lounge is as upbeat and as low-key as they come. It’s the sexiest date locale since the owner’s first hot-spot Death & Co, but it’s even more fun with a group of friends and a $100 punch bowl, so drink up, me hearties yo-ho!
443 E 6th St. (1st & Ave A), East Village, 212.614.6818
Best New Hotel Lounge: Polar at the Hotel Marcel
There are the depressing, smoke-filled hotel lounges you stumble into during a work conference in the middle of nowhere, and then there are hotel lounges in Manhattan that are the polar opposite. This swanky new spot within the Marcel Hotel, has been drawing an elite crowd of celebrities like Alicia Keys—without becoming overly pretentious, an impressive feat in the NYC nightlife world. To the point, rather than traditional bottle service, groups can reserve a private “Polar Cave” and be treated to pitchers of specialty cocktails for only $85. Sounds to us like the perfect way to “chill” with some friends, pun completely intended.
201 E. 24th St. (2nd & 3rd Aves.), Gramercy, 212.696.3800
Best New Reason to go to Brooklyn Bar: The Counting Room
One thing you can always count on is Manhattanites griping about making the trek to Brooklyn, even though the ride to Williamsburg is faster than say, a journey from Midtown East to the LES. But reluctant borough hoppers rest assured, The Counting Room is worth the marginal effort it takes to get there. One part open-air wine bar, one part industrial cocktail lounge, and both parts decorated in sleek reclaimed wood, it’s not your typical W-Burg dive. And with drink prices coming in around $8-$10 a pop, you’ll feel like you never left Manhattan.
44 Berry Street (@ N 11th), Williamsburg, 718.599.1860
Best New Roof Deck Bar: Press Lounge @ the Ink48 Hotel
Let’s be honest, us New Yorkers can get a little lazy, so when someone tells us there’s a new rooftop bar on 11th Avenue, we usually respond with a non-committal, “I get plenty of sun through my apartment windows.” Of course, Press also has 360 degree views of Manhattan, comfy lounge chairs, a long narrow reflecting pool perfect for tanning beside (and being tempted to jump into), and a list of signature cocktails to please even the most selective drinker. But we’re sure you can get all that at your apartment as well.
635 11th Ave. (@ 48th St. ), Hell’s Kitchen, 212.757.2224
Best New Wine Bar: Vyne Bar
These days, it’s pretty much impossible to walk two blocks without discovering a new wine bar…except near NYU where fratty dives remain the norm. Enter Vyne bar, an elegant space right in the thick of Greenwich Village, which caters to a crowd that actually appreciates the lulled jazz beats permeating from Zinc, the bar below. The requisite wine list is large and affordable, but their specialty cocktails are the stand-out (Dark ‘n’ Stormys make the menu just in time for summer woo-hoo)! Thanks to Vyne, a calm night in Greenwich Village is no longer an oxymoron.
82 W 3rd St. (Thompson & Sullivan Sts.), Greenwich Village, 212.353.8963
