The Upper East Side keeps its bars close-knit and reputation-earned. Bemelmans is still the gold standard for a hotel bar, but a new wave of wine bars, proper dive bars, and neighborhood rooms make this one of Manhattan's more underrated drinking neighborhoods.
Upper East Side · 35 E 76th St, New York, NY 10021
A New York institution that turns martinis into high art. Candlelit, jazz-soaked, and still as effortlessly glamorous as the day it opened. The walls, hand-painted by Madeline creator Ludwig Bemelmans himself, set the s…
Upper East Side · Madison Avenue at 77th St, New York, NY 10075, USA
Designed with cowhide couches, sculptural lounge chairs, and lighting that lands exactly where it needs to—low, precise, and flattering without trying too hard. The cocktails stick to what works—a cold Cucumber Martini,…
Upper East Side · 1664 1st Ave, New York, NY 10028
A Yorkville dive bar wallpapered in 80s and 90s nostalgia — Jaws and Star Wars posters, boxed Care Bears, a Lite-Brite on the shelf, and an Elvis statue guarding the bar. Street Fighter 2 and Pac-Man arcade consoles sit…
Upper East Side · 1586 York Ave, New York, NY 10028, USA
A warm, unhurried room in Yorkville's quieter eastern corner — TVs along the bar, patio out front, weekly trivia drawing the same crowd on purpose. The Bramble — Gunpowder Irish Gin, blackberry, fresh lemon over crushed…
Upper East Side · 1629 2nd Ave, New York, NY 10028
A high-octane little time capsule devoted to the gospel of 1970s NYC, where disco glints off the mirrors and go-go dancers turn the room into a full-tilt dance floor. The music stays pre-1980, the drinks don’t mess arou…
Upper East Side · 177 E 100th St, New York, NY 10029, USA
Murals of Carmen Miranda and Tarsila do Amaral set the tone, and the signature Goyana cocktail follows through: aged cachaça with fresh pineapple, passion fruit, and a rare vanilla sourced from a family farm in Goiás. S…
Upper East Side · 1491 Lexington Ave, New York, NY 10029, USA
Natural wine shop on Lexington with a record-store conceit — the selection divides into "New Releases" and "Top Hits," and the bottles lean toward the low-intervention and unusual end of the shelf. Staff knows the wines…