If New York’s nightlife scene were a keg, it’d never get kicked. NYC overflows with options no matter the day: dance the night away inside a Brooklyn warehouse, slide into a speakeasy-style cocktail joint or applaud burlesque performers who bare it all for rowdy crowds. Beer buffs sample flights at local breweries, socialites sip Manhattans in swanky surrounds, and there are so many venues with exceptional live performances it’s hard to know where to begin.
As a hops-loving, cocktail-drinking, music-obsessed Brooklynite who writes NYC travel guides and zips around town with rave-ready ear plugs (a lifesaver, I swear), I’m regularly reassessing which local venues offer the most fun – be it a historic dive, queer club or classy collared-shirt establishment.
Here’s a list of the current best-of-the-best to get you started on an NYC adventure once the sun goes down.
Attaboy
Best for craft cocktails and speakeasy-style
Lower East Side $$$
Don’t get thrown off by the “Tailors and Alterations” sign in front of this hallowed Lower East Side hall. The metal door, simply marked “AB,” doesn’t open up to a sewing salon – it leads to a slender pseudo-speakeasy where expert mixologists whip up bespoke cocktails. There isn’t a menu – just let the bartenders know what flavors you like and watch them work their magic. It’s arguably NYC’s best spot for intoxicating concoctions – and due to their no-reservations policy and limited seating, there’s often a substantial wait unless you arrive early. Luckily, you can bide your time at Attaboy’s sister bar, Good Guy’s, a neighboring spot with summery spritzes and snacks.
Talea
Best for fruit-forward beer flights
Williamsburg $$
The beer industry might be male-dominated, but good brews aren’t only for bros, particularly at the original outpost of Talea – NYC’s first (and currently only) women-owned brewery. Since opening in 2021, the company has opened three additional locations, but the spacious Williamsburg flagship location remains its best. Stop in for flights of juicy, wine-style sours and sip each concoction like a dignified cicerone (beer sommelier). Don’t worry if funky flavors aren’t your preference – there’s plenty of standard fare, like the Al Dente pilsner with a sweet honey finish. For more sips of local brews, join hopheads at Beer Street (a 5-minute walk away), pouring artisanal ales from NYC, the Hudson Valley and beyond.
Nowadays
Best for outdoor dancing and audiophiles
Ridgewood $$
No need to wait until sundown for dancing – just head to the seasonal Mister Sunday party at Nowadays (3pm-11pm, May-October), where serious BPM connoisseurs step-touch to the transcendental sounds of house music on an outdoor dance floor beneath a glittering disco ball. This indoor-outdoor club – located on the industrial border of Ridgewood, Queens and Bushwick, Brooklyn – sprawls over a 16,000-square-foot backyard packed with picnic tables and swinging hammocks where dancers take breaks to enjoy grilled Mexican fare while sipping spiked Yerba Mates. Purchase tickets via the Resident Advisor app to avoid waiting in line (queues peak between 5pm and 6:30pm). There’s also a 5,000-square-foot indoor space, which hosts “Nonstop” Saturday parties – one of the few places in NYC where you can get down as the sun rises. Ensure you follow the house rules: there’s zero tolerance for discrimination and non-consensual touching – and no phones on the dance floor.
Bemelmans Bar
Best for old-school sophistication
Upper East Side $$$
Affluent Upper East Siders started sipping martinis beneath this bar’s 24-karat gold-leaf ceiling in 1947 – a hidden bourgeois bastion tucked into the Carlyle Hotel. Then, around 2021, TikTok discovered its cinematic decadence: bartenders in red smoking jackets mixing Manhattans, jazz pianists playing standards on a Steinway and colorful murals by illustrator Ludwig Bemelmans (the man behind Madeleine) decorating the walls. The paintings, which depict nearby Central Park, occupy the liminal space between old elegance and youthful glee – a lot like Bemelmans’ mishmash of visitors. Cocktails are expensive ($25 and up), and there’s a $10 cover when pianists play (starting at 5:30pm) – but that’s the cost of time travel. Dress smart or risk getting turned away.
3 Dollar Bill
Best for LGBTIQ+ events
East Williamsburg $$
When you’re looking to party with the gals, gays and theys, head to the largest queer venue in Brooklyn. Events cater to nearly everyone under the LGBTIQ+ umbrella. Check the schedule for drag performances, comedy nights and party-boy sweat fetes that spill from the front bar to two indoor stage spaces and into a back lot, weather permitting. (The sprawling space was a brewery until the 1950s.) Pre-purchase tickets – some events sell out, especially those hosted by pop music impresario Ty Sunderland. For something more laid back, walk 20 minutes west to the Exley – epicenter of Williamsburg’s gay bar empire; skip to Mary’s Bar for something sapphic-centric.
The Slipper Room
Best for titillating variety acts
Lower East Side $$
Burlesque performers, aerial dancers, magicians, comedians, sultry singers and drag artists: you might see them all on this snug stage for everything bawdy and blue. Grab a seat on the main floor for up-close action; opt for the balcony if you blush at the sight of pasties. Pre-purchase tickets for Wednesday, Thursday and Sunday performances – Friday and Saturday are general admission. If you’re raring for a raucous Monday, set your clock for Stage Time – a monthly variety show hosted by PJ Adzima (Broadway’s The Book of Mormon) featuring a line-up of plucky theater kids and avant-garde entertainers. Once the show ends, skip down Orchard St for a slice at Scarr’s Pizza and a nightcap in Dimes Square, epicenter of downtown’s cool-kid scene (try French wine bar Le Dive).
Elsewhere
Best for indie jams and rooftop breezes
East Williamsburg $$
Post-industrial Brooklyn is replete with warehouse-style spaces converted into late-night music venues. Indie artists serenade crowds at Brooklyn Steel; EDM ravers pack into Avant Gardner. Elsewhere stands out thanks to its versatility. This former furniture assembly factory features a labyrinth of hallways connecting a series of rooms, each with its own sonic landscape. Dance all night in the main hall, grab light bites from the tiny second-floor Loft or sway to tunes on the 5,000-square-foot rooftop throughout summer. Most performers come from indie and underground worlds, with a mix of DJs and live instrumentalists. On any given night, you might hear house, disco, hip-hop, rock and punk. Check the schedule to see what’s on; pre-purchase tickets through the Dice app.
Ear Inn
Best for local history and divey decor
SoHo $
Unlike so much of trendsetting SoHo, this cozy, affordable bar on the neighborhood’s western fringes hasn’t changed much since it started slinging drinks in 1817. Ephemera from generations past cling to the walls; ghosts of 19th-century sailors who once imbibed here hide in cramped corners. The Federal-style building, slightly askew, has been around since 1770 – when it was allegedly constructed for James Brown, an African aid to George Washington during the American Revolution. These days, it welcomes a democratic cross-hatch of New Yorkers: wizened bar flies, off-duty cops, urban fashionistas, office workers from nearby buildings and the Earregulars – a jazz band that swings through on Sunday nights.
Lincoln Center
Best for world-class performing arts
Upper West Side $$$
Lincoln Center is the Upper West Side’s culture Acropolis, its 16.3-acre white travertine complex housing internationally recognized demigods with superior skills in music and dance. Dress up for a night at the Metropolitan Opera, its lobby graced with Marc Chagall murals, or hear the New York Philharmonic in David Geffen Hall – recently revamped for a cool $550 million. You could choose ballet, theater or arthouse films instead – plus there are free outdoor concerts in summer and the Big Apple Circus’s daredevil acts in winter. The perfect prelude to a performance? Dinner at Tatiana – David Geffen Hall’s beloved Afro-Caribbean restaurant where scoring reservations is nearly impossible as singing Mozart’s Queen of the Night aria.
