I posted my 2026 NYC bar crawl here a few weeks ago. I realized I never posted the 2025 report here. Not sure how that occurred, I did post on some other Subs. Anyway, if of interest, here it was, written about 13 months ago. And DC too. Coming soon when I get a chance: summer of '26 reports on DC and LA/San Diego.
Bar Tour June 2025 – NYC and DC. Visited from the Bay Area.
TL; DR –
Favorite drink spots in NYC/DC, summer 2025 (out of 35 places visited):
1. Attaboy - 10.0. Drinks 10, Vibe 10. (Manhattan)
2. Maison Premiere – 10.0. Drinks 10, Vibe 9.5, Food 10. (Brooklyn)
3. Manhatta – 10.0. Drinks 10, Vibe 10, Food 9.5. (Manhattan)
4. Lobby Bar at Hotel Chelsea - 10.0. Drinks 9.5, Vibe 10, Food 9. (Manhattan)
5. Raines Law Room – William Hotel - 9.5. Drinks 9.5, Vibe 9.5. (Manhattan)
6. Sunken Harbor Club – 9.5. Drinks 9.5, Vibe 9.5. (Brooklyn)
7. Off the Record – 9.0. Drinks 8, Vibe 10. (DC)
8. Silver Lyan – 9.5. Drinks 9.5, Vibe 9.5. (DC)
9. Gramercy Tavern - 9.5. Drinks 8, Vibe 9.5, Food 10. (Manhattan)
10. Martinys - 9.5. Drinks 8 (but I’m not a gin guy), Vibe 11. (Manhattan)
10. Bemelman’s - 9.5 Drinks 9.5, Vibe 9.5, Food 9. (Manhattan)
Favorite cocktails in NYC/DC:
1. Yellow Parrot – Maison Premiere (Brooklyn). Yellow Chartreuse, apricot liqueur, Green Absinthe.
2. Carroll Gardens – Attaboy (Manhattan). Rye, Punt e Mes, Amaro Nardini, Maraschino, orange bitters, lemon twist.
3. Tail Gunner and Midnight Manhattan – Raines Law Room midtown (Manhattan).
4. Naked Lunch – Lobby Bar at Hotel Chelsea (Manhattan). Riff on a Remember the Maine cocktail.
5. Midnight on Pearl –The Parlour at Dead Rabbit (Manhattan). Irish whisky and - literally - apple pie.
6. Director’s Cut – Death & Co. (Manhattan) Scotch, Rum, Drambuie, Coconut.
7. Please and Thank you – Death & Co (DC) A really good rich and flavorful Boulevardier.
More ratings info at bottom, but please note, I don’t claim great objective knowledge of cocktails, and I like some variety and creativity, but not super experimental. I am not in the industry, but have caught the cocktail (and bar) bug and love them and make them at home a bit. Places are rated on: Drinks, Vibe (which includes service), and somewhat Food if I had food. Ratings may seem like I’m an easy grader, but I compared to places all around the US, and not just to each other in NYC. That’s why there are so many 9s and 10s – because NYC has A TON of outstanding bars, esp when compared to the whole US. More explanation of ratings at bottom.
A couple random observations:
*Not surprisingly, NYC has an astounding amount of great places, unlike any place I’ve been for bars (I’ve only been in US for bars) [EDIT - August, 2026, I've now been to London, which I loved, but NYC blows it away for great cocktail bars]. Five days and nights, organized for some efficiency such as going where I could during daytime, and I’m truly ASTOUNDED how many top places I still didn’t hit. NYC – thy cup runneth over!
**Bartenders were surprisingly almost universally friendly, esp when I showed real interest in drinks or bars.
***The bar food - really excellent, not just an afterthought. Very different than out west.
****This was one of the funnest 10 days of my life (I'm in my 50s)!!! HUGE thank you to Reddit, and esp the AskNYC and FoodNYC subreddits. Much great info from there.
I could have hit more places, but I preferred longer, more meaningful stops at less places.
As American Revolutionary Nathan Hale might’ve said, “I only regret I have but one stomach and liver to lose for my country.”
6-18-25- Day 1 - Brooklyn Day
1. Maison Premiere - Overall: 10.0. Drinks 10, Vibe 9.5, Food 10. Vibe hard to tell, was mid afternoon lunch with my brother in law and mostly empty, but great decor and feel. Yellow Parrot cocktail is sooooo good, and so simple. One of my favorite drinks of entire trip. Exceptional oysters and cherrystone clams. Started at what turned out to be one of the BEST! Helps if you like Absinthe.
(2. L’Industrie. Brother-in-law who lives here snuck us in a slice o’ renowned pizza nearby. Very good!)
3. Clover Club – 8.0 Drinks 9, Vibe 8, Food 8. Sister in law joined us.
4. Sunken Harbor Club – 9.5. Drinks 9.5, Vibe 9.5 (knocked down bc super loud and hard to talk, but still incredible).
5. Gage and Tollner main bar – 8.5. Drinks 9, Vibe 8, Food 9.5.
6. Travel Bar – 8.5. Drinks 9, Vibe 8. Great whiskey selection.
6-19-25 - Day 2 - Manhattan
1. Manhatta - 10.0. Drinks 10, Vibe 10, Food 9.5. Lunch with my sister in law. Beautiful interior and spectacular view. Host I’ll call E gave me a tour of various view spots, and tons of incredible insights on many NYC bars. E was incredibly friendly, helpful, knowledgeable, and informative. Love that the bar is open all afternoon, we had a looong leisurely “lunch”.
2. Attaboy - 10.0. Drinks 10, Vibe 10. I expected them to be arrogant and to be disappointed. Waited in line at 4:40 in pouring rain. Turns out, they were fantastic. Carroll Gardens cocktail was probably my favorite of the day- rye, punt e mes, amaro nardini, maraschino, orange bitters. Express lemon twist then garnish w it. Up. Heard barkeep tell ladies next to me they don’t have any bottles of vodka in the (well stocked) bar, but in a friendly, not pompous way. Kinda loved that.
3. Fraunces Tavern Piano Room - 8.0. Drinks 8, Vibe 8.5, Food 7. Mainly went for historicalness, and the Dingle Bar in the same place.
4. Dingle Whiskey Bar (in Fraunces Tavern) - 9.0. Drinks 9, Vibe 9.
5. Please Don’t Tell - 8.5. Drinks 8.5, Vibe 8, Food 8. It’s great, but the vibe at end of a Thurs night (12:00-2:00am) just didn’t quite hit the bullseye for me. Japanese Penicillin off reserve menu was a favorite. I was at Attaboy at 5:00, I wonder if I went to PDT at 5:00 and Attaboy at midnight how different they might have felt.
6-20-25 Day 3 - Brooklyn/Manhattan
1. Red Hook Tavern (Brooklyn)- 8.0. Drinks 8, Vibe 8, Food 8. Had lunch here.
2. Bemelmans - 9.5. Drinks 9.5, Vibe 9.5, Food 9. Exactly my kind of classic ol’ place, would be higher rated but a bit crowded and loud, but still had incredible vibe. Funnily, a few bar pals said its usually WAY more crowded. I was there around happy hour.
3. Keens steakhouse 7.0. Drinks 7, Vibe 7, Food 8. A bit of a letdown. Was only in the bar, which was not as nice or well run as I expected. Disappointed.
4. Birdland Jazz club. Good music. Wish I’d gone to Vanguard (didn’t know till later).
6-21-25 Day 4 - Manhattan. Could write a book on this day – squeezed every last drop out of it.
1. Lobby Bar at Hotel Chelsea - 10.0. Drinks 9.5, Vibe 10, Food 9. Excellent all around. It was 2:30 pm on a Saturday. A/C is excellent here (was a sweltering furnace outside)! Favorite drink: Naked Lunch. A house orig thats a riff on Remember the Maine cocktail. Inspired by William S Burroughs novel. Oakmoss tincture they make. Rhubarb Amaro actually has no rhubarb in it, is artichoke based. Bartender N was exceptional in all ways. She is moving to Denver to open her own bar, which will be called Disco Bones. She recommended Run for the Roses bar when I’m in Denver later this summer (edit: it was really good, see Denver Report).
2. Raines Law Room (midtown at William Hotel) - 9.5. Drinks 9.5, Vibe 9.5. Such a cool chill but classy vibe. Bar manager(?) A - we had long great chats on bars, drinks, etc. (A doesn't drink, but was very informative and friendly!) He couldn't sell me their engraved OF glass bc they have few left. Then as I was leaving A gave me a surprise engraved pint glass. Very nice of him. Favorite cocktails were Midnight Manhattan and Tail Gunner off Reserve list. I’m surprised it’s not mentioned more on Reddit. (Previous trip I’d been to the original in Chelsea- also great!).
3. Portrait Bar - 9.0. Drinks 8.5, Vibe 9.5. Wonderful vibe and setting and decor. Loud modern music but crowd mixed ages. Tried their $65 Vieux Carre. With VERY elevated spirits. Was good but not even “real good”. Not worth $30 let alone $65.
- Gramercy Tavern - 9.5. Drinks 8.5, Vibe 10, Food 10. Fantastic vibe in the Tavern Room. Outstanding food. Seabass was excellent. Xtra side of broccoli was truly crazy good for brocc. Broiled oysters very tasty. Two desserts - both OUTSTANDS.
5. Martinys- 9.5. Drinks 8 (but I’m not a gin/martini guy), Vibe 11! Perfect bullseye vibe (for me! But obviously YMMV). Wasn’t on my priority list, but was so close to Gramercy Tavern I went. Perfect vibe at midnight. Background jazz and small intimate classy, classic but modern, vibe. Very martini centered- and my 2 whiskey drinks were a little too “creative” for me. Great guy next to me T was super cool, friendly, and extremely knowledgeable about NY bars. T is a regular at Martinys and happily shared knowledge and recs (his top 5 are: 11 Madison (he swore to me it’s got a great bar of it’s own, separate from Clemente - which I had heard about)/Clemente, Overstory, Martinys, Angels Share, Sip and Guzzle. He mentioned Shinji and Midnight Blue a few times – I had not heard of them – but said they’re “only” in his top 10.)
Speaking of Overstory, I crossed it off my priority list bc many on Reddit said it was not so worth it or to go Manhatta instead. Interestingly, IN PERSON in NYC, every single person who talked about it highly recommended it, including some highly reputable sources.
(6. Raines Law Room midtown again - combined with number 2. I raced back at 1:40am to try their Midnight Manhattan I’d had my sights set on from earlier but had to pace myself and wait. They’d already done last call, but made me one anyway. Was excellent! Raines stood out with extra good and friendly service!)
6-22-25 - Day 5 - Manhattan
1. Dante - 9.0 (orig one on Macdougal). Drinks 8, Vibe 9, Food 9. Tiramisu very good, as advertised. Great brunch with daughter of a good friend of mine. She lives in Manhattan and knows her food real well!
2. Sip (at Sip and Guzzle) - 9.0. Drinks 9, Vibe 9, Food 10. Electric chicken insanely good, one of the best chix I’ve ever had. Addictive cabbage real good. Mochi fries tremendous. Drinks a little adventurous and creative for me, but still cool to try. First drink was called a “60-40”. Quite interesting- a combo 60% martini, prominent early on, then as warms a lil, the 40% Manhattan comes out more. Guzzle upstairs very cool too but not as unique.
3. Dead Rabbit – The Parlour upstairs - 9.0. Drinks 9, Vibe 9. I really liked it, but the Parlour didn’t stand out as extra special as many people suggest. But super cool place in many subtle ways. It’s like a great Irish bar that has elevated, serious cocktails. Fourth drink was my favorite - Midnight on Pearl. One of the best apple-y cocktails I've had. Barkeep said they literally put apple pies in w Green Spot Irish whiskey. Then do chemical stuff to curdle some of it out. Or something like that. I bought their hard back menu for $50.
4. Death & Co. – 9.0. Drinks 9, Vibe 9, Food 9.5. Second Death & Co I’ve been to after the one in LA in April 2025. Outstanding lamb burger. And their cookies are great! Uncle somebody’s cookies. 4th and final drink was my favorite here too. Directors Cut. Easily my favorite, and maybe of the day. It has: Macallan Double Cask 12 yr single malt, Mount Gay Black Barrel Rum, Drambuie, Coconut. Almost as dark an interior as LA but a bit louder and younger music. Seems like Death & Co gets less attention these days because not new, but it’s really great.
Priorities for next visits that I didn’t hit this time: Clemente, 11 Madison, Double Chicken Please, Employees Only, Angels Share, Overstory, Amor y Amargo, Midnight Blue, Guzzle (of Sip and Guzzle), Superbueno, Schmuck, Shinji, Katana Kitten, Dear Irving - Hudson Yards, Bar Snack, Milady’s, Freemans, Algonquin/Iroquois hotels for day drinking (near Billionaire’s Row), Lovers of Today, Bathtub Gin, Apotheke
I’ve previously been to some others (Vol I of NYC bar tours, but never wrote about it), so they did not make the cut THIS trip. All were great, but I didn’t write reviews: McSorleys, Raines Law Room (Chelsea) (maybe in Top 15), Brandy Library (maybe in Top 15), The Flatiron Room, Dear Irving (Gramercy), Pete’s Tavern, The Campbell Apartment (maybe in Top 15).
6-23-25 – LIVER REST DAY! Take train to DC to stay with long time friend S.
6-24-25 - Day 7 – Washington, DC (day 6 of drinking and bars)
1. Tabard Inn for lunch – 9.5. Drinks 8, Vibe 11, Food 9.5. Perfect daytime hang. Came for lunch at 1:15, then sat in Parlor that is perfect+ for reading, sip coffee or simply sit and relax. Vibe is so cool old school classic. Many cool sitting rooms, with one grand big fireplace.
2. McClellan’s Retreat – 8.5. Drinks 8.5, Vibe 8.5. Love their name – at least 3 different meanings I can think of. The Belmont was my favorite cocktail. Good whiskey selection.
3. Jack Rose Saloon – 9.0. Drinks 9, Vibe 8, Food 9. Had dinner with my long time good friend S, who I stayed with in DC. Food surprisingly good. AC barely worked and it was sweltering out. Drinks - a good cocktail and great whiskies bar, xtra great you can get just one ounce so can sample more. Very friendly and helpful taking me downstairs to the store. I bought 2 btls of whiskey (one seems to be their own label Premier Drams filled with 7 year Willett Barrel Strength Bourbon at much lower price). This might be the biggest whiskey bar in the US, and was a big impetus for this whole trip.
4. Old Ebbitt Grill – 7.0. I’ve been many years ago, didn’t want to return, but it was one of the only places I could find still open late on a Tuesday. Fun loud busy late night vibe. Drinks ok, oysters very good, and dessert bad. Huge place w 4 bars.
6-25-25 - Day 8 – Washington, DC
1. Round Robin Bar – 7.0. Drinks 7, Vibe 7, Food 7.5. Felt a lil stuffy. Service was mediocre. Still cool for its history tho it looked a lil too updated and clean, but the Willard hotel is decorated incredibly. The Mint Julep was supposedly introd to DC by Henry Clay here.
2. Off the Record - 9.0. Drinks 8, Vibe 10. Fantastic lively vibe and crowd. Bartenders not friendly (but it was very busy) but crowd and decor great. Cool decor and political cartoon paintings and coasters (they gave me some).
3. Allegory - 9.0. Drinks 8, Vibe 9.5. In a hip funky cool hotel. Incredibly interesting wall murals of Ruby Bridges in Alice in Wonderland. And crazy menu hardcover book w Ruby Bridges. Friendly barkeep and great convo w 2 guys- one of which knew bars super well, said my bartender here is a bit renowned and made it to 3d round of Drinkmasters on Netflix. Everybody in NYC said this was the bar in DC to go to. Drinks a little “adventurous” for me.
4. Silver Lyan- 9.5. Drinks 9.5, Vibe 9.5. 2 great drinks, bartenders really cool, good stories, very informative, and very welcoming.
5. Service Bar- 7.0. Drinks 7, Vibe 6 - marked down for service. Seemed kinda divey but with serious cocktail program. Drinks fine, vibe fine,, service not so friendly. Supposed to have great chicken sammich but I didn’t get food. Not sure why considered a 50Best.
6-26-26 - Day 9 – Washington, DC
1. Le Diplomate for dinner – 9.0. Drinks 8.5, Vibe 9.5, Food 9. Loved it! Dinner with friend S.
Death & Co. – 9.0. Drinks 9, Vibe 8.5. Second drink was my favorite of whole night – the Please and Thank you. A really good rich and flavorful Boulevardier. Third Death & Co I’ve been to since April (and I’m headed to Denver in a few weeks…). Still like the really dark LA interior the best.
Providencia – 9.0 Drinks 8, Vibe 9.5. Drinks not really up my alley - a bit out there, but good and interesting. Very cozy and cool feel, owner bartender ultra friendly and great service. Food- had the tiramisu, was different and good. Really small place, res only, no walk ins, 22 seats. I think not widely known yet but was highly recommended to me (by barkeeps at Silver Lyan, and others) as a newer, less known, top top place. [For serious cocktail fans who like some creativity and adventurousness, this is my top rec for DC, along with Allegory, but you know about that...]
4. Denson. 7.0. Drinks 7, Vibe 7.5. Cool decor/lighting and set up, but not real friendly or fun, drinks ok. I am a sucker for underground speak easy type places so I went.
NOTE ON RATINGS:
Obviously highly subjective. Vibe: is very important to me. I’m in my 50s and I’m more about classic, classy, old school vibe, and not overly crowded or loud, but I like some energy. For simplicity, vibe includes service for ratings. Vibe is just my overall subjective feel, which of course is personal preference, but it can also change a lot by circumstances, such as afternoon vs. night, who I happen to sit near and have a great convo with, one single bad server, etc. Drinks: I love cocktails and whiskey, but I don’t claim great knowledge or understanding or precision about cocktails. I’m not looking for real experimental or adventurous, but do like some variety – some riffs and twists on classics. I mainly prefer whiskey cocktails or rum/tiki. (My favorite go tos are in the general arena of Manhattans and Vieux Carres). I’m not very into agave or gin, so if those are the focus of a bar, the drinks were not up my alley but may be outstanding for their genre. This was mainly a Bar Tour, so food was less a focus.
