NYCGuide

The Best Bars In The East Village

There are a lot of bars in the East Village. Here are the ones we like best.
a wooden bar in the East Village

photo credit: Accidental Bar

Sometimes, we feel like the East Village should start a bar relocation charity for neighborhoods in need of good drinking establishments. (Toss a couple of those random places on 1st Avenue up to Midtown East, maybe.) Until that happens, there are a lot of bars to sort through. Whether you’re looking for a quiet wine bar, a place to play darts, or somewhere you can dance beneath a disco ball, here's where to drink in the East Village.

THE SPOTS

photo credit: Motel No Tell

Bar

East Village

$$$$Perfect For:Big Groups
Earn 3x points with your sapphire card

Motel No Tell is not a subtle place. The motel-themed bar has loud music, neon signs, and a disco ball in every bathroom, and it’s not uncommon to see bartenders here dumping tequila into little paper coffee cups that serve as shot glasses. If you want to go out and meet some people who enjoy frozen drinks and ‘80s decor as much as you, it’s a wonderful choice. Bring a group, and try to snag the couch in the back that looks like it’s been in storage for the past few decades.

You will inevitably drink more than two cocktails at this Mexican-American bar on 1st and 1st. That’s OK, the party version of yourself will fit right in with the rest of the crowd, who all seem to be celebrating something. The drinks are all a little unexpected and go down easy. Yes, there’s a margarita, but it’s creamy and made with huitlacoche. And there’s a martini, but it’s pleasantly sour from green mango. Squeeze in a birria grilled cheese to soak up the alcohol, and end your night with an orange-pink salted plum milk punch—it happens to match the fluorescent sunset lighting.

Hidden behind a wall of graffiti and a mysterious little red lamp, Madeline’s is a grown-up bar in a part of town that isn’t known for grown-up bars. This lounge on Avenue C—from the team behind The Wayland—is ideal for a first date. There's comfortable seating, candlelight, and more than a dozen martinis in classic and creative styles. Bar snacks are limited, but include things like shrimp cocktail and caviar sandwich. And the cocktails are bigger than most, so you might be having a second-date conversation by the time you're on your second drink.

RESERVE A TABLE

POWERED BY

OpenTable logo

Even if the phrase “cocktail dive” makes us want to run for the hills and never show our faces in this town again, the fact is Holiday Cocktail Lounge fits that exact description. This dark, sticky-floored bar on St. Marks has been around since 1950, and doesn't get overrun with newly legal espresso martini seekers. Order one of their balanced classics off the menu that looks like a graphic novel and sink into a leather stool or booth.

The cool thing about Wiggle Room is that you can use it in a couple of different ways. The main floor has a few nooks that surround a long bar where you can sit with a date and explain why you think marriage is antiquated. But the basement has a whole club thing going on, complete with squiggly pink neon lights, a disco ball, and a dance floor. If you’re planning to stay until this place shuts down at 4am, get a few of the espresso martinis they have on draft.

HiLot is from the team behind Joyface (another bar on this list). There’s no standing room here, and the space looks like a fancy home from the 1970s, with plaid carpets, fringed lamps, and a mirrored ceiling. It’s essentially a speakeasy that isn’t hidden, and it’s a great option for when you want to go out but don’t necessarily need to stand shoulder-to-shoulder with strangers who might spill their cocktails on you.

This space used to be a Ukrainian social club where communists and socialists would meet. It eventually turned into a vaguely Soviet-themed bar that now draws both brooding grad students and the city’s literati for affordable drinks and a legendary reading series. There are free readings on most nights in the cramped, cool rooms littered with art and propaganda posters. Check the calendar for events, or stop by for cheap drinks before a comedy show at New York Comedy Club next door. 

If you’re not paying attention, it’s entirely possible to end up here instead of HiLot (or vice versa). Doesn’t matter, both places are fun. This bar has banquettes up front and a shiny black, L-shaped bar next to a DJ station playing tunes all day. On Mondays, you can sign up to take over the turntable for half an hour with your own vinyl. It never seems to get too wild here, but if you need an escape, you can walk through the kitchen to get to a surprisingly big backyard.

Sometimes you’re really just looking for an Irish pub where you can drink a couple of creamy, expertly pulled $9 Guinnesses. That's where 11th Street Bar comes in handy. They serve Guinness in vintage glasses, there's enough room for a group, and you might see some live music. If you get hungry, get a ham and cheese toastie that comes with a personal bottle of English mustard. But be aware that this is also the official home for the NYC Liverpool FC Supporters Club, so it can get pretty packed on match days. 

After spending an hour or two at Accidental Bar, you'll walk away knowing a lot more about sake than when you walked in. The selection here is riddled with descriptions like “for my geeks!” and “holy water for the god of sake,” and all of the food on the short menu is meant to bring out different flavors in your beverage. Most of all, this small place just feels like a party where you could either hang with your friends or take a date.

Mister Paradise feels a bit like an anomaly. The cocktails here are super ambitious and filled with atypical ingredients (salted watermelon, charred corn milk), but we get the feeling that if you ordered a glass of rosé with a few ice cubes here, the bartenders wouldn't immediately ask you to leave. This place is more fun and laid-back than it is pretentious, and the space features soft lighting and big pleated booths. Whether you're drinking with a group or planning a first date, Mister Paradise should be plan A.

What happens when you put a waterbed in a bar then round out the vibe with a disco ball and a bunch of weirdly squishy furniture that was probably found at a yard sale in 1983? You get Joyface. When it's a Saturday night and you absolutely need to stumble around in the dark and feel the flickering lights of a disco ball on your face before lowering yourself into a decades-old armchair, this place should be your number one choice. It's fun. But if you come before 11pm, you might be the only one here.

Speaking of bars that don't get busy before 11pm, here's Ding-a-ling. Similar to Joyface, this place is vaguely 1970s themed. So how do you choose between the two? Ding-a-ling feels like more of a let's-listen-to-loud-music-and-dance sort of place, whereas Joyface feels like a basement party. Think of this spot as a retro, semi-glitzy bar/club where you can eat a hot dog if you get hungry. The late-night lines can get long, and it'll probably be a scene when you finally get in.

There are dive bars, and there are cocktail bars. Sometimes, it's hard to find the in-between: a normal bar. Maiden Lane is one of these places. This spot—just north of Tompkins Square Park—is where you can get a beer/shot combo or a cocktail that won’t cost $22. The setting is nice without feeling overly fancy, and you could easily have a first date or a friend group hang here. Even better news? They serve a bunch of tinned fish that you can snack on.

A lot of bars claim to be “speakeasies.” And while none of them actually warrant that title—alcohol has been legal for a long time, people—PDT is about as close as you can get to the real thing. You enter through a vintage phone booth within the hot dog shop Crif Dogs. That means you can conveniently order a hot dog (or three) once you’re inside. The space is dark and small, and if you bring a date, they’ll be impressed.

Our friend once ordered a gin and tonic at Amor y Amargo, and the bartender said, “Sure.” The bartender then delivered what was actually a gin cocktail with club soda and grapefruit bitters and quinine syrup. That’s because this is a “bitters tasting room,” and all the cocktails on offer are made accordingly, with bitters. This is an East Village institution that you should check out at least once. Just enter through the shop in front, and you'll find what looks like a small, old-timey apothecary with shelves full of booze.

This divey bar has two key features that draw most of its fans in: a large and excellent beer selection and a large and excellent backyard patio. Unlike most East Village “backyard patios,” the one here is not simply a dark alley with two broken lawn chairs where the bartender puts out the trash at the end of the night. They have an impressive beer selection, so it’s a good place to bring your “craft brew friends.”

Head down the stairs past a flashing “On Air” sign, and you’ll end up in a very dark, graffiti-covered den with a super long sake list. Tables fill up quickly here, so this place works better for you and one other person who you don’t mind yelling at for a few hours. (It gets pretty loud here.) They also offer a decent amount of food like takoyaki, shumai, and hamachi sashimi.

Chase Sapphire Card Ad

Suggested Reading

a dark cocktail in front of a wooden bar

The NYC Bar Hit List: The Best New Bars In NYC

Where to drink right now in New York City.

a spread of lechon and pickles at Naks

Our favorite spots in a neighborhood packed with great places to eat.

Several people dancing in a disco-ball lit bar with a smoke machine

Call them what you want. Happening. Cool. Busy. Lit. These are the most fun bars in NYC right now.

Infatuation Logo

Company

2024 © The Infatuation Inc. All Rights Reserved.

FIND PLACES ON OUR APP

Get it on Google PlayDownload on the App Store