Unique Bars to Grab a Drink in NYC (and Nearby)

There’s nothing better than exploring new areas and stumbling upon a hidden gem. Our team throughout the tri-state area has hit the road to handpick a selection of unique, off-the-beaten-path bars that are worth paying a visit. We hope you enjoy grabbing a drink at these spots.

Storage at UES
Upper East Side, NYC
@theuesnyc

UES is a bright, bubbly ice cream shop that you might stop at for dessert if you’re in the area. But if you ask the person behind the counter to show you the storage room, a door obscured by ice cream containers will open and you’ll be led into a Prohibition Era-inspired speakeasy. Here, you can sit beneath the chandeliers and sip on specialty cocktails named after Upper East Side institutions.

Barber & Brew
Cold Spring, NY
@barberandbrewny

Your new favorite watering hole might just be the same spot you go to spiff up your hairdo. Cold Spring’s Barber & Brew remixes the classic barbershop experience by serving fresh cuts with a side of locally curated craft pours, a selection of wines, and some bar food.

Apothéke
Chinatown, NYC
@apothekenyc

“The bar is no longer a bar. It’s a stage. A chemistry lab. A theatre.” At Apothéke, the rise of the apothecary across Europe meets 19th-century Parisian absinthe dens. The result is an old-school cocktail bar where medicine vials hold drink ingredients and bartenders wear lab coats. Here you’ll find a selection of absinthes as well as specialty herb and botanical-infused cocktails like the Siren’s Call and Sitting Buddha. Plus, there’s live entertainment every night.

Freehold
Williamsburg, NY
@thefreehold

It’s designed like a hotel lobby, but there are no rooms to check into. Instead, the multi-purpose space is part coffee shop and communal workspace, and part restaurant and bar. If you want to get work done during the day, have dinner afterwards, and dance to live music late at night without having to change locations, The Freehold is for you.

The Spotty Dog Books & Ale
Hudson, NY
@spottydogbooks

On Warren Street in Hudson is The Spotty Dog, which combines a bookstore with a bar inside a former firehouse that was built in 1889. The impressive collection of 10,000 books will give you plenty to explore as you sip on a specialty beer, ale, or wine.

Existing Conditions
Greenwich Village, NYC
@exconditions

Newly opened in Greenwich Village, Existing Conditions blends cutting-edge science, classic cocktails, and hospitality without a lot of fuss. Sure, the list of bar snacks includes chicken liver mousse and peekytoe crab dip. And drink-makers use complex processes like clarifying, centrifuging, and custom-carbonating to perfect both alcoholic and non-alcoholic drinks. But the place has the look and feel of a local watering hole, and the team behind the bar wants patrons to feel like they’re in their living room. There is a cocktail-dispensing vending machine, though.

Royal Palms
Gowanus, NY
@royalpalms

Royal Palms may be a shuffleboard club, but it sure isn’t your grandmother’s shuffleboard club. The funky, vintage-inspired space has 10 regulation-sized shuffleboard courts, a rotating cast of food trucks, all sorts of board games, DJs, a roof deck, and of course, drinks. There’s beer, wine, and a selection of tropical cocktails named after notable shuffleboard players.