Midtown East, also known as Turtle Bay, is characterized by Manhattan’s best dressed corporate professionals. Midtown East bustles with businesspeople during the day, but at night, it’s host to a plethora of after work bars that are perfect for that much needed bite to eat and relaxing drink. We profile the 10 best bars in Midtown East.
Cornerstone Tavern provides a high end, all-American sports bar experience. This upscale, bi-level sports bar is equipped with 20 HD televisions between the two floors. In addition, Cornerstone Tavern hosts karaoke nights seven days a week on alternate floors. Aside from the entertainment, this bar offers your typical drinks alongside a big food menu, making it an ideal place to enjoy a meal in a high energy environment.
This Irish pub offers a wide selection of beers and drink specials. If you love live music, head to Peter Dillon’s Pub on Wednesday nights, or come on Friday or Saturday for one of their karaoke nights. For the sports fans, the pub shows all major sporting events, and it has a pool table to keep you extra entertained. However, there’s no kitchen, so don’t come hungry.
La Biblioteca de Tequila Bar & Lounge is located on the lower level of a soaring, three floor restaurant called Zengo. This tequila and mezcal bar features 400 bottles of agave-based spirits and a selection of dishes from the Latin-Asian cuisine on Zengo’s menu. Living up its name, La Biblioteca has a ‘tequila librarian’ who is always ready with recommendations and agave information. The bar setting also resembles a library with shelves of tequila, deluxe leather banquettes, and lounge tables.
Snafu is a three level sports bar. The candle-lit mezzanine lounge is equipped with a fireplace and plush sofas, which serves as the perfect place for a drink and a chat. Enjoy a game of pool, or visit the video game nook in the gaming room on the lower level. Not a gamer? There’s always the bar, where you can watch a game while enjoying an after work drink. Snafu doesn’t serve food, but they allow outside snacks in the bar.
This rooftop lounge sits 30 stories high on top of the Kimberly Hotel with 360 degree views. This lounge features three separate indoor and outdoor spaces that allow for various views of Midtown throughout the seasons, equipped with heated floors, glass ceilings and walls, and fashionable décor. Upstairs at the Kimberly is a great place enjoy a night like no other as you take in the panorama while drinking a creative cocktail and eating delicious small plates, from seared steak tartare to ratatouille.
This old-world saloon trademarks simplicity with comfort food, beers, and classic cocktails. Owner Doug Quinn makes Hudson Malone feel like home, with a friendly and inviting atmosphere. Find Hudson Malone’s seven laws written on the chalkboard, adding lighthearted character to this local space. If you’re looking for a warm environment in which to enjoy a beer, cocktail, or pub grub, Hudson Malone is the place for you.
Pierre Loti is inspired by the novelist and world traveler whose pen name was Pierre Loti. This romantic wine bar resembles a French restaurant with dark wooden accents, hanging lights, and an array of wine bottles displayed throughout the moody space. Pierre Loti is the ideal place for a date night or friendly catch up, with over 30 red, white, rosé, and sparkling wines to choose from. Pair your choice with a small Mediterranean-inspired plate.
This Midtown bar and restaurant has a long bar room and a private party room upstairs with a separate bar entrance. Happy hour at T.G. Whitney’s includes two-for-one beers, wines, and mixed drinks, with frozen drinks priced at $5, and $12 dollar pitchers of sangria. Every Wednesday, Prosecco Gancia is only $5 for a special ‘ladies night.’ T.G. Whitney’s is an ideal place to come for happy hour, watch the game, or host a private party.
Located in the lobby of Midtown Manhattan’s Lipstick Building, Crimson & Rye is a craft cocktail bar and lounge decorated with a horseshoe bar, leather armchairs, and vintage carpeting. Crimson & Rye celebrates the art of the cocktail, housing over 40 small-batch whiskeys, with a food menu offering the likes of dollar oysters on Mondays to big plates like the Waygu beef hotdog.
Pub-turned-bar Draught 55 has maintained some of its original Irish charm, equipped with Guinness glassware and hot Guinness beef stew, but today’s Draught 55 sports decorative barrels and a beer-centric food menu that suits its new and improved aesthetic. This craft beer bar offers a rotating draught selection of 42 craft beers brewed from all over the country and a food menu reflecting the best draughts in their recipes.
