The 16 best bars in midtown

If you were just passing through town and only had a couple of hours to lounge, The Campbell (née, The Campbell Apartment) in Grand Central Terminal is one of the finest places to do so. Famously formerly an erstwhile magnate's private office, it became a bar in 1999, with ownership shifts and aesthetic updates in the interim. Its present design highlights include original leaded-glass windows, a lofty hand-painted ceiling and stone fireplace. It has some relatively topical house cocktails (like an espresso martini), but you’ll want to sip the classics here.

Jimmy's Corner has been one of midtown's finest bars since the late boxer Jimmy Glenn first opened his eponymous spot in 1971. It's soaked in boxing memorabilia, skews divey, and remains the top option for a normal bar with real character near Times Square.

Midtown’s greatest Russian bar feels cozy like a private lodge; dimly lit and wood paneled with angles and nooks suitable for canoodling. Vodka infusions line the bar, all available in cocktails or on their own, and you’re likely to catch live piano music on your visit. 

One of the fanciest locales in town, The Modern's Bar Room serves a slightly more approachable iteration of all that pomp. All manner of drinks are on the menu, along with oysters, steak tartare, pasta, fish and chicken. 

The coterie of folks who love purportedly hidden and/or speakeasy-themed bars flocked to Nothing Really matters when it opened with a whole bunch of ‘em around early 2022—and this one’s actually good! Enter the downtown-bound 1 train subway station at 50th Street and Broadway, descend the stairs and find it on the right. Every commuter should be so lucky. 

New to both the midtown and rooftop bar categories, Daintree has sweeping skyline views featuring the Empire State Building, a dedicated martini menu (along with other cocktails, wine and beer), cozy sofas inside and a roomy terrace outside. It also has a smattering of snacks like oysters, burgers and harder to find kangaroo skewers.

Times Square is full of advertisements masquerading as attractions, spiders men and jostling crowds, but darn if you don’t have to pass through sometimes. And Dear Irving on Hudson is so nice it’s worth going to Times Square on purpose. The chic, mid-century modern space has new and classic craft cocktails, light bites and dramatic views of NYC from 40 stories in the sky.

If the Hatter (colloquially known as the Mad Hatter) moved to Manhattan and harnessed his love of menacing into the hospitality industry, the resulting operation might look like Ophelia. Everything just seems a little outsized here, including the black and white checkerboard tile floor, high ceilings, geometric windows behind the bar, velvety banquettes and the city view. 

As chaotic as Grand Central can be, between its eponymous Oyster Bar and The Campbell it sure boasts a high concentration of iconic NYC destinations. This one first opened in 1913 and still serves all manner of shellfish, cocktails, wine and beer under arching tiled ceilings that mirror the greater terminal’s lovely design.

Well! It seems like speculation about whether Rockefeller Center is/going to be NYC’s latest, greatest food destination has wrapped. It’s mostly pretty okay in there, and that’s just fine! Five Acres, which is also a restaurant, has a verdant, wrap-around bar on 30 Rock’s lower level. Novel, botanically-oriented cocktails join standards, beer and wine. There's also a $25 Wisconsin cheddar burger if you’re there for a work thing and trying to stay sober-ish, and, I’m not trying to say that I know you, but I bet you won’t run into anyone you know down there, for what it’s worth. 

The "& Grill" here is somehow simultaneously an understatement and an overstatement. There is no grill! But there are free hot dogs with every drink, if you wish. With most of the dive’s pints priced at $5 and under, that’s a lot of dogs! 

This offshoot of Le Bernardin right across the galleria shares a bit of culinary commonality with that august institution, as this menu, too, is overseen by chef Eric Ripert. Pair cheese and charcuterie, pasta, short rib and a few duck preparations with recommendations from the studiously authored wine list. 

This plush hotel bar dating back to the 1930s is said to have crafted the earliest version of that present day brunch staple, the bloody Mary. The throwback respite from midtown still has them on the menu, along with most other libations in creation, all in view of its titular royal mural.