The best bars in Queens

Pinball machines, great beer selection, awesome weekend DJs, excellent back yard, eclectic bar food menu, string-light ambiance, merciful prices, dog-friendly environs, booth seating, and a lively cast of regulars–what more do you need from a casual neighborhood bar? This place is a big, vibrant panel in the tapestry of Ridgewood bars. 

This is a tiny, buzzy cocktail spot with a venue downstairs and negronis on tap. The cocktails are cheekily named, reasonably priced, and interesting to boot. Neon sine-wave signage; designy, house-plant strewn bar, great music–this is a perfect, vibey weeknight date spot or redoubt to unwind.

One of Queens' best neighborhood bar is this spot serving up drinks with ingredients like pineapple and spirits like absinthe and rum. It's also where you'll find one of Astoria's best outdoor spots for drinks.

So much has already been written about Long Island City cocktail pioneer, Dutch Kills that it feels a little silly to repeat them. Everything about an experience here feels cool-as-hell because it is. Dutch Kills has earned its place as a paragon of New York City’s cocktail culture.

Searching for the perfect date-night spot? This magical, brick-and-wood gastropub is a great choice. Whether you’re interested in plowing through the joint’s artisan cocktail list including fruity sips like the The Royal Peach (on tap for your convenience) or its dinner menu comprising hearty, laid-back fare (try the dry-aged burger topped with with crispy pork belly), you’re guaranteed a good time. Make sure to check out the spot on Thursday evening to check out some live music from local talents.

Kris Moran, the set decorator most known for her work on Wes Anderson's Moonrise Kingdom, redesigned Sweet Afton—a bar that's a part of the hospitality group running The Wren, The Bonnie, The Spaniard, Bua and Wilfie & Nell—in honor of the spot's 10-year anniversary in Astoria. 

This Ridgewood bar serves homestyle favorites for brunch and dinner, and hosts queer-skewing parties and performances later into the night. Bear parties, otter throwdowns and queer womens' bashes go down just about every week, so get ready to sweat on that dancefloor. 

Okay, yes, TV Eye is primarily a venue, a punk venue, an independent punk venue. But the thing is that, almost any night of the week you’ll find local cool kids hanging out at one of the self-described ‘funhaus’s several bars while a band of (lower-case ‘m’) misfits you’ve never heard of melt faces a room over. If you’re in the market to have a drink while you discover new music, a dance party, a gallery show, a sick DIY t-shirt–pop in and experience one of the only spots left sustaining NYC’s real rock and roll scene.

Bistro by day, bar by night, this spot has a decidedly regal air that’ll make you feel like royalty even if you’re just tossing a few back. Tuesday nights it’s happy hour all night, so that’s the best time to test your aristocratic mettle with a cocktail like the zesty Bad Bunny ($16): reposado, chili, carrot, ginger, pineapple, turmeric and lime. Not into cocktails? Give your zodiac-sign themed wine a spin.

Here’s an uncontroversial statement: people love drinking and playing games. A lot of people. Enough people that, with minimal effort, you could round up a big group of buddies for a trip to Woodside for a night of drinks and low-stakes diversions until the wee hours. Solid State has been faithfully serving Woodside’s nerds of both craft beer and pinball variety since 2017, but this spacious welcomes anyone and everyone who loves a good time.

New York’s oldest beer garden still has it, serving a variety of brews on tap and Czech and Slovak cuisine  that’s worth licking your plate. Order a massive stein and a grilled bratwurst in honor of Oktoberfest or swing by for events like the Vinyl Revolution Record Show on September 30, when a $5 cover fee grants you access to some great, rare LPs.

Joining cool-kid spots like Rockaway Taco and Rippers, the Rockaway's first wine bar brings a bougie element to the 'hood's food scene. The brainchild of local surfer Rashida Jackson and artist Patrick Flibotte, the 28-seat shoreside drinkery showcases seasonal vino from hang-ten regions around the world: chardonnay from Cali's Sonoma Coast, sauvignon blanc from New Zealand's Sandy Cove and cava from Catalonia, Spain.

There’s just something about Aunt Ginny’s. Well, quite a few things, actually. The dive bar kitsch, the pool table, the well-priced beer/shot specials; the delicious, shockingly cheffy food produced by permanent popup, I Like Food (which could, nay, should have its very own listing on any rundown of Queens must-tries)—it’s all working together. 

It's comical how many friend-of-a-friend's shows we get invited to at this bar. But it always ends up being worthing. This is what we call a no-frills bar, and its preciously why it always feels conducive to having a fun night out. 

Albatross is a cozy neighborhood bar that skews divey made special by the clientele: friendly, lively, and welcoming. You’ll feel just as at-home chatting with one of the lovely bartenders on a weeknight as you will during an uproariously fun weekend drag show. There’s some tempting “queens of Queens” low-hanging-fruit joke we could make, but maybe it’s better to simply say: Albatross is the adorable queer Cheers you’ve always wanted.

Woodside, Queens, bustles on, but this worn Irish pub stays the same. Old-timers line the front bar, while the wood-paneled dining room—made all the more classic with stained-glass adornment—recalls an honest age of prechain family dining.

The term I just made up, “cocktail dive” feels like an appropriate descriptor of BOD, a women-owned, fun little bar with eclectic, grandma’s living room decor replete with couches and tchotchkes. Most special about this adorable gem, though, is how friendly and inviting it is. Hang for a few at happy hour or work up a sweat getting weird on weekends; every visit just feels right.

For Long Island City, the transformation from underserved 'hood to serious food-and-drink destination has been percolating for the past several years. Dutch Kills led the charge, coaxing booze aficionados to a barren stretch of Jackson Avenue for sultry jazz and impeccable classic cocktails.

From the people behind Bushwick heavy-hitter, Heavy Woods is Bonus Room. The place cultivates that good ol’ midwestern basement aesthetic predominating in NYC’s hipper corners, but this is an especially good, comfy, fun take. This is a bar owned and operated by people who love bars, so while there’s plenty of diversions to be found (pool table, jukebox, and games) this is the perfect place to drink about it, whatever it is.