The 14 best bars in NYC’s West Village

Come for the negroni, stay for the vibe and just move right in for the pasta. It's that simple, pleasure-seeking ideology that embodies Dante, the beloved MacDougal Street Italian café turned small plates restaurant and cocktail bar. After a century as a staple in the once predominantly Italian neighborhood, the original owners, a Fiotta family, sold the name to an Australian hospitality group helmed by Linden Pride, who revamped both the decor (green-leather banquettes, a pressed-tin ceiling) and menu, but preserves the storied history through classic Italian food and drink. The bar program centers on the European tradition of the afternoon aperitivo, which is showcased finely through a daily $15 negroni session from 3pm to 5pm.

Shingo Gokan and Steve Schneider are considered royalty when it comes to the cocktail scene. Opening bars across Japan and China, you've likely seen Gokan directing bar at Manhattan's Angel Share, where worked for a decade. Meanwhile, Scheinder ran the bar at Employees Only, both in New York and Singapore. Together, they unveiled the bi-level spot, Sip & Guzzle. Gokan overlooks the subterranean bar, Sip, stirring tipplers with onion butter-washed vermouth and Japanese wax. Up above, Schneider's saloon-style playground pleases with classic riffs you'll want to guzzle, responsibly, of course. Take the Black Truffle Cherry Cola served in a glass bottle aka, the best way. 

The drinks are as impeccable as the vibes at this corner block spot that looks like it’s set in the middle of your favorite sitcom. Grab your nearest and dearest and settle in for a casual and indulgent night—go for the smash burger with one of the “dressed-up” beers like the Taco Cart with a dose of tomatillo-jalapeño hot sauce, lime and a rim of tajin.

As befits cocktail progenitor Sasha Petraske’s liquid legacy, the drinks at this clubby, low-ceilinged Village rathskeller are nigh perfect. If you choose to deviate from the menu, just give the neatly attired, polite bartenders a base liquor and a hint of your mood, and they can tailor a drink on the fly. Custom-made cocktails—no password or secret handshake required.

The translation of this bar’s moniker is “samurai sword” kitten, but let us be the first to warn you: There are no samurai, swords, kittens or, more distressingly, any cute memes of sword-wielding samurai kittens at this Japanese-American cocktail bar. Instead, you’ll step right into B-roll footage of a Master of None date scene. On a recent Friday night, the buzzy bi-level space was comfortably crowded with hip twentysomethings chattering under noir-ish red lights and sipping from some exceptionally purr-ty (sorry!) Japanese riffs on classic cocktails. The bar’s elaborate cocktails and flawless service are directly and playfully juxtaposed against its grungy dive vibes, from the vintage pop-culture posters to the checkerboard floors.

Picture Don Draper on vacation: rum cocktail in hand, wind blowing through that meticulous coif. While you may never have Jon Hamm’s cut-from-glass jawline (sorry), you can make like a Sterling Cooper adman at leisure in this retro-kitted tiki lounge, from Tijuana Picnic partners Jon Neidich and Jim Kearns. The bi-level bar is crammed with mid-20th-century curios—a ’60s pop soundtrack; mod, half-moon booths; waitresses in Chuck Taylors—but it’s the customizable cocktails and breezy vibe that win over the crowd.

A fortune teller greets patrons at this 20-year old, comfortably-worn reproduction of a prohibition speakeasy. There’s a rousing scene in front, a mix of diehard regulars and industry types who jockey for the attention of the chef-coat clad barkeeps. Of all of the city’s craft cocktail joints, Employees Only is among the most populist, with enough nerd-baiting tipples on the menu to please aficionados without alienating everyone else. 

The newest kid on the Very Cool Bar Concept block is the (literally) hidden gem inside fave neighborhood newcomer Saint Theo’s. Aptly named, Venice Bar, like Saint Theo’s exudes a sultry Venetian energy alongside a drink menu intended to celebrate the start (aperitivo) and the end (digestivo) of the night. Depending on the mood you’re in, their take on the classic Death in Venice—which they make with mezcal—is a perfect drink to both kick off and wrap up an evening.

For all of us who can't squeeze into Jody Williams and Rita Sodi's megahit Via Carota, there are a few more seats across the street in the couple's all-day spot Bar Pisellino. The Italian jewel box sells coffee, pastries and sandwiches during the day and plenty of aperitifs come evening time.

Established in 1862, this is New York’s oldest operating gay bar. You can feel a rich sense of history and community here: The walls are lined with historical materials, and the venue has been used as the backdrop for films such as "Can You Ever Forgive Me?" Thanks to a resurgence in popularity in recent years, the crowd has an intergenerational mix; longtime patrons sip their drafts at the long wooden bar as younger groups tend to gather at tables in the back and feed the well-stocked jukebox (as they chomp down on grilled cheeses and other cheap eats from the in-house grill).

"Turn left at the ketchup dispenser,” a red-capped burger flipper will tell you after you’ve spent ten minutes lost and confused at the West Village Five Guys. Yes, tucked in back of the patty joint is a clandestine staircase leading to a second-floor loft, rigged with glass chandeliers, a fireplace mantle tumbling with dusty hourglasses and a well-stocked bar run by Hotel Chantelle commodore Kyle O’Brien and Riff Raff’s alum Gavin Moseley. And with its art-house crowd (lanky, long-haired rockers, red-lipped broads in leather-daddy hats) and equally creative cocktails, this clearly ain’t your average burger bar. 

This low slung, basement bar in West Village is a theater kid's playplace. The drinks, cheap. The vibe, dim and a bit grunge-y if you care about that kind of thing. But the piano? Always hot. Even if you can't park it by the piano, belting out showtunes from any spot in the bar is always welcomed. 

Kicking off the craft cocktail movement, Angel's Share blessed the East Village for almost 30 years before closing due to rent hikes. As of 2023, the bar has risen once again, the original angel mural welcoming West Villagers in all things spirited and fun.