The 11 best karaoke bars in NYC

This spacious restaurant-karaoke combo is perfect for those who feel like singing after getting their buzz on, and don’t want to head to K-Town. Wash down the bibimbap, pork belly and short ribs with a draft Negroni or a large-format Mai Tai. While you’re waiting for a room, check to see if they have your go-to song by downloading the KJ Touch R app which lists tracks by name...then get psyched to belt out your favorites.

This laidback, nondescript Irish dive with a 100-foot-long bar on Second Avenue also slams some serious karaoke. Open seven days a week, 365 days a year, Iggy’s draws the masses with their killer happy hour specials (think five-buck pints and $8 martinis), which make for some truly epic karaoke sessions. 

Sometimes you only want to be surrounded by your people when belting out Mariah Carey, not performing for a bar of strangers. If this is you, gather your crew and head to husband-and-wife duo Roberto Williams and Zaida Soler Williams’s commercially zoned townhouse in Williamsburg, which is also Lion’s Roar Karaoke Lounge. The living room has an impressive karaoke setup that feels like your own apartment, minus vacuuming popcorn off the floor the following day. You’ll pick from a hefty black book full of iconic songs and request them to Roberto, your personal DJ and announcer for the night. Don’t forget to bring all the bubbly and snacks of your dreams—the equipped kitchen is all yours for the evening, too.

This chic K-Town lounge is nearly impossible to find. But once you do locale it, ascend to the third-floor drinkery via a freight elevator that opens onto a spectacular bi-level space replete with soaring ceilings and modern banquettes in the tunnel-like bar space. You can pick from a range of soundproof karaoke rooms that accommodate all party sizes and are equipped with flat-screen TVs. Back at the bar, bartenders shake upscale drinks like matcha martinis and mojitos; Korean sojus are available in fruity flavors like peach and lychee.

This old-school Chinatown dive and raucous karaoke bar sits above the bustling stretch of East Broadway, and appeals to both Chinatown residents and fashionable visitors, all there to show off their singing chops. Inside the cult-favorite bar, you'll find big red booths, their famous punch and chandeliers made from old karaoke laserdiscs.

It’s not surprising that Sid Gold’s Request Room is the kind of bar where everyone knows everyone—you don’t get much more niche than a Chelsea-set piano bar. The campy joint effort of Beauty Bar proprietor Paul Devitt and Loser’s Lounge founder Joe McGinty, Sid’s has the kind of downtown clout that draws New York notables (Parker Posey, Andrew Rannells), without the velvet-rope snootiness. Instead, you're cheerfully ushered you through the velvet curtains separating the tamer front bar from the razzly-dazzly clubhouse in back, an anything-goes sanctuary of espresso martinis and Celine Dion belt-alongs.

K-Town’s cup runneth over with solid karaoke bars, and Gagopa, with its glittering long hallway bedecked with multicolored Christmas lights, is not to be missed. Open seven days a week, Gagopa gets crowded quickly—specifically because this karaoke bar offers the rare BYOB. (Not to worry, a beer and wine menu is also on offer.)

To get the most out of this divey East Village pick, wear a bit of white: You’ll glow against the blacklight and the zebra print couches. The neon bar is complete with friendly bartenders who will pour you a cocktail for as little as $8. This spot is great for those with stage fright: Wireless mics let you sing from wherever you’re sitting.

After grabbing dinner in Chinatown at Kiki's or Scarr's Pizza head to Up Stairs to cap off your night. This neon-dressed dive is located up a narrow set of stairs (shocker), and a great option for those on a budget, since you don’t have to pay for a private room. Make friends with the usually supportive crowds and just let loose while sipping brews like Yuengling on tap.

A modern Midtown karaoke bar with 18 ‘themed’ rooms, RPM Underground specialises in hosting parties and pre-planned corporate events. Along with the bookable private rooms, which accommodate anywhere from one to 250 people, you’ll also find multiple bars (including a fully stocked cocktail bar) and an all-American menu offering the kind of classic diner dishes perfect for providing energy for a long evening of (hopefully tuneful) crooning.

Karaoke fans can head to either of the two East Village locations of this sing-along bar and either hit those high nights at the open bar lounge, or rent out one of the private rooms that'll cost you $10 per person per hour. (That rate is marked down fifty-percent before 8pm during happy hour!) Inside the rooms are multiple mics, a big flat-screen and saran-wrapped song books.