The most romantic bars in NYC

Jadis is so charmingly incidentally romantic it may as well be John Cusack in any old movie except the try-hard radio-holding one. The lovely little wine bar infatuates simply by being itself, no airs or accoutrement necessary. 

Through a doorway and up a staircase from Gage & Tollner, whose own bar and restaurant are also suffused with romance, Sunken Harbor Club feels like the cabin of a particularly beautiful ship. Its aesthetic centerpiece is the lovely illuminated mural behind the bar, and more nautical design details abound to set the scene for a voyage to set hearts sailing toward sparks. 

Maison Premiere seems made for romance, but it also looks as effortless as a crush riding a morotcycle into the sunset. Antiquey finishes create a haunting patina among the cozy booths and banquettes, and a verdant garden feels like it's of the secret variety. What could be more enchanting? Absinthe, which they also have alongside nearly every other spirit known to the heavens. 

Trains are inherently romantic, calling to mind chance meetings and bittersweet goodbyes. The subway more or less counts, and Nothing Really Matters’ adjacency to the 1 train on the downtown-bound platform at 50th Street and Broadway, its dim lighting and just enough nooks combine to create a pretty great date place. Plus the name alone, although inspired by a Queen song, sounds like something a sexy, sexy sailor would say in a black and white French film between drags of a Gitane. 

The bar above fantastic restaurants Crown Shy and Saga has one of the best views in and of NYC that money can buy. Here, that amounts to $24 a cocktail. Zero-ABV drinks, wine and beer are also on the menu, reservations are a near-must and the glimpse of the city’s skyline and waterways from 64 floors up that you may or may not wish to commit to digital memory, depending on your date, are, as they say in wedding toasts and 90s-era ad campaigns, priceless. 

Newer to the Lower East Side, Ye’s has alluring ambiance for days, by way of dreamy jewel tones cast under flattering, low lights that’ll still catch the twinkle in your eye. Its gleaming bar is petite to say the least, but the rest of the room is packed (really: don’t tell too many secrets) with tables to make the evening last a little longer over a nibble or two. 

Most speakeasy-inspired, oriented or themed bars are also going to skew romantic, and Little Branch is one of the best in both categories. Its entrance could not be more apparent, but you do have to descend a staircase to get near the craft cocktails and intimate tables. 

Seduction takes many forms and Ophelia's is as vampy as they come. There's a lot going on in the highly-designed, sumptuous space (watch out for those dizzying checkered floors once you pass two cocktails!), which also has incredible NYC skyline views from its perch 26 floors above land. 

If Long Island Bar's expertly executed tipples, like a refreshing gimlet and a boozy boulevardier don't quicken your pulse, its picture-perfect window seats will. Get there early to grab one of the few and cosplay Nighthawks for a moody affair. 

This is one of the city’s latest new semi-secretly located spots, and one where it is legitimately a little hard to find on your first visit. See whether the search amounts to your first adventure together, creates an unwelcome Ikea-like experience, or simply follow our instructions and head up an exterior staircase on Cortlandt Alley near White Street, ring the buzzer, head down a few more industrial flights and enjoy polished cocktails in the stony, seductive, narrow basement space. 

Although it has recently been overrun by youths with a penchant for senescence, Bemelmans is still an NYC classic that evokes Manhattan's mid-century zeitgeist. Order a classic martini and become intoxicated by Ludwig Bemelmans iconic murals. 

Like Long Island Bar not too far away, Inga's also has a cozy little window spot back in its alcoved barroom. The intimate notch is just darling for couples in love; more holding hands on a snowy day than lusting in the night. Try the fries. 

Romance? In Times Squre? Did a Spider-Man write this? Yes on all accounts! The sleek decor at this bi-level cocktail bar that takes up the 40th and 41st floors of the Aliz Hotel does feel like a super hero's (or villian's) lair, and the incredible view will make you feel like Spidy scaling skyscrapers.