New York Mag says it’s Miami on the Hudson, while the venue on its website describes itself as Plam Springs inspired. I am just gonna call it as I see it, which is just plain tacky. It is like the 230 Fifth of the Westside; a rooftop garden with a nice view, a cheesy lounge downstairs, a sleazy doorman, bored waitresses in skimpy dresses and long lines after 1o pm. And hell, here the view is only nice if you look west towards the water (the aircraft carrier Intrepid is docked right bellow). If you must go, do it prior to 8, which is when the happy hour ends and before the crowd regulars have crossed over the Lincoln Tunnel.
Happy Hour: Tue-Fri, 5pm-10pm; 2 for 1 speciality drinks and Bud Lights
Hours: Tue-Fri, 5pm-4am; Sat 9pm-4am; Sun, 2pm-9pm (brunch)
This technically isn’t a rooftop bar. But the approx. 6th floor view of the Great White Way is still pretty cool (aka the stretch of Broadway in Times Square, once you see the lights from afar, you’ll understand why they call it that). And what the Novotel hotel lacks in character, barman/server/host Kresc makes up for with a friendly and chatty disposition. (He still won’t tell me the story behind is name though) Always in a good mood, Kresc also makes some really yummy fruity cocktails. Most of which are his proud inventions. There is also an indoors area for the colder months.
This 14th-floor roof deck is good time if you don’t mind office workers. The view is one of the best of the Empire State Building. The place is neither too fancy or trashy, it is just average, which can be just right at times, especially if you come with a large group. Half the place has tables that you can only sit at, if each person consumes $20. Did I mention there is ok food and wheat beer?
In 1929 Jack Kriendler and Charlie Berns purchased a house on West 52nd Street and opened the ’21’ Club. Soon afterward it becomes the epicenter of New York’s social life. So much so, that in 1930 Daily Mirror gossip columnist Walter Winchell (the inspiration for the “Sweet Smell of Success” character J.J. Hunsecker) is banned from ‘21’. As retribution, he runs a column noting that ‘21’ had never been raided by Prohibition agents. The next day, ’21’ is raided. Soon thereafter, Jack and Charlie hire architect Frank Buchanan to install a complex system to hide and destroy liquor in case of future raids, including the infamous ‘21’ Wine Cellar. 52nd Street between Fifth and Sixth Avenues is nicknamed “Swing Street” and is home to over 30 speakeasies. December 5, 1933: Prohibition is repealed. 1944: Humphrey Bogart and Lauren Bacall celebrate their first date at Table 30. They first work together in “To Have and Have Not”, written by another ’21’ regular, Ernest Hemingway (who was caught doing the nasty with gangster Legs Diamond’s girlfriend in the ’21’ kitchen in 1931). Notable writers frequenting ’21’ at the time include Dorothy Parker, Robert Benchley and Lillian Hellman. ’21’ becomes THE place to be seen. Hollywood and ’21’ fully engage in a mutualistic relationship, feeding off each other (literally). Scenes for the classic films “All About Eve” and “The Sweet Smell of Success” are filmed in the bar room and countless other films mention ’21’. In fact more movies mention ’21’ than any other restaurant en NYC. Every President since FDR has been a guest of ’21’ with one exception: George W. Bush (I’m liking this place more and more). In contrast, JFK dined at ’21’ on the eve of his inauguration. In 1980 ’21’ spawns the power lunch. Forbes says “more deals are done at ’21’ than on the stock market floor.” Part of the movie “Wall Street” is filmed in the restaurant.
On top of the Water Club restaurant, the Crow’s Nest has one o the bests views of the East River. (There are next to none waterfront bars on the east side) While the restaurant is a bit stuffy, the bottom bar is nicely and classically laid out with a fireplace and a even a piano. But it is the top part, which looks like the upper deck of a cruise ship, that makes the trek under the FDR so worth it (you have to cross through 34 st). This is a little hidden gem that fortunately never gets overcrowded. There is bar food too. The fries are really good.
Lounge/bar named after a Shanghai socialite of the 1930ts who loved to host parties: Madam Ning. Probably madam’s parties were better, but I doubt she ever had such a view. Perched on the rooftop of the fancy pants Peninsula hotel, this place is much classier than any trendy velvet ropes club. And if the 23rd floor view doesn’t give you a nosebleed the prices will. I cocktail costs $22 while a beer will set you back $16. So make sure you get that beer with the complimentary peanuts and a glass of water, so you can take in the scene without them taking you for all your paycheck. There is a small glass enclosure for rainy and cold winter days.
Ever since members of the Russian Imperial Ballet founded the restaurant in 1927, it became a second home for Russian and Polish expats, the intellectual elite and the high society. Its long running slogan is: “Six minutes and twenty-three seconds from Lincoln Center and slightly to the left of Carnegie Hall”. The food may not be as awesome as the interior, but the brunch is surprisingly affordable and makes for a marvelous time on a Sunday morning. (the croissants are to die for!) A lot of history has happened in its exquisite red and gold interior: Scenes from Manhattan, The Turning Point, Tootsie and New York Stories, were filmed at the restaurant. And in 1972, Madonna worked there, as a coat-check clerk. Even my family has history here:
A well kept semi-secret. The Campbell Apartment is a beautiful old school bar tucked away in Grand Central. It literally is the restored private office of early twentieth-century tycoon and railroad executive John W. Campbell. In 1923, Campbell commissioned Augustus N. Allen, an architect known for designing estates on Long Island, to build an office in the leased space in Grand Central. He transformed the space into a 13th-century Florentine palace with a hand-painted timbered ceiling and leaded windows. One of the most striking features was a Persian carpet that took up the entire floor and was said to have cost $300,000 at the time, or roughly $3.5 million today. Campbell added a piano and pipe organ, and at night turned his office into a reception hail, entertaining 50 or 60 friends who came to hear famous musicians play private recitals. After Campbell’s death in 1957, the rug and other furnishings disappeared from his office and the space eventually became a signalman’s office and later a closet at Grand Central, where the transit police stored guns and other equipment. It also became a small jail. Now it’s a bar filled with commuters grabbing a drink before catching their trains to Connecticut and upstate New York. (So East Coast). be warned that they do not look kindly to tennis shoes or torn jeans, but other than that it’s a pretty subdued vibe. Campbell’s is located… oh hell, finding it is half the fun.
This is probably my favorite bar in NYC. While many hot spots are trying to mimic speakeasys, Bill’s is the real thing. In 1924, Bill Hardy “opened” for clandestine business, and thus began the legend. Having been a boxer, a jockey, a dance instructor, a Broadway dandy and married to one of the Ziegfield girls from the legendary Ziegfield Follies, who better than Mr. Bill Hardy. Evoking the “Gay Nineties” as his theme (as in 1890’s), you’ll see everything from an autographed Buffalo Bill poster, boxers, to century-old playbills, to a bevy of famous Ziegfield girls, to a very young Al Jolson. Hardy exhumed the careers of many famous vaudevillians and hired them to rework their magic for a whole new generation in the 20’s. At its height, Bill’s featured three floors of rotating entertainers doing their act on one floor, taking a break, then moving on to the next. Every night was a party at Bill’s and every table a part of it. The infectious group sing-along continues to today. And yes, you really did have to ring a buzzer and whisper the correct password to get in. (Back then this wasn’t just a gimmick) After Prohibition Bill’s was often mentioned in many of the high profile columns of the day – Walter Winchell, Hedda Hopper, Jack O’Brien. And if you ask the 45-year-veteran maitre d’ Aldo, he’ll tell you exactly where Marilyn and Joe DiMaggio once sat. Today, the piano still plays, as people of all ages sing along. The Monkey Bar is just across the street, but Bill’s is where you’ll want to stay. When it comes to bars, it doesn’t get much better than this.
It is common knowledge that Sardi’s has it’s walls covered with caricatures of famous performers. But not many know how that got started: The restaurant made its debut in the theatre district in 1921, and quickly became popular with the Broadway crowd. The owner kindly allowed this crowd to keep tabs, with the hope that the tabs would be paid off as soon as anyone hit it big. In 1929, it wasn’t looking likely, that any aspiring performers would become paying customers. However, one of them did, and not only did he pay off his tab he paid off all the tabs. In honor of his generous gesture they made him a caricature and hung it on the wall. Good deeds don’t always go unnoticed. Much like today, the media used this story of generosity in hard times to make headlines and sell papers. Broadway loves a good review, and maybe that’s one reason why Sardi’s is “the longest running show on Broadway” (their line). It is still the location for Tony Awards lunches and opening-night parties, It’s also been said that the food won’t win any awards, but their famed special house antipasto doesn’t disappoint. I save my applause for the bartenders who truly make you feel like a regular on your first visit.
i heart nyc bars 