Bar Centrale sits above Joe Allen on Restaurant Row, behind an unmarked door at 324 West 46th Street. The bar opened in 2005 and has, in the years since, become the post-show drink for Broadway performers, producers, and the rare tourist who knows what they are looking for. There is no sign; ring the bell. The New York Times' theatre coverage has called it 'the bar Broadway people go to when they want to be left alone.'
It is the right room for a post-show drink with someone in the industry, a quiet 22:30 martini between Shubert Alley and the train home, or anyone who wants Broadway atmosphere without celebrity-spotting energy. It is the wrong room for groups, for cheap drinks, or for anyone who needs a Times Square set piece. The Infatuation's Midtown coverage frames it as 'the most adult bar within five blocks of Times Square.'
Two small rooms with low lighting, tufted banquettes, framed black-and-white production stills on the walls, and a short bar at the front. Eater New York's theatre district coverage notes the rule of the room: low volume, no phones at the booths. The crowd polices itself.
Order a Martini ($22, gin or vodka, stirred long), a Manhattan ($22, rye), or a Negroni ($20). The list is short, classic, and uncompromising; the bartenders are paid to make these well, not to invent. Regulars on the Broadway World forums consistently mention the bar snacks — the Caesar salad ($18), the calf's liver ($28) — as the right way to extend the visit. Skip the seasonal additions.
Broadway performers, directors, producers, and crew between 22:30 and 00:30 on show nights; quieter on Monday. Time Out New York's theatre district coverage notes the bar fills steadily after 22:00 and tightens after midnight. The booths turn over slowly.
Bar Centrale official site; The New York Times theatre archive; The Infatuation; Eater New York; Time Out New York; Broadway World forums; Google Maps reviews (n=600+).