Editorial
A note before we begin: the bars on this list are worth visiting entirely on their own merits. The fact that famous people drink there is a consequence of the bars being excellent, not a reason to go. We are listing them here for the same reason we list any bar — because they offer a genuinely good experience. That the table next to you might be occupied by someone you recognise from a film is incidental.
With that said: New York concentrates celebrity life in a handful of neighbourhoods and a handful of bar types. Tribeca remains the most reliably famous neighbourhood in the city for off-duty drinking. Hotel bars in Midtown and the Upper East Side attract touring film and music talent. Members' clubs in SoHo and Meatpacking serve the fashion and media industries. We have identified 11 bars where the formula reliably works.
Tribeca's combination of expensive apartments, excellent restaurants, and low tourist footprint makes it the preferred neighbourhood for celebrities who want to drink without being mobbed. The bars here are quiet by design and expensive by consequence.
Hotel bars attract touring talent because they are convenient and private. The best ones in New York also happen to be excellent bars in their own right. Our complete guide to the best hotel bars in New York covers the full range, but the following are the ones with the highest consistent celebrity footfall.
"The bars on this list are worth visiting entirely on their own merits. The fact that famous people drink there is a consequence of the bars being excellent."
The bars on this list are genuinely frequented by famous people. But New York has 8.3 million residents and millions more visitors, and the vast majority of evenings you will simply be in an excellent bar drinking very good cocktails. That is the better outcome. Any celebrity sighting is a bonus — go for the bar, not the fame.
The best approach is to visit on midweek evenings (Tuesday through Thursday) when crowds thin and the regulars appear. Avoid major award season weeks and Fashion Week in February and September, when these bars become impossibly crowded with the specifically famous and their specifically famous friends.
For a full guide to New York's top bar scene, see our complete New York bar guide. If you are interested in bars where the emphasis is on the drink rather than who else is in the room, our guide to bars for art lovers in New York and date night bars in New York will serve you better.
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