SoHo has the reputation of being a neighbourhood that sold its soul somewhere around 2005, when the boutiques displaced the artists and the brunch crowds arrived in force. That critique is not entirely wrong. But the bar scene has proved more resilient than the retail. The right bars in SoHo are among the best in Manhattan. They just take a little more intention to find.
The neighbourhood runs roughly from Canal Street north to Houston Street, and from West Broadway east to Lafayette. It is small, walkable, and dense with options once you know where to look. We know where to look. Here are the 11 bars that justify the trip.
"SoHo rewards the person who arrives with a plan. The bars that matter here are not the ones with the line out the door."
The SoHo Bar List
Grand Street Social
SoHo · Cocktail Bar · $$$
A 45-seat cocktail bar on Grand Street that has been quietly excellent since 2018. The room uses the cast-iron building to its advantage: exposed columns, high ceilings, and enough ambient noise to feel lively without shouting. The cocktail menu runs to 16 drinks organised by base spirit. The rye-based Old Fashioned variation with black walnut bitters is the best drink in the house. Reservations available online; walk-ins welcome at the bar.
Mercer & Mead
SoHo · Wine Bar · $$$
A wine bar that takes natural and low-intervention wines seriously without making you feel judged for not knowing what skin contact means. The list runs to around 80 bottles, changes seasonally, and includes enough options by the glass that you can explore properly without committing to a bottle. The staff are approachable and precise. Charcuterie and cheese are available until 11pm. One of the quieter options in the neighbourhood.
The geography of SoHo nightlife clusters in a few distinct pockets. West Broadway and its immediate side streets carry the most density. Spring Street and Prince Street have the bars that draw a more local crowd — the people who actually live in the neighbourhood rather than those visiting it. If you want to drink where SoHo residents drink, lean east toward Mulberry Street and the NoLIta border.
The Spring Street Underground
SoHo · Hidden Bar · $$$
Below street level, reached through a door that looks like a service entrance on Spring Street. A narrow 35-seat bar with a serious cocktail programme built around seasonal ingredients sourced from upstate New York producers. The bar team changes the menu every six weeks. Currently running: a clarified milk punch with local apple brandy, and a rye highball with foraged pine tincture. Reservations recommended Thursday through Saturday.
Canal Tap
SoHo · Craft Beer · $$
SoHo does not have many honest craft beer bars, which makes Canal Tap more valuable than its modest setting suggests. Twenty taps, weekly rotation, solid mix of local breweries and guest handles from around the country. The outdoor seating on the side street is genuinely pleasant from April through October. No cocktail programme, no pretense. If you want to compare with the broader NYC craft beer scene, this is a reliable entry point.
SoHo's After-Dinner Bar Scene
SoHo is at its best after dinner, when the shopping crowd has dispersed and the bars fill with people who have nowhere else to be. The neighbourhood clears by 8pm most nights, which means the bars that operate late have a curated clientele: the regulars, the out-of-towners who did their research, and the industry workers from the restaurant kitchens nearby.
Broome Street Session
SoHo · Jazz & Cocktails · $$$
Live jazz on Wednesdays and Fridays from 9pm, no cover. The cocktail programme favours classic templates with minimal but precise variations. The bar team is knowledgeable and unhurried. The room is narrow and long, with a stage at the far end that is visible from every seat. Go on a Wednesday when the crowd skews toward serious listeners rather than background-noise seekers. The aged rum selection is among the best in lower Manhattan.
Wooster & Co.
SoHo · Cocktail Lounge · $$$
Named for the street it occupies, Wooster & Co. has the look of a place that spent money on the right things: the bar top is a single slab of marble, the seating is genuinely comfortable, and the lighting is calibrated so that everyone looks good. The cocktail menu runs 18 drinks plus a strong spirits selection. The Sazerac is prepared properly, which is rarer than it should be. The Thursday late night (until 2am) is consistently one of the better bar experiences in SoHo.
Budget and Price Guide for SoHo Bars
SoHo is not a budget destination. Cocktails run $18 to $26 at most of the bars on this list. Wine by the glass starts at $16 and climbs quickly once you move into the serious natural wine territory. Draft beer in the craft segment runs $10 to $16 for a pint. The neighbourhood rewards spending: the quality at the top end justifies the price. For a broader sense of what drinking in New York costs across different price points, see our New York bar guide.
The Prince Street Pub
SoHo · Neighbourhood Pub · $$
The most honest bar in SoHo and the one we recommend when someone needs a break from the neighbourhood's posturing. Eight draft taps, a good selection of American whiskey, and bar food that errs on the side of generosity. The Prince Street Pub has been at the same address since 1994 and has survived every wave of SoHo reinvention by simply refusing to change. $8 happy hour beers until 7pm daily.
Lafayette House Bar
SoHo · Hotel Bar · $$$$
The lobby bar of a boutique hotel on Lafayette Street that operates well above the typical hotel bar standard. The cocktail programme is overseen by a bar director with previous credits at two of the city's most awarded programmes. The back room has 8 booths and takes reservations. The front bar is walk-in only. On weekend evenings this is one of the better people-watching perches in lower Manhattan. Drinks are expensive and worth it.
Getting There and Staying Later
SoHo is served by the N, Q, R, W at Prince Street, the 6 at Spring Street, the C, E at Spring Street, and the A, C, E, 1 at Canal Street. The neighbourhood is walkable from Tribeca, NoLIta, and the West Village — all of which have their own bar scenes worth connecting to a SoHo evening. For a curated night that links SoHo with the West Village, see our West Village speakeasy guide. For the full picture of cocktail options across Manhattan, our New York cocktail bars guide covers all 14 neighbourhoods.
Thompson Street Late
SoHo · Late Night Bar · $$
Open until 3am on weekends, 1am weekdays. A 50-seat bar on Thompson Street that fills up after midnight with the restaurant industry crowd that has just come off shift. The vibe shifts noticeably after 12am: less curated, more interesting. The drinks are straightforward and affordable by SoHo standards. If you need a bar that will still be open when the others close, this is the answer.
The Cast Iron Room
SoHo · Cocktail Bar · $$$
Takes its name and its design cues from the architecture that defines SoHo: exposed cast iron columns, original tin ceiling, bare brick. The cocktail programme is strong on sours and stirred-down spirit-forward drinks. The menu is short, intentional, and changes quarterly. The bar team rarely has a bad night. One of the few bars in this neighbourhood that has genuinely earned its reputation, and is not coasting on the address.
Our Take on SoHo as a Bar Neighbourhood
SoHo is not for every night. The prices are real, the tourists are present, and the bars that chase the Instagram moment are not worth your time. But the neighbourhood has a core of genuinely excellent bars run by people who care — and those are the ones we have listed here. Go with a plan, skip the obvious options, and spend an extra 20 minutes at the place you like best. That is always the right call in SoHo.
If you are exploring beyond SoHo, the New York hidden gems guide is the best next step for bars that are not on the tourist radar.
