The Best Nightlife in New York City
- Best Concert Hall: Carnegie Hall. There’s a reason every musician dreams of playing here someday. The acoustics are exquisite, the look of the place lovely, and the ghosts of stars past ever-so-friendly.
- Best Jazz Club: The Village Vanguard. It's the real thing. All of the greats have performed here, and because of the Vanguard’s savvy bookers, this is where the current generation’s stars (often up-and-coming) play, too.
- Best Rock Bar/Club: Mercury Lounge. The ideal live-music rock 'n roll bar. Top talent, just the right amount of grit.
- Best Children’s Theater: The New Victory Theater. Savvy programmers bring in the top children’s productions from around the globe, from circus shows to plays to dance and performance art works.
- Best Comedy Club: Upright Citizens Brigade. The brilliance of the performers here, who are walking the tightrope of making up everything as they go along, will blow you away.
- Best Cocktail Bar: Death & Co. This one’s a close race, because the bartenders at this joint, Pegu Club, Broken Shaker, PDT, The Shanty, and Employees Only are friendly and swap recipes. But I’m going out on a limb to say that the cocktails here are both the most balanced and the most inventive.
- Best Speakeasy: PDT. Hidden behind a secret-panel in the phone booth of a hot dog stand, PDT (it stands for Please Don’t Tell) serves some of the most expertly (and creatively) mixed cocktails in the city, in a hidden space that feels oh-so-exclusive.
- Best Dive Bar: Dublin House. Need a shot of whiskey at 10am in a place where no one will bat an eye? Head to this old-fashioned Irish pub that started life as a speakeasy in the 1920's (and doesn't look like it's been renovated since the 1960's).
- Best Brooklyn Bar: The Shanty. The cocktails here are made with liquors distilled on site, along with artisanal brands from around the globe. Grab a perfectly mixed Dorothy Parker gin martini, sit back, and enjoy life.
- Best Hotel Bar: Bemelman's at the Hotel Carlyle. It’s not a cheap experience, but enjoying an excellent jazz trio, Manhattan in hand, in this hoity toity watering hole, is one of those experiences that seem taken right from a Woody Allen movie. Classic.
- Best Gay Bar: The Monster. Sure, the overall scene is hotter in Hell’s Kitchen than it is in the Village nowadays. But men have rediscovered this classic Village bar in the last 3 years, and are flocking to its weekend tea dances and second-floor piano bar.
-Pauline Frommer