We can appreciate a perfectly mixed martini as much as the next person, but sometimes the finer things in life aren’t the finer things – just look at New York City’s best dive bars as proof. Yeah, we’re talking about those places where your shoes stick to the floor, where the bathroom mirror has long ago been lost to bumper stickers and scribbled phone numbers, and the drink special is either offensive in name or instantly regrettable in nature. Where the food offerings are usually a bag of chips thrown across the bar, or something from a microwave if you’re really lucky.
The luxury, though, is that as familiar as one dive bar may be to the next – you always know one when you see one – each is singular, a life force made up of its quirks and rituals and regulars, with a unique patina that you couldn’t fake if you tried. So, as much as we love telling you about the hottest new bars in NYC, or the very respectable all-time best bars in New York, these are the ones that we find ourselves gravitating to when we’re off-duty and searching for a cheap thrill. If you find yourself wandering New York City in need of a Miller High Life, we’ll see you at the bar. (Bring cash, just in case.)
The best dive bars in New York City
Barrow’s Pub
Go-to order: Bottle of Budweiser and ask to break a $5 bill into singles for the pool table
The neon glow of Barrow Pub’s Yankees Budweiser sign lights are my Hudson Street beacons in the West Village. You may think you know what happiness feels like, but unless you’ve thrown down twenties for nonstop Stella’s on tap (cash only!) and slapped your name on Barrow’s whiteboard for the next round of pool as a Yankees, Knicks, or Rangers game plays with a perfect alt-rock playlist as the soundtrack, I’d beg to differ. I’ve laughed here, I’ve cried here, and I’ve made best friends here. I see the locals that run the pool table more than I do my own family. It’s a West Village rite of passage: Going for a cheeky drink after dinner, only to be hit with the jumpscare of 4 a.m. last-call lights. And therein lies my issue with Barrow’s. There’s an inherent inadequacy of the English language to fully illustrate how great this bar is. Infinite beers and access to the touchtunes – I’d argue it’s the recipe for world peace…