New York's Most Memorable Martinis
The best martinis being shaken or stirred downtown and where to get your hands on them.
If you’re a serious martini connoisseur, you’ll find your happy place downtown. Looking to enjoy killer martinis and jaw-dropping views of the glittering Manhattan skyline 64 stories above Wall Street? How does sipping an espresso martini in a decadent Gatsby-like drinking den in the chic neighborhood of Soho sound to you? Want more options for memorable martini-filled evenings in Manhattan? Then you’re in luck because we’ve gathered a list of some of the best martinis being shaken or stirred downtown and where to get your hands on them.
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Walk by this Lower East Side bar on any summer night and you’ll find a sea of downtown cool kids drinking and vaping at tables spilling out onto the sidewalk. Opened in 2023 by the team behind equally hip nearby haunts Ding-A-Ling and Kind Regards, Bar Valentina AKA Val’s is the place to be for great drinks, vibes, and people-watching. Hungry? Food options include a burger with fries, scallop crudo, and lamb meatballs, all of which pair perfectly with one of Val’s savory martinis. Go for the “Peppertini,” made with vodka, dry vermouth, and guindilla (pickled Basque green peppers) brine.
85 Orchard St; T (646) 476-4523
Follow fashionable locals through a graffiti-covered door and into Tigre on Rivington Street, a date-night-friendly cocktail lounge from the team behind Maison Premiere. Inside the disco-chic space (think mirrored ceilings, gold walls, retro artwork), find designer-clad, martini-sipping patrons at the eight-person U-shaped bar, candlelit tables, and plush banquettes adorned with tiger embroidery. First time here? Then order the “Cigarette” martini. It’s made with Truman vodka, Cap Corse Quina (an aperitif wine known for its balance of sweet and bitter flavors), and a smoky spirit with a juniper base from Empirical Spirits. Careful, it’s addictive.
105 Rivington St; T. (646) 951-2780
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Cold Pizza at Double Chicken Please
Double Chicken Please first began as a pop-up bar in a yellow vintage Volkswagen minibus traveling across the country, and now is an award-winning, difficult-to-get-into Lower East Side hotspot. Come for the big fried chicken sandwiches, and stay for several cocktails. For wildly inventive cocktails, head to the back room, known as The Coop. Head-turning tipples include everything from the “Japanese Cold Noodle,” made with Bacardi superior rum, pineapple, cucumber, coconut, lime, and sesame oil, and the “NY Beet Salad,” made with Bombay Sapphire Gin, beet, pineapple, cranberry, mascarpone, and yogurt. If you order the popular “Cold Pizza,” don’t expect a slice. Instead, you’ll get a to-die-for tequila cocktail made with Parmigiano Reggiano, fresh tomato, basil, burnt toast, honey, and egg white.
115 Allen St
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The Last Frontier at Overstory
Floating majestically 64 stories above Wall Street, there’s no better place for classic cocktails and memorable evenings than this sexy and sophisticated lounge (and the winner of the #3 spot on the “50 Best Bars in North America” 2024 list). Plus, the FiDi joint’s spacious wraparound outdoor terrace offers a hypnotic, 360-degree vista of the glittering city skyline. As for the cocktail menu? Everything’s a 10/10, though if we had to choose only one, we’d go for “The Last Frontier” (beeswax-infused gin, sherry, mandarin, and yellow chartreuse). Tip: order a slice of lemon meringue pie before calling it a night.
70 Pine St; T. (212) 339-3963
Espresso Martini at Club Room at Soho Grand Hotel
Stepping into the Club Room at the Soho Grand Hotel feels like stumbling into a super-secret, beyond-glamorous party during the Gilded Age. This is especially true when New York City’s finest jazz crooners and pianists perform live music to a crowd of well-dressed downtown denizens enjoying caviar and craft cocktails in the decadent, Gatsby-like space. You’ll want to stay up for the lively evening DJ sets, so we suggest ordering the Club Room’s espresso martini. It’s made with Grey Goose vodka, Mr. Black Cold Brew Liqueur Espresso, and cinnamon, and it’ll have you dancing the night away.
310 W Broadway; T. (212) 965-3588
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The West Village’s endlessly buzzy Sip & Guzzle makes some of the best martinis in the city. After all, its team consists of alums from Employees Only and Angel’s Share and it’s modeled after the award-winning SG Club in Tokyo. Order shots of Japanese whiskey, highballs, and izakaya-style bites upstairs at the casual-ish Guzzle. Downstairs at Sip, you can eat fancy fare, including the much-Instagrammed $150 Royale with cheese. As for Sip’s sips? You can’t go wrong ordering the “Sixty Forty,” a masterful mix between a martini and a Manhattan. To sip or guzzle? That is the question.
29 Cornelia St; T. (917) 259-6974
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Duke’s Martini at The Chelsea Hotel
It’s not every day that you walk into a legendary landmark that’s housed some of the world’s most beloved creatives. That is unless you frequent the Lobby Bar at the iconic Hotel Chelsea. Located on the hotel’s ground floor, the space is decked out in an exceedingly grand and gorgeous fashion–think a marble-clad bar counter, original mosaic floors, artwork by former guests and tenants, restored ceilings with vintage chandeliers, and more. Just as head-turning as the European-style lobby bar is the martini-packed menu. Moodily lit and oozing atmosphere, The Lobby Bar is the quintessential New York City haunt to sip a classic house martini made with vermouth and gin or vodka. Bottoms up!
226 W 23rd St; T. (212) 483-1010
WORDS Alex Catarinella
PHOTOGRAPHY Monika Grzebinoga on Unsplash