Those 52 bars in 2026
- 7
- still there
- 25
- replaced
- 20
- gone
Most common features
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299 Madison Ave.
Still pouring
Flowers, stone railings and wrought iron and wicker furniture attract a more conservative crowd than many of the city's other roof decks bars, but at $7 for a Pilsner Urquel it's a veritable roof deck bargain.
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329 Lexington Ave.
A different business is licensed at this address: The Junction
Votive candles, exposed brick, leather couches, and a working fireplace creates a rustic, living room aesthetic. Throw in stunning European waitresses and a vast selection of single malt scotches and you've got one of the best lounges in Murray Hill.
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7 E. 36th St.
Closed; now 5th & Mad
Named for a type of sailing boat used in Galway Bay, this massive bi-level Irish pub has 36 taps, pool tables, a dart board, projection screen TV, and enough space to accommodate the entire fixed income department at Merrill Lynch.
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11 E. 36th St.
Closed
It's big, it's crowded and there's no better bar for blocks in any direction. If you have to go to this area, this is the place you'll want to drink.
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Harry's NY Bar (Helmsley Hotel)
212 E. 42nd St.
A different business is licensed at this address: Westin New York Grand Central;Lcl NY Bar &Kitchen
This sad lounge at the Helmsley Hotel is a sorry namesake to the world famous Harry's NY Bar in Paris, the second home to the like Hemingway and Bogart and birthplace of the bloody mary).
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611 2nd Ave.
No license found in 2026
Owned and operated by New York's bravest, this is the go to bar for girls looking to land themselves a fireman. On Saturday nights ladies drink for free, and by 2am quite a few of them find themselves in need ofa little rescuing.
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12 E. 42nd St.
Closed
A smoker's lounge beneath the tobacconist Nat Sherman skirts New York City's anti-smoking laws by requiring a $25 members day pass for entry. There's a full bar, a wide selection of small plates, and a giant walk-in humidor.
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KatwalkPick
2 W. 35th St.
Closed
The vibe is similar to most it this area, a bit corporate a bit frattish, but there's a few more women and a more attractive crowd than most other places nearby.
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131 Madison Ave
A different business is licensed at this address: Hotel AKA Nomad
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14 E. 33rd St.
A different business is licensed at this address
A lounge by the numbers. Like most of the bars in this area if you bring a good crowd and you drink a great deal than the possibility exists you'll enjoy yourself. A Heineken will run you $7 a well drink $11.
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493 3rd Ave.
A different business is licensed at this address: Blue Haven
On a section of street lined with frat bars, this is the most palatable.
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Merlin Room (Vincci Avalon Hotel)
16 E. 32nd St.
Closed
There's little to recommend the Merlin Room to native New Yorker's, unless of course you're looking for a destination for a discrete rendezvous in which case it's hard to best.
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Morgans Bar (Morgans Hotel)Pick
237 Madison Ave.
Closed
The basement lounge of the Morgan Hotel (ie JP Morgan Hotel) is plush, comfortable, and boasts a royalty on acid aesthetic that somehow manages to be really quite endearing.
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497 3rd Ave.
Closed; now The Flying Cock
Football means soccer at Kavanagh's and you can catch every game over a pint of Guinness and some bangers and mash.
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45 E. 33rd St.
Moved to 239 Thompson Street
Non-profit coffee house and live music venue champions a wide range of social causes. Closed summers.
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450 Park Ave. S.
A different business is licensed at this address
PS 450 succeeds admirably in that it's hard to envision a bar more perfectly suited to the neighborhood in which it inhabits.
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140 E. 41st St.
No license found in 2026
Excess is the word of the day as you contemplate the incongruity between what it is to be an American and what it is to be a New Yorker at this big, loud and shitty, red, white and blue bar.
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162 Madison Ave.
No license found in 2026
With BYOB and just $40/hr for 4 people the price is right at this 6th floor Karaoke den, but if you're looking to sing in English you're selection will be prety limited.
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6 E. 32 St.
A different business is licensed at this address: Dubuhaus, Howoo, Musaek
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206 E. 34th St.
A different business is licensed at this address: Mira
If you're here to watch the game it's hard to top Bar 12's square footage to plasma TV ratio or it's 24 tap beers. If you're not here to watch the game perhaps you can marvel at the packed to capacity worst of Murray Hill crowd, or you know, slit you wrists in the bathroom.
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613 2nd Ave.
No license found in 2026
Low-key, low-ceilinged, low-priced bar. $1 drafts for happy hour and they've got a back (concrete) garden.
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143 Madison Ave.
No license found in 2026
You might think that the budget minimalist aesthetic in this awkward space combined with top 40's euro dance hits and pricey weak cocktails would keep this place empty. You'd be wrong. "The Phantom Menace" broke box office records, and this star trooper chic hole is packed every weekend.
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540 2nd Ave.
A different business is licensed at this address: Crooked Knife
The Manhattan outpost of the Brooklyn Heights Waterfront Ale House preserves the same ingredients to success, a neighborhood feel, a great kitchen, and huge beer selection.
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587 3rd Ave.
Closed; now Spoto Pizza & Gelato
On a street packed with Bud and wings bars Wharf has upped the ante with a huge outdoor patio, daily rotating $3.50 beer specials, a kitchen open til 2am, and a $7 Bud and a burger deal.
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575 2nd Ave.
Closed; now H&R Block
Yes it is a frat bar, but the crowd's more Animal house than Phi Beta Innate-Sense-of-Entitlement. And the beers cheap, and they've got Guinness on tap.