The Best NYC Bars To Ring In The New Year
It won't be long before we're kissing the year 2023 goodbye, which means some New Year's Eve planning is in order. If you'll be in New York City for the occasion and are looking for a fun night on the town, the sheer amount of bar options can be a little much to navigate through. Many NYC bars go all out for New Year's Eve, planning holiday menus, immersive experiences, bar specials, and more, so you better believe that ringing in 2024 in the city that never sleeps will be anything but a snooze.
A lot of the bars throwing New Year's Eve parties require the purchase of a ticket just to get through the door, so being a part of the action requires some planning — and some money — because in true New York fashion, the prices can get steep fast. On the other hand, if you're in the mood for something more low-key that doesn't involve reservations, tickets, dress codes, or $24 drinks, NYC also has plenty of places that embrace the unfussy side of fun.
We know everyone's version of an end of the year party is a little different. That's why we've perused through a laundry list of the Big Apple's NYE happenings this year to bring you a mix of bar options. From high-style cocktail parties and dancey discos to themed events, festive dinners, and laid-back vibes, here are our picks for the best NYC bars to ring in the New Year.
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Dolly Varden
Times Square tends to be written off as a tourist-only destination, but there are some great bars in that area that both locals and visitors enjoy, and Dolly Varden is among them. Dolly Varden is styled after the Jazz Era of the 1920s and sports curved ceilings of polished wood to mimic a train car (Dolly Varden was the name of the last passenger train to traverse Manhattan's West Side). Stepping into this two-story bar is akin to taking a stylized step back to America's Gilded Age — quite the backdrop for a hopping New Year's Eve soirée.
Tickets to Dolly Varden's New Year's Eve event start at $79 — not too shabby, considering you'll be granted entry to two levels of celebration, free appetizers from 8 to 11 p.m., a five-hour premium open bar from 8 p.m. to 1 a.m. (mixology is Dolly Varden's thing), and a midnight champagne toast. If you want to reserve seats for your group, prices jump to $99 per person, and if that reservation includes bottle service, tickets start at $119. A DJ will be onsite, so make sure you come to Dolly Varden ready to dance. As if these amenities weren't alluring enough, another perk of Dolly Varden is its proximity to the Times Square Ball Drop. While a live view of the ball drop is possible, the bar doesn't guarantee there will be visibility from right outside the bar ... the streets will be packed before midnight.
Bar 54
Some people take New Year's Eve seriously, and if you're one of them, ringing in the new year at Bar 54 at Hyatt Centric Times Square is the only option. Forget trying to find foot space on the cramped, cold sidewalk of Times Square to catch a glimpse of the midnight Ball Drop, when you party at Bar 54, you'll be able to watch it from the sky (the 54th story to be exact). No really, the view at this bar cannot be beat on New Year's Eve — but it will cost you.
Bar 54 at Hyatt Centric Times Square is the tallest rooftop lounge in New York City, and it's a classy place to boot. That's why ticket prices to this swanky event start at $1,249 per person. Black-tie attire isn't required, so you don't have to feel obligated to splurge on some fancy threads on top of Bar 54's steep entry fee (though you should still dress to impress). This isn't an expense that everyone is prepared to contend with, but for those who are game, the ticket includes passed appetizers from 9 p.m. to midnight and a premium open bar from 9 p.m. to 2 a.m. If nibbling on mini ratatouille tarts and miso-glazed shrimp skewers between sips of Grey Goose or Johnnie Walker Black is how you'd like to greet 2024, we recommend you act quickly. Bar 54's glitzy rooftop celebration is an intimate event with a 100-person maximum.
As You Are
New Year's Eve soirées tend to center around drinking, but if you're going to make a night of it in NYC, why not ring in the new year with a nice dinner as well? As You Are is inside the Ace Hotel in the Boerum Hill neighborhood of Brooklyn, and is serving a special New Year's Eve surf and turf menu that is sure to be a standout in a neighborhood teeming with bars and restaurants.
The prix fixe menu at As You Are is served in a large format that's meant for two or more. Retro fine dining classics like Lobster Thermidor share the table with raw bar seafood, rib eye with horseradish cream and potato cakes, and a dessert of Baked Alaska. The standard restaurant menu will also be available if you require a touch more variety. As You Are is a hip, inviting space that embodies exactly what the Ace Hotel is about. Here, the hospitality extends far beyond room and table service, this is the kind of hotel where people actually socialize in the communal spaces. That's why the party doesn't end at As You Are. Continue your night just a few paces away at Ace's Lobby Bar, where DJs spin the sounds of soul, funk, and boogie. So, shimmy your way into 2024 and maybe make some new friends in the process.
SPIN
Sitting at the bar and drinking with friends is fun and all, but maybe you're looking for something a little more high-energy this New Year's Eve. Enter SPIN, New York City's best-known ping pong social club. Manhattan has two SPIN locations, and come New Year's Eve, each spot is hosting a different kind of party.
Communal ping pong and a live DJ will be at the center of the festivities for SPIN's Midtown and Flatiron locations, but the Midtown bash is more upscale. SPIN Midtown is offering an all-inclusive NYE package featuring a catered banquet, a premium open bar from 8 p.m. to midnight, a complimentary coat check, and a midnight champagne toast with chocolate-covered strawberries. Jumping on the early bird discount will get you a $215.26 ticket price, but the regular rate for general admission is $500 per person.
Or maybe you'd prefer a masquerade ping pong party instead, in which case you'll want to head down to SPIN Flatiron. A deluxe ticket to the Flatiron bash is a more down-to-earth $30 (the early bird discount is $18.07) and comes with ping pong, a NYE Rice Ball set from Sushi Delic, and a midnight champagne toast. If purchased in advance, a general admission ticket (which includes everything in the Deluxe except the sushi), is $15 — at the door, it's $30. Cosplayers, a photo booth, and drag performances are also part of the fun at SPIN Flatiron this year.
Point Seven
Or should we say, Point 007? Themed parties tend to offer an extra dash of intrigue and if you're out and about in NYC for the new year, Point Seven — the elegant seafood restaurant and bar inside Manhattan's MetLife building — is hosting what just might be the most dashing f?te in the city. For one night only, Point Seven is transforming its splendorous digs into a true Casino Royale for its James Bond New Year's Eve bash. Tickets cost $165 per person, but for that price, you'll be in for an immersive experience.
From 9 p.m. to 1 a.m., guests are treated to an open bar and passed appetizers — From Russia With Love (smoked sturgeon and carnival on a pumpernickel bagel) or Octopussy (live octopus sashimi) are among the finger foods that will be served. You'll also have access to casino-style gaming tables and a midnight champagne toast. If you up that ticket price to $245 per person, you'll be able to reserve a table (and table service), and a deluxe selection of hors d'oeuvres. No, there won't be real high-stakes gambling at Point Seven, but you will get a chance to win prizes at the end of the night if you have luck at the tables. And since this is James Bond we're talking about, make sure you dress the part. Black tie apparel is encouraged, and why not? This is a live-and-let-die New Year's Eve situation.
King Tai
Lest you forget, Brooklyn is the most populated of NYC's boroughs (around 2.7 million people live there), so it's fair to assume that many Brooklynites would like to stay on their home turf as they ring in 2024. If you're Brooklyn-bound this New Year's Eve, make your way to King Tai, the Crown Heights Bar that is all about good drinks and good times.
The space was inhabited by a Chinese American fish kitchen throughout the 1980s and '90s before becoming the home to King Tai, a small but cheerful bar that's been something of a neighborhood hot spot since opening in 2015 (a daily happy hour until 8 p.m. might have something to do with that). King Tai is no stranger to the enticing beats from a DJ's speakers, and on NYE the bar is sure to get lively as the clock inches toward midnight.
If you're the kind of New Year's celebrator who doesn't want to bother with buying tickets in advance or spending a small fortune on a pre-planned evening, King Tai is right up your alley. The bar has a vague tropical theme and a bright, welcoming space that encourages mingling. The house cocktails demonstrate the bar's flair for mixology but without the pretentious air — they all cost $13 — yet another reason to grab some friends and raise a glass to 2024 at King Tai.
Sek'end Sun
No NYC bar list is complete without acknowledging the burgeoning scene that's happening in Queens. Separated from Manhattan by the East River, the bustling neighborhood of Astoria is chock full of culture and nightlife destinations, so spending New Year's Eve in this borough is hardly a waste. This is especially true if you wander into Sek'end Sun, a laid-back cocktail bar that has a little something for everyone.
You don't have to reserve a ticket to spend your NYE night here, but if you do pull the trigger on the bar's upgraded holiday special, the deal you get is well worth the price. For $110, you'll have your share of the premium open bar from 9 p.m. to 1 a.m. as you tear up the dance floor courtesy of a DJ-led tracklist. In case you forget where you are, a large neon sign on the back patio spells "Queens" in a vibrant red glow. Should you choose not to take Sek'end Sun up on its open bar offer, the cocktails cost $14 each, so imbibing a little won't exactly wear a hole in your wallet. For NYC dwellers who plan to patronize Sek'end Son for a good time, not for a long time, you're in luck. The bar is literally steps away from the N and W trains, so you can meander on home just as optimistic as you came.
Wiggle Room
New Year's Eve was made for dancing, and if you're in search of that perfect balance between bar and club for this year's NYC outing, Wiggle Room fits the bill. Wiggle Room has only been around since May 2022, but it's already commanding quite a crowd. Straddled between the Bowery and East Village, this is the kind of place that stays pretty empty up until the early a.m. hours — that's when you'll likely see a line starting to form at the door — but on account of New Year's Eve, the action will get going around 10 p.m. when the "Wiggle Ball" officially begins.
Tickets to the Wiggle Bar cost $172, and include premium open bar service from 10 p.m. to 3 a.m. and entry into a new-school disco dance party of sorts. Wiggle Room's top floor consists of a large backlit bar and plenty of seating dispersed around an open floor plan. Head downstairs and be prepared to shake your groove thing right into 2024 — that's where the DJs and the disco ball will be after all.
Moxy East Village
Moxy East Village opened in late 2019 as part of Marriott International's boutique hotel line and has become a sought-after spot in one of NYC's most eclectic neighborhoods. When you ring in the new year at Moxy East Village, you'll get the full treatment: food, drinks, a view, and good times. For $150, you'll gain access to not one but two parties being thrown at Moxy East Village Hotel. Kick things off at The Ready rooftop bar (complete with a retractable glass ceiling and panoramic cityscape views), a colorful space where you can feast on unlimited tacos, and enjoy the open bar from 8 p.m. to 10 p.m.
The Ready closes its doors at 10 p.m., but not to worry, that $150 ticket will take you downstairs to Moxy's Alphabet Bar, a cavernously lit space just off the lobby where the open bar keeps flowing until midnight and is capped off with a celebratory champagne toast. If you're not ready to commit to four hours of revelry at Moxy East Village, you don't have to! The hotel is also offering admission to the Alphabet Bar only for $75, which includes the two-hour open bar and midnight champagne.
Maison Premiere
We love cocktailing and dancing the night away as much as the next person, but let's not gloss over the importance of eating dinner beforehand. And since you're in NYC and it's a holiday, a beautiful New Year's Eve dinner would certainly fit the bill. That's exactly what you'll be in for if you dine at Maison Premiere. Since opening in 2011, Maison Premiere has built a name for itself by drawing inspiration from the absinthe cafes and oyster bars of a bygone era and elevating those notions into the realm of today. The chic eatery is just over the bridge in Williamsburg, Brooklyn, and you won't be sorry you ventured this way when you get a look at the special NYE menu.
There will be a prix fixe tasting menu for New Year's Eve diners, with seating at 6 p.m. and 9 p.m. (reservations are strongly suggested). If you arrive for the 6 p.m. slot, the cost is $95 per person. The courses will be select favorites from Maison Premiere's standard menu and include dessert. Take your time and enjoy, because the live music begins at 7 and carries on until midnight. The 9 p.m. time slot costs $175 per person and includes one of the restaurant's signature seafood towers (they boast some of the best shellfish in the city) and a glass of champagne.
The Woods
Something about the last night of the year emboldens us to let loose, and dancing into the new year at The Woods in Williamsburg, Brooklyn simply feels right. The Woods is well known for its backyard patio, but it's also a great dance spot that keeps a steady rotation of DJs behind the tables week after week. This New Year's Eve, The Woods will host a dance party for the ages featuring local DJs Rebel Army and DanyMane.
A ticket to The Woods' NYE party is $10 and can be bought in advance if you're hoping to avoid the crowds at the door. Power hour is from 8-9 p.m., so be sure to get to The Woods around then to take advantage of discounted bar drinks. Regular-priced cocktails are in the $14 range — not bad as far as NYC goes, but when the party starts at 10 p.m., expect to see some drink specials. The Woods can get crowded and clubby, so long bathroom lines and thumping music come with the territory. The clientele is diverse, albeit on the youngish side, and the vibe is friendly, so bring your dancing shoes and dare to stay out all night — the party goes until 4 a.m.
Tara Rose
New Year's Eve in NYC is focused on Times Square, but venture a little south to Manhattan's Murray Hill neighborhood, and you'll quickly realize that the bars here have a lot of nightlife in them as well. Tara Rose is one such bar, with an inclusive atmosphere, delicious food and drinks, and a glittering disco ball overhead to remind you that this is where the party's at.
Tara Rose's decor gives reverence to the past — a neon sign bearing the slogan "Think Retro" glows alongside a backdrop of mid-century modern wallpaper — but its sights are set on the future for this year's rollicking NYE bash. A DJ and dancing are par for the course, while a premium open bar from 9 p.m. to 1 a.m. and a champagne toast on the house sets the mood for a great night. Photo ops are infinite at the ornately decorated Tara Rose, but participating in the fun requires a ticket purchase that will run you $135.82. Dressing up is encouraged so you can dance 2023 into the dust and greet the new year in style. Tara Rose opened its doors in 2019 and has steadily maintained its place as a go-to spot in a neighborhood that has gained a foothold on the New York City foodie scene in recent years. And, if you have a really good time at Tara Rose on New Year's Eve, you can always swing by the next day to partake in the restaurant's signature bottomless brunch.
Read the original article on Mashed.