Lauded as a Critics' Pick by New York Magazine, The Flatiron Lounge has no shortage of stellar attributes, including house specialties like the "Cocktail Flight" of mini-martinis, each with a complementary flavor. Other drink specials revisit the Sidecar (Cognac, Cointreau triple sec and lemon juice) and other favorites of the show-biz "Rat Pack" of the 1950s and 1960s. Visitors enter the Flatiron Lounge through a lit archway that leads to a retro mahogany bar. Art-deco design stained glass decorates the walls. Patrons can sip on their cocktails in circular leather booths for privacy or sit at the brightly-lit bar. There's a club downstairs with gold leaf walls and a DJ spinning the latest electronica. The Flatiron attracts a good mix of people, from trendy media types to tourists and businessmen.
The downtown art and business crowd frequent the sumptuous Grand Bar and Lounge on the second floor of the Soho Grand Hotel. The lounge is also a favorite haunt for celebrities and hotel guests unwinding from a long day on the town. With its copper table tops and windows facing bustling West Broadway, the atmosphere is perfect for late night conversation and drinks or people-watching. A late-night snack menu is featured until the 2:00 a.m. closing. According to NYTix, the drinks are expensive but well worth it. The Grand's signature Dirty Soho cocktail (Stoli Gold Vodka with olive brine), for example, will set you back $15. Overstuffed chairs and dark brown drapes create a relaxing ambiance.
Featured in the book "The History and Stories of the Best Bars of New York," the Spring Lounge has a colorful history. It opened during Prohibition as an illegal beer "take-out", and continued legally throughout the next few decades under various names. By the 1970s, the name was changed to its current moniker, Spring Lounge. It opens at 8 a.m., and features 12 beers on tap, 17 bottled beers, and four in cans. There are free hot dogs on Wednesdays and a bagel brunch on Sundays. Low-priced pints and a backroom decorated with stuffed sharks make this a quirky neighborhood favorite.
The Stitch Bar and Lounge is a bustling midtown watering hole frequented by Fashion District Workers. It's within walking distance of Penn Station and Madison Square Garden, so it's centrally located for tourists, too. BlackBook Magazine calls it an "after-work safe bet." This dimly-lit lounge has two floors, including a private bar on the balcony. It serves appetizers and entrees along with a menu of designer drinks. Its "Kimono" is made with champagne, lime juice and melon liquor while the Anna Wintour (a Dark and Stormy) is prepared with dark rum, lime juice and ginger ale.
