The Best New York Bar Openings of 2022

After Two Years of Dormancy, NYC Saw a Flurry of New Bars.

From a cocktail reporter’s point of view, the news in 2020 and 2021 New York—the peak years of the Covid-19 pandemic—was not about new bars, typically a perennial source of stories. The news was about how bars were coping, financially and mentally, with the pandemic in terms of the government-imposed shutdowns, health issues, staffing shortages, outdoor seating, supply chain issues, and countless other trials. There were no stories to write about new bars, because there were no new bars; instead, existing bars were closing.

But 2022 saw a seeming return to normalcy. The pandemic is still with us, but public officials, and the public itself, collectively decided—for better or worse—to force into being a beforetimes level of business-as-usual. As if making up for lost time, hospitality-world entrepreneurs unleashed a flurry of new restaurants and bars upon New York City.

I checked out most of them. Here are what I consider to be the best new additions to the drinking scene.