Best Dive Bars in NYC
The 10 best dive bars in NYC: cheap beer, free hot dogs, jukeboxes and zero pretension, from Hell's Kitchen to Staten Island.
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- 1Hell's Kitchen · $ · 42 St-Port Authority Bus Terminal (1 2 3 7 A C E N Q R S W) · 627 9th Ave
Also No. 4 on Best Hangouts in Manhattan →
A Hell's Kitchen institution open since 1933, marked by a giant pig statue out front and duct-taped red booths inside. It is famous for rock-bottom beer-and-shot deals and a free hot dog with every drink.
Cheap house lager, a free frank and zero attitude on Ninth Avenue is about as pure as a New York dive gets.
Order Rudy's Red house lager with a shot, plus a free hot dog with any drink
Order a pitcher of the Rudy's Red for the group; it is the best value in the neighborhood, and yes, the hot dogs really are free.
Photo: Hyun Lee (hyunlab), CC BY 2.0 Photo: Hyun Lee (hyunlab), CC BY 2.0 - 2Red Hook · $ · 253 Conover St, Brooklyn, NY 11231
Also No. 1 on Best Hangouts in Brooklyn →
A waterfront Red Hook tavern dating to around 1890 that survived Hurricane Sandy to become a symbol of the neighborhood's comeback. Worn wood, art on every wall, and a back room that hosts live bluegrass and jazz.
The live old-time music night, packed shoulder to shoulder in a room older than most of Brooklyn, is a genuine New York miracle.
Order PBR tallboy
Get there early on a music night; it fills up fast and seating is strictly first come, first served.
Photo: jqpubliq, CC BY-SA 2.0 Photo: jqpubliq, CC BY-SA 2.0 - 3Theater District · $ · Times Sq-42 St (1 2 3 7 A C E N Q R S W) · 140 W 44th StMap ↗verified 6w ago
A narrow, boxing-memorabilia-crammed hideaway steps from Times Square, founded by legendary fight cutman Jimmy Glenn and now run by his family. The walls are a museum of fight posters; the drinks are cheap and strong.
That such an honest, unhurried dive still holds its ground a block off Times Square feels like beating the odds every single night.
Order Cheap well drinks and cold draft beer
Cash is king and the jukebox is one of the best in the city; bring singles for both.
@jimmys_corner44 ↗Jimmy's Corner
From @jimmys_corner44 on Instagram, shown through Instagram's own embed player.
- 4NoHo · $ · Bleecker St (6 B D F M) · 51 E Houston St
A long, skinny, dimly lit throwback pouring since 1880, making it one of the oldest continuously operating bars in the city. It sits right on the NoHo, Nolita and Bowery border, packed with old photos and older regulars.
One narrow room, 140-plus years of elbows on the same bar, and not an ounce of pretense; this is living New York history.
Order Cheap can of domestic beer
Grab a stool near the front window in the afternoon lull, when the regulars hold court and the light is perfect.
@milanosbar ↗Milano's Bar
Loads from Instagram
From @milanosbar on Instagram, shown through Instagram's own embed player.
- 5East Village · $ · 1 Av (L) · 108 Avenue BMap ↗verified 6w ago
A classic horseshoe-shaped corner bar built in 1935 as Vazac Hall, holding down the corner of Avenue B and 7th Street. Its cinematic dark-wood interior has stood in for New York in The Godfather Part II, Crocodile Dundee and Serpico.
You have seen this bar in a dozen movies, and standing at that battered horseshoe with a cheap draft makes you feel like you are in one.
Order Draft beer
Sit at the actual horseshoe bar rather than the tables; it is the whole reason the room is famous.
@7bhorseshoebar ↗7B Horseshoe Bar (Vazac's)
From @7bhorseshoebar on Instagram, shown through Instagram's own embed player.
- 6Two Bridges · $ · East Broadway (F) · 169 E Broadway
A century-plus-old former speakeasy once known as The Bloody Bucket, now a gleefully kitschy Lower East Side dive with neon, faux-tropical trim and a leopard-print pool table. The crowd is devoted and the night runs late.
Where else can you rack a game on a leopard-print pool table under neon lights in a bar older than most of the block.
Order PBR and a shot
The kitchen turns out surprisingly solid bar food late; order between rounds of pool.
@169bar ↗169 Bar
From @169bar on Instagram, shown through Instagram's own embed player.
- 7East Village · $ · 1 Av (L) · 141 Avenue AMap ↗verified 6w ago
The self-proclaimed only honky-tonk dive in New York, holding the corner of Avenue A and 9th Street since 1994. Expect a Southern-rock jukebox, cheap bourbon and a cash-heavy, no-frills bar culture.
A honky-tonk in the East Village should not work, and yet the whiskey is cheap, the jukebox rips, and it absolutely does.
Order Whiskey shot / cheap bourbon
Watch for the drink specials tied to their events and keep cash on hand; cards are an afterthought here.
@dochollidaysnyc ↗Doc Holliday's
From @dochollidaysnyc on Instagram, shown through Instagram's own embed player.
- 8Brooklyn Heights · $ · Court St (2 3 4 5 R) · 73 Atlantic Ave, Brooklyn, NY 11201
A 1939 longshoreman's bar draped in ship memorabilia on Atlantic Avenue, a Brooklyn Heights institution best known for its karaoke nights. New ownership took over in 2026 but kept the cheap beer and made the pool table free.
Belting a song under the nautical bric-a-brac with host Amethyst Valentino is one of the warmest nights out in Brooklyn.
Order Rum and Coke
Go on a karaoke night and put your song in early; the now-free pool table is a bonus while you wait your turn.
@themonterobar ↗Montero Bar & Grill
From @themonterobar on Instagram, shown through Instagram's own embed player.
- 9Kingsbridge · $ · 238 St (1) · 5820 Broadway, Bronx, NY 10463Map ↗verified 6w ago
A family-owned Irish pub open in Kingsbridge since 1979, a true Bronx neighborhood staple. Cold pints, a pool table, darts and Sunday karaoke keep the regulars loyal.
This is the unglamorous, everybody-knows-your-name corner pub that every neighborhood deserves and the Bronx is lucky to still have.
Order Guinness
Sunday karaoke is the night to go; come for a Guinness and stay for the regulars taking the mic.
- 10Port Richmond · $ · 1371 Forest Ave, Staten Island, NY 10302Map ↗verified 6w ago
Staten Island's self-styled Rock n Roll Mecca, a Port Richmond dive built around live punk and metal shows, emo karaoke and dartboards. Old-timers watch hockey at the bar while the back room hosts the noise.
A borough that supposedly has no scene keeps one alive right here, loud and cheap and entirely its own thing.
Order High Life bottle
Check their Facebook for show and emo-karaoke nights before you make the trip; the calendar is where the action is.
@motherpugs ↗Mother Pug's Saloon
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From @motherpugs on Instagram, shown through Instagram's own embed player.