The list in my order
12 I’d go back to. My verdict on every one, and the ones nearby from my other lists.
The Pony Bar
- Cost$6 drafts during happy hour
- Address637 Tenth Avenue
637 Tenth Avenue, Hell’s Kitchen (also a location in the Upper East Side). Twenty draft craft beers, all American, and they change constantly. During happy hour (4-7pm Monday through Friday), all drafts are $6. That’s $6 for a pint of craft beer that would normally be $9-12. The bartenders know every single beer on tap and will happily give you tasters. This is one of the best beer bars in the city at any price. At happy hour prices, it’s absurd.
Go on a Tuesday or Wednesday. The bar is empty, the bartender has time to chat, and you can try five different beers for less than one cocktail costs at most Midtown bars.
Amity Hall
- Cost$5 well drinks, $6 draft beers
- Address80 West 3rd Street
80 West 3rd Street, Greenwich Village. Happy hour runs 3-7pm daily with $5 well drinks and $6 draft beers. The space is huge with a bunch of TVs, which normally would be a turnoff for me, but the drink prices are so good that I forgive the sports bar atmosphere. On weekday afternoons this place is practically empty. Sit at the bar, order a $5 gin and tonic, and use the free wifi. You’ve just had the cheapest office in Greenwich Village.
Beer Authority
- Cost$5 select drafts during happy hour
- Address300 West 40th Street
300 West 40th Street, Midtown. Three floors, 90 beers on tap, and a happy hour (3-7pm Monday through Friday) with $5 select drafts. This is a lifesaver if you’re near Times Square and refuse to pay $14 for a Bud Light at an Irish pub. The rooftop (open in summer) has surprisingly good views of the Midtown skyline. It’s touristy, sure, but $5 craft beer with a skyline view is a genuinely good deal.
Rudy’s Bar and Grill
- Cost$4 mugs, $12 pitchers
- Address627 Ninth Avenue
627 Ninth Avenue, Hell’s Kitchen. The most famous dive bar in New York City and it earns that title every single day. Pitchers of Rudy’s Blonde (their house beer) are $12. That’s a pitcher. Individual mugs are $4. And here’s the thing that sets Rudy’s apart from every other bar in the city: they give you free hot dogs. A bin of hot dogs sits by the bar and you just take one. Free. With your $4 beer.
The bar is covered in red vinyl, the floor is sticky, the bathroom is a journey. It’s perfect. I’m not being ironic. This is one of my favorite bars in New York. Come with friends, get a pitcher, eat a free hot dog, and enjoy the fact that you just had an entire night out for less than one drink at a rooftop bar.
Lucy’s
- Cost$4-6 beers
- Address135 Avenue A
135 Avenue A, East Village. Cash only. Beers are $4-6. The jukebox is excellent. There are Christmas lights on the ceiling year-round. The bartenders are no-nonsense and fast. This is the East Village bar that feels like it survived the neighborhood’s gentrification by sheer stubbornness. A PBR and a shot of bourbon is $8. You cannot have more fun for $8 anywhere in Manhattan.
Milano’s Bar
- Cost$5-7 draft beers
- Address51 East Houston Street
51 East Houston Street, Nolita. Open since 1880. This might be the oldest continuously operating bar in Manhattan (the history is debated, but it’s been here a very long time). Draft beers are $5-7. The space is dark, narrow, and smells like a century of spilled beer. The regulars have been coming here for decades. On a quiet Tuesday night, you can sit at the bar and feel the weight of history while drinking a $5 Budweiser. It’s a beautiful thing.
International Bar
- Cost$5 beers, $6-7 well drinks
- Address120 First Avenue
120 First Avenue, East Village. No sign outside (there might be a small one, but good luck finding it). Inside it’s dark, narrow, with a pool table in the back and bartenders who actually enjoy pouring you a drink. Beers are $5, well drinks are $6-7. The crowd is a mix of neighborhood locals, off-duty service industry people, and the occasional confused tourist who wandered in thinking it was somewhere else. It’s great.
Terroir
- Cost$10-12 glasses of wine
- Address24 Harrison Street
Multiple locations (the one in Tribeca at 24 Harrison Street is my favorite). Glasses of wine start at $10-12, which is about as cheap as wine-by-the-glass gets in Manhattan when the wine is actually good. They specialize in unusual regions and varieties, so you’ll discover wines you’ve never heard of. The small plates are solid (the meat and cheese board, $18, is genuinely generous). This is a place for people who like wine but don’t want to be pretentious about it.
Pocket Bar
- Cost$9-13 wine, $7-9 beer
- Address50 MacDougal Street
50 MacDougal Street, Greenwich Village. A tiny bar (seats about 15 people) with wine and beer only. Glasses of wine are $9-13. Draft beers are $7-9. It’s the kind of place where you sit at the bar, the bartender recommends something, and you realize you’ve been there for three hours. No food, no pretension, just good drinks in a space small enough that you’ll end up talking to the person next to you.
Skinny Dennis
- Cost$5 cans, $8 margaritas
- Address152 Metropolitan Avenue
152 Metropolitan Avenue, Williamsburg. A honky-tonk bar with live country music, a stuffed rattlesnake on the wall, and $5 cans of Lone Star. The frozen margaritas ($8) are strong and taste like summer. There’s live music most nights and it’s always free. The crowd is a wonderful mix of Williamsburg hipsters and people who genuinely love country music. Two frozen margaritas and a night of live music for $20, including tip. Try getting that in Manhattan.
Bohemian Hall and Beer Garden
- Cost$22 pitchers
- Address29-19 24th Avenue
29-19 24th Avenue, Astoria. The oldest beer garden in New York City (opened in 1910). The outdoor space is massive, with long communal tables under trees and string lights. Pitchers of Czech pilsner are $22. They serve kielbasa, pierogies, and schnitzel. On a summer evening with a pitcher and a plate of sausages, this is the best deal in all of New York. It doesn’t feel like the city at all. It feels like a beer garden in Prague. Take the N/W to Astoria Boulevard.
Sunny’s Bar
- Cost$5-7 beers
- Address253 Conover Street
253 Conover Street, Red Hook, Brooklyn. Getting to Red Hook is annoying (no subway, take the B61 bus). But Sunny’s is worth the trip. It’s been a bar since the 1890s (originally serving longshoremen on the waterfront) and the current iteration has live bluegrass and folk music on Saturday nights. Beers are $5-7. The backyard has views of the Statue of Liberty. This is the most beautiful cheap bar in New York City and I will not be taking questions.
Pro Tips for Drinking Cheap
Go early Happy hours between 4-7pm are where the real savings are. Most of the bars on this list have their best prices during these hours. Pregame here before dinner and your overall night out costs drop dramatically.
Drink beer, not cocktails The markup on cocktails in New York is enormous. A $3 worth of ingredients becomes a $18 drink. Draft beer markup is much more reasonable. If you want to drink cheap, be a beer person.
Go to neighborhoods that aren’t trying to impress you. The cheapest drinks are in the East Village, Hell’s Kitchen, Murray Hill, the Upper East Side above 80th Street, and basically all of Queens. The most expensive drinks are in SoHo, the West Village, Williamsburg (the Bedford Avenue strip), and anywhere near a hotel.
Avoid rooftops Rooftop bars charge $20-25 for cocktails because you’re paying for the view. The view is nice. But so is having money left in your bank account. If you want skyline views with a drink, go to Bohemian Hall’s patio in Astoria or the rooftop at Beer Authority during happy hour.
Skip bottle service entirely I shouldn’t have to say this but just in case. No.
New York doesn’t have to be expensive to enjoy. Some of my best nights in this city have been at dive bars where nothing costs more than $7 and the company is better than any cocktail lounge in SoHo. Grab a $4 beer at Rudy’s, eat a free hot dog, and remind yourself that the best things in New York aren’t always the most expensive ones. Usually they’re the opposite.
