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Best Bars for Celebrity Spotting in New York

Seven New York bars where famous faces genuinely drink, from Bemelmans at the Carlyle to Please Don't Tell, ranked with who goes and when to visit.

James Harlow

Updated 2026-05-15 7 ranked bars

The short answer

Our editors' №1 is Bemelmans Bar at The Carlyle.

7 ranked rooms follow. How we picked is at the end of this guide.

Best overallBemelmans Bar at The Carlyle

Runner-upLocanda Verde

Third pickLudlow House

New York holds more famous people per block than almost anywhere, but they do not drink where the tour buses stop. They drink in a short list of hotel bars, Tribeca rooms, and members' clubs chosen for privacy first. We narrowed the field to seven bars where the pattern holds and, just as important, where the drink is worth the trip even on a night when nobody famous shows.

Go for the room, not the sighting. A celebrity at the next table is a bonus, not a plan. Every bar below earns its place on cocktails, service, and atmosphere, so the evening is a good one either way.

The seven best New York bars for celebrity spotting

Editor's №1

Bemelmans Bar at The Carlyle

Upper East SideHotel piano barCocktails from $28

The old-money celebrity room, unchanged since Ludwig Bemelmans painted the walls.

Why it makes the listThe Carlyle has been Manhattan's discreet address for presidents, royalty, and film stars for decades, and the bar under Bemelmans' 1947 Central Park murals is where they order a nightcap. A live pianist plays nightly, the Old Cuban is the house pour, and the cover charge after 9:30pm keeps the room quiet enough that a famous guest can sit undisturbed.

Who it suitsBest for a dressed-up late drink and old-school service. Skip it if you want a scene or a cheap round; drinks run near $28 and a table is not guaranteed. Reader reviews on Google Maps praise the pianist and warn about the wait.

Full listing & hours →

Locanda Verde

TribecaItalian taverna and barCocktails from $19

Robert De Niro's neighborhood Italian, long a Tribeca celebrity canteen.

Why it makes the listSet inside De Niro's Greenwich Hotel, Locanda Verde built its reputation as the room where Beyoncé and Jay-Z, and Meghan and Harry, have all dined, per Galavante. The bar up front pours a strong negroni and stays busy without a reservation, which is the point when a table is booked out for weeks.

Who it suitsBest for an early aperitivo at the bar before the dining room fills. The celebrity density is lower than it was a decade ago, so come for the cooking and the Tribeca crowd, not a guaranteed sighting.

Ludlow House

Lower East SideMembers' club (guests welcome)Cocktails from $18

Soho House's downtown outpost, where creative-industry names post up.

Why it makes the listLudlow House is Soho House's Lower East Side club, a six-floor building that draws the fashion, music, and media set for pool and drinks after dark. It is members-only, so the honest caveat is that access means knowing a member or booking a room; get inside and the celebrity-to-civilian ratio is among the highest in the city.

Who it suitsBest if you already hold a membership or have a member host. Skip it if you want a walk-in bar, since the door is the whole barrier here.

The Crosby Bar

SoHoBoutique-hotel brasserie barCocktails from $20

A Firmdale hotel bar on a cobbled SoHo street, open to anyone.

Why it makes the listThe Crosby Street Hotel sits on a quiet cobbled block off Broadway, and its bar draws a film and fashion crowd during festival weeks and press junkets, when SoHo fills with talent. Unlike the members' clubs nearby, it takes reservations and walk-ins, so the door is not the obstacle.

Who it suitsBest on a weekend afternoon for people-watching over a well-made cocktail. The room leans design-hotel polished, so dress the part.

Tiny's & The Bar Upstairs

TribecaTownhouse cocktail barCocktails from $17

The pink Tribeca townhouse with a hidden bar over the dining room.

Why it makes the listTiny's runs out of an 1810 pink townhouse on West Broadway, with a narrow cocktail bar tucked upstairs that regulars treat as a neighborhood secret. Its Tribeca address puts it in the same few blocks the local famous keep to, and the upstairs bar is small enough to notice who walks in.

Who it suitsBest for a two-person drink in the upstairs room. Skip the ground-floor rush at dinner; the bar upstairs is the reason to come.

Please Don't Tell

East VillagePhone-booth speakeasyCocktails from $18

The reservation-only booth entry keeps the room small and the crowd sorted.

Why it makes the listEntered through a vintage phone booth inside Crif Dogs, PDT seats only a few dozen, and its reservation system and no-photos ethos make it the kind of controlled room a recognizable guest can relax in. The Bacon-Infused Old Fashioned is the signature, and Google Maps reviews (4.7 across thousands) rate the service as tightly run.

Who it suitsBest if you book the moment reservations open. Skip it for a big group; the booth and the room are built for pairs.

Full listing & hours →

The Up & Up

Greenwich VillageBasement cocktail barCocktails from $18

A below-grade Village room that stays low-key by design.

Why it makes the listOn MacDougal Street, The Up & Up hides a serious cocktail program in a dim basement room that trades the door theatrics for good drinks and privacy. The Village location and the low profile draw a quieter famous crowd than the hotel bars uptown.

Who it suitsBest for a late, unhurried drink after dinner nearby. The room is small, so arrive before 10pm on weekends.

Full listing & hours →

How we picked

We ranked on three things: how reliably famous people actually drink there, how good the cocktail is on an ordinary night, and how easy it is to get in. Bemelmans tops the list because it scores on all three; the members' clubs rank lower only because the door is a real barrier for most readers.

We cut the padding the old version carried. Rooms we could not confirm are trading in 2026, and bars whose only claim was a rumor, are left off. Seven verifiable rooms beat a list of eleven with four we cannot stand behind.

For more of the city, start with our New York bar guide and the best hotel bars in New York. If the drink matters more than the crowd, our cocktail bars in New York guide is the better place to begin.

Keep reading

Last reviewed 2026-05-15 · The editors recheck hours and closures against current local coverage.

Best Bars for Celebrity Spotting in New York

Our editors' №1 is Bemelmans Bar at The Carlyle.

The seven best New York bars for celebrity spotting

Bemelmans Bar at The Carlyle

Locanda Verde

Ludlow House

The Crosby Bar

Tiny's & The Bar Upstairs

Please Don't Tell

The Up & Up

How we picked

The bars worth going to, weekly.