The Best Outdoor Bars in NYC — Spring (Beer) Gardening in the Big Apple
New York City offers plenty of warm weather activities, but none of them beats sipping on a cold, refreshing beer and basking in the sunlight. True to form, I decided to check out the best beer gardens in NYC.
The temperature is rising, and I’m getting thirsty — at a time like this, it’s hard not to find yourself drawn to the outdoor bar scene in none other than the best city in the world. So I asked myself, “Why not sample some beers around Midtown Manhattan and scout out the best places to sit back and relax with a cold one?”
Great idea, me! Needing no further convincing, I dragged my friend Jack along to snap some cool photographs, grabbed my wallet, and stepped outside onto the sunny streets of Manhattan.
The Mad Hatter
Imagine yourself in an old-tyme European pub filled with English-style food, bartenders with authentic British accents, and a classically decorated outdoor beer garden. Now stick a cold beer in your hand, throw some sports on the television, and boom: you’ve entered the Mad Hatter pub in Midtown.
A seriously authentic British vibe coupled with obvious attention to comradery and athletic pastimes make this a pretty good bet for a killer summertime sports spot to drop in on with a group of your closest pals.
The Cannibal
I had a feeling we were going to be taken care of from the moment we walked through the charming front door of the Cannibal, slickly tucked away from the streets of Manhattan, as we were promptly ushered into the back room by a casually cool bartender.
We took up residence at a wooden picnic table in the middle of the room, fondly referred to as the “Road Garden,” and handed a menu filled with loads of intriguing meat plates and an extensive beer menu by a member of the unbelievably knowledgeable wait staff. The sight of vintage bicycles on the wall, the cobblestone floor beneath my feet, strings of large lightbulbs hanging from the ceiling, and rustic boxes filled with blooming flowers brought the sights and textures of another time to a very modern Midtown block.
As if the atmosphere weren’t enough, the incredible beer selection and inviting refrigerators that lined the walls only heightened the Cannibal’s timeless appeal. This is the place for lovers of that classic combo of beer and meat in a stylish atmosphere, or for couples looking for an intimately homey Manhattan hideaway while casually feasting on a bit of boar ear!
Birreria
I must say that, out of all the spots I planned to visit that day, I was the most excited to see this one. Birreria is widely known as one of coolest, most popular rooftop beer gardens in all of New York City, located atop the world-famous Italian superstore, Eataly. Upon entering, we dodged through the buzzing crowd until we found the signs pointing us upward and into the elevator. Rising story after story above sidewalk-level, we entered a whole other world of late-lunching, beer-sipping, super-cool New Yorkers.
After grabbing Italian-style beers that were brewed in-house(!) earlier that day, we snagged a standing table close to the bar, situated pleasantly under the Manhattan sunshine. After closing my eyes to enjoy the sun and relax for a moment, I decided that this is the perfect place to gather for a memorable, authentically New York experience in the summertime — in other words, a fantastic spot to take friends and family visiting from out of town.
230 Fifth Ave
The shock value of being hundreds of feet above a bustling New York street corner was enough to get me stoked on 230 Fifth Avenue (conveniently named after the address for those tipsy bar hoppers out there). Getting off the elevator and walking out into the open air of this sky-high rooftop beer garden, the first thing I saw was the legendary Empire State Building staring me right in the eye — I was sold.
Although we arrived just as it opened for the evening, the outdoor tables were packed not 15 minutes later, filled with a seriously mixed bag of party people, all with a taste for craft cocktails and breathtaking views. This was the perfect cherry on top of our day of exploration: getting a glimpse of the city around us, we couldn’t help but appreciate that we had just stomped all over it.
Phew!
After a long, hard day of beer gardening, I was sure we had seen it all. We discovered the best place to watch sports, the best spot to take a date, the best spot to take friends and family, and a spot for the thrill-seeking tourists in the group to boot.
Mission accomplished — now bring on the summer!
Consult a handy map of all the places I covered here:
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