Ask a bartender what they really think of you, and you might not like the answer—so we asked them what they think of each other instead. The city’s best pours come with razor-sharp opinions: on who’s got the best Guinness, who’s overcharging for ambiance, and who’s talking down to customers. We got the after-shift intel on where bartenders actually drink, plus the tricks they’ll only tell you if you ask nicely—like why your dirty martini tastes like a marsh, or why standing by the taps is sabotaging your own wait time. Consider this CULTURED‘s industry survey on the community that’s keeping score on all of us, week after week.
Smithereens, East Village
Name: Jacob Dorman, head bartender
Age: 36
Where are your favorite places to drink off-the-clock?
Bar Snack, Hartley’s, Bad Luck Bar, and Gottscheer Beer Hall. I love Gottscheer because it reminds me of the wedding scenes from The Deer Hunter, before the movie gets really depressing.
What’s one bartender’s secret you can offer to guests?
If I see you using A.I. or ChatGPT to decide what to order, you’re getting bad service.
KGB, East Village
Name: Louie (just Louie)
Age: 45
Where are your favorite places to drink off-the-clock?
Clockwork, Slyfox, and Nancy Whisky Pub.
What’s one bartender’s secret you can offer to guests?
Cover a lemon wedge with bitters and sugar and suck it. It can cure your hiccups.
Stars, East Village
Name: Grace Rogers, sommelier
Age: 29
Where are your favorite places to drink off-the-clock?
Ops (both locations) for inexpensive, fun wine. Le Dive for simple pleasures. Frenchette’s bar for vibes and hospitality. I somehow always end up drinking Chartreuse.
What’s one sommelier’s secret you can offer to guests?
You’re at a wine bar. Ordering wine is all about vocabulary, which is why it scares many people. Everyone loves a “dry white”—explore one or two more words to add to your request, and have fun with it. Do you want something chuggable? Contemplative? Ethereal? Weird? It helps us out a lot.
The Commerce Inn, West Village
Name: Mike Liscio
Age: 40
Where are your favorite places to drink off-the-clock?
The first is Grove Street Social after a late night shift. They pour a great Guinness, and the bartenders Nick and Brian are the silliest little guys you’ll ever meet. Next is Ear Inn—my favorite haunted New York staple that also pours a great Guinness. Finally, Wilfie & Nell, but never on a weekend if you want to avoid the West Village girlies and bros. Great Guinness and a great burger.
What’s one bartender’s secret you can offer to guests?
Dirty martinis should always be shaken, but if they taste like a salt marsh, order a daiquiri instead. To the guys—if you’re afraid that your glassware makes you look too feminine, find a good therapist.
Sake Bar Asoko, Chinatown
Name: Arianna Cho, co-owner
Age: 32
Where are your favorite places to drink off-the-clock?
If I’m in the mood for a cocktail, I love going to Bar Goto, which has the best lemon sour in New York, or a refreshing Ginger Goblin at Reception. For wine, I love Babysips, Colbo Next Door, and Cellar 36. If I want to study more sake, I love to visit the boys at Steight and have them pour me something I don’t know that well. Selfishly, I like to drink at our own bar and do kikizake together as a team (when someone pours a glass of sake, and everyone has to blind guess what it is). If I want something local and chill, my husband and I have been going to Eastwood for almost a decade.
What’s one bartender’s secret you can offer to guests?
Talk to your customers on a personal level—get to know how they feel in the moment. Maybe they already have an idea of what they want to drink, but since sake has such a variety of tastes and nuances, we want people to be able to create new experiences with it!
Animal, Williamsburg
Name: Shahamat Uddin
Age: 28
Where are your favorite places to drink off-the-clock?
Paradise Lost has the second-best frozen cocktail in New York (sorry, you can’t beat our frozen espresso!) and brings new inventive takes to classics while clearly having years of mixology and bartending to back up the choices they make. I loveee my neighbors at Baba on Withers, incredible food menu, incredible cocktail menu (simple, but knows exactly what it is), and is a go-to date spot while I decide if said date has what it takes to go next door afterwards… and meet my coworkers. Palmetto knew chic before chic even knew chic. I go there to feel classy, but snug; romantic, but friendly; and taken care of (never talked down to!) by smart, smart, smarrrrrt bartenders.
What’s one bartender’s secret you can offer to guests?
Colbo Next Door, Lower East Side
Name: Yam Yegnes, bartender
Age: 26
Where are your favorite places to drink off-the-clock?
Lion Bar and Grill. Any time of the day, I get a burger, martini, and double order of mozzarella sticks.
What’s one bartender’s secret you can offer to guests?
Tell your bartender how you feel tonight, and they will know what you want to drink.
Bemelmans Bar, Upper East Side
Name: Dimitris Michalopoulos, bar general manager
Age: 43
Where are your favorite places to drink off-the-clock?
When I’m off the clock, I’m usually drawn to places that have a real sense of identity rather than places that are simply fashionable. In New York, I love the old-school institutions like Employees Only, or the bars where you can feel the history of the city like Attaboy and Dante. I also enjoy discovering smaller places where the bartender has a strong point of view.
What’s one bartender’s secret you can offer to guests?
Pay attention to the guest before you pay attention to the drink. Of course, technique matters, temperature, dilution, balance, good ice, good ingredients, but the most important skill behind a bar is learning to read people. Some guests want conversation, some want privacy, some know exactly what they want, and others want you to guide them.
Ha’s Đặc Biệt and Ha’s Snack Bar, Lower East Side
Name: Bobby Strickland, bar manager
Age: 40
Where are your favorite places to drink off-the-clock?
I have so many little places that I love to pop into and be a fly on the wall. Depending on when I get off, Doris and Dolores are in Bed-Stuy and both have a great mezcal selection. Jimmy’s Corner for the coldest Budweisers known to man—also, excellent people watching. Sharlene’s when I want to keep it low-key. And JG Melon for a burger, martini, and a good chat with a random stranger.
What’s one bartender’s secret you can offer to guests?
My advice to customers is a skinny margarita (not sweet) and tequila with lime juice are the same thing. You might save yourself a few bucks if you order it right! Also, start a tab if you are thinking of having more than one, you’re also more likely to get a buyback this way!
Chez Ma Tante, Greenpoint
Name: Lily Piette
Age: 23
Where are your favorite places to drink off-the-clock?
Phil’s Place (formerly Jimbo Slims).
What’s one bartender’s secret you can offer to guests?
Tell your bartender they move behind the bar with great elegance. After they blush, tell them that their martini is the best you’ve had in New York, and then you may get a free drink and a wink.
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