Coffee & Drinks in NYC

New York City probably represented the booziest few days of the trip so far. And there wasn’t a paired wine selection in sight.

Instead, I did a joyful amount of bar hopping pre and post dinner with some good wines and sherries enjoyed with food.

I was particularly glad to visit Amor y Amargo, a compact little place showcasing amaros and other digestif style drinks. We had a couple of beautiful concoctions with one called the Freya Regal particularly good.

I spent a fair amount of time in what I think you’d generally call good local bars. The Roost in East Village had some great tap beers and a decent cocktail list. The Old Town Bar and McSorleys were great beer places where you could happily while away a few hours in wood-panelled splendour.

The Dakota Bar on the upper west side was a dive bar with aspirations above its station. We enjoyed a good bevvy or two there after brunch at The Ribbon.

Sibar was our den of choice as we waited for a table at Gramery Tavern to free up. We had really good cocktails in the Manhattan style.

The Park Bar was an odd little place but served us decent post-dinner old fashioneds. The Wren did something similar.

I had a couple of pre-dinner G&Ts in the bar of Keen’s Steakhouse. It was certainly a lively spot for a Monday night.

And then there was Attaboy where we got to drink a paper plane where it was invented, which was rather fun. We were looked after in outstanding style throughout our time there.

On the coffee front, it was a bit of a mixed bag. Near to where I was staying, I didn’t much enjoy Ground Central. Pennylane on the other hand was excellent. Irving Farms was somewhere in between.

The rest of the time I was sampling restaurant coffee which was mixed, with Agern probably the best. A notable mention goes to Gramercy’s decaf French Press which we really enjoyed.