1. A West Village institution: Dante

West Village, New York

A bonafide classic, Dante needs no introduction... and yet here we are.


Dante, nestled in the heart of the West Village, is less of a cocktail bar and more of a time machine, taking you back to an era when cocktails were king and Instagram was just a twinkle in a tech developer's eye. This century-old establishment has seen more trends come and go than most of us have had hot dinners. Here, the cocktails are crafted with the precision of a Swiss watchmaker and the flair of a Broadway showman.


The menu reads like a novel, with classics and Dante originals that might make you ponder life's great mysteries, like "Why have I never put a Negroni on tap before?" It's the kind of place where the bartenders likely know more about bitters than you do about your family history. A visit to Dante is not just a night out; it's a crash course in cocktail culture.