These are the finest places to sip a cocktail in peace after a dreary nine-to-five, or even just to grab some pints with co-workers, should you find yourself looking for a bar in midtown. 1. Hudson Malone 218 E. 53rd St., nr. Doug Quinn’s bar opened in 2013, but it seems far older. It has little to do with the mahogany trim or all-purpose, dude-skewing nostalgia lining the walls. The thing here is that bartenders know what regulars drink. They offer up legitimate conversation, and that relationship pays dividends over time. The no-fuss classics — an old-fashioned, a Bobby Burns, a Sidecar — are made fast, and with precision. In other words, it creates the ideal environment in which basically anyone can unwind, which is exactly what you want. (Food options, like creamed spinach and an au jus beef sandwich that look like they were beamed in from the Eisenhower era, are a nice bonus, should you want to stay awhile.) 2. Tanner Smith’s 204 W. 55th St., nr. This cavernous bi-level space has all the hallmarks of a place that’s named after a quasi-reformed gangster who was shot in the back in 1919: mounted heads of taxidermied fauna, ancient telephones, and copper teapots — all retrofitted into a sleek space of reclaimed wood and bare brick.

Several booths offer a welcome degree of privacy, the platoon of servers is attentive, and the tap list brims with beer-geek surprises like Rodenbach Grand Cru. red box wine costThe sprawling menu of the usual finger-food suspects (flatbreads, sliders, skewers) is also more polished than it needs to be. cost of glass of wine in pubMost of all, the place can be really fun: Watch your bartender pump wood smoke into a cocktail of bourbon, maple syrup, and Jerry Thomas bitters. best port wine reviewsFor a moment the plumes will hang in place like an Arthurian fog. best seller wine in usaIt’s a simple enough bit of cocktail artistry, but sufficient to make any spreadsheet wizard feel like a genuine magician after a long day.how early can you buy wine in va

3. Ardesia 510 W. 52nd St., nr. The fact that a table of four can have a legitimate, shout-free conversation even when the handsome, bottle-lined bar is filled with customers puts Ardesia in a category by itself. where to buy african palm wineThink of it as a veritable decompression chamber, but with solid Riesling choices and decent bar snacks. Wine prices start at $40 for a bottle, and the 30-seat patio is a major draw in warmer months. Cheese and charcuterie pairings are spot-on, and servers seem downright gleeful, not annoyed, around customers who don’t know the first thing about mineral and oaky notes. 4. The Rum House 228 W. 47th St., nr. The drinks are strong, and new options that are thematically tethered to one historic cocktail precedent or another are frequently rotated in. The extra-long happy “hour” runs from noon to 6 p.m., Monday to Friday, which makes the establishment a good choice for anyone knocking off a little early.

Otherwise, the after-work crowd tends to descend in force, and there’s a slim chance you’ll nab one of the coveted red-leather banquettes before 7 p.m. at the earliest. Despite this, the Rum House remains a haven for well-made drinks, such as a stellar non–piña colada piña colada, not to mention ragtime plunked out by a real live piano player. 5. Aldo Sohm Wine Bar 151 W. 51st St., nr. The Le Bernardin team’s megawatt wine bar was engineered to handle the fine-dining spot’s overflow and to provide a less formal setting for its loyal clientele. Two years after opening, though, the crowd has morphed gradually to accommodate a robust after-work contingent — think actuaries who moonlight as pét-nat enthusiasts, or an off-duty diplomat raving about Zalto stemware. Bottle prices range from a bargain $36 Grüner to a $2,600-something Romanée-Conti. By-the-glass options include a budget Zierfandler, a flight of three Portuguese wines for less than $20, and a dry Lambrusco that tastes like strawberries and is nicer than what you’d get for twice the price at neighboring establishments.

6. Jimmy’s Corner 140 W. 44th St., nr. It’s always crowded, usually civil, and is these days the lone Times Square holdout against the forces of Disneyfication and slender new skyscrapers that pierce the clouds. James Lee Glenn, a former trainer and the bar’s sainted namesake, started off decades ago with the idea of celebrating the boxers whose photos hang on his walls, and to offer a place to catch part of a match. These days, mixed drinks are still undiluted and still $5 or less, and hundreds of signed dollar bills are taped to the back bar, as a lingering sign of patrons both past and present. It still gets crowded, but what Jimmy’s lacks in legroom it makes up for by never having pulled any punches. 7. Crimson & Rye 198 E. 54th St., at Third Ave., 212-687-6692 You can grab after-work drinks out of the office building, but it’s possibly a little more convenient when they’re in the actual lobby. That’s the situation here, with Charlie Palmer’s well-appointed space taking up residence in one corner of the Lipstick Building’s ground floor.

There’s a team of crackerjack, leather-suspendered barkeeps with unfurled bags of esoteric cocktail tools and stations stocked with assorted elixirs. There’s also some welcome experimentation here: Trendy 96-proof baijiu is the star of one cocktail, and a bartender might drop some crushed dried rose petals into another. Order a punch bowl of Lipstick Fizz, which contains Navy-strength gin, lemon juice, soda, and grenadine made in house. It serves five or six and costs $66. Bourbons, single malts, and the establishment’s namesake spirit are also well-represented.The website isn't loading properly. This happens if JavaScript is turned off in your browser settings. We encourage you to enable JavaScript in your browser settings.The requested URL /home was not found on this server. Additionally, a 500 Internal Server Error error was encountered while trying to use an ErrorDocument to handle the request.“Here to one of the best steak...”Not many stand-alone bars can match the luxuriant sophistication found in a fancy hotel bar, traditionally a glamorous mingling spot for well-heeled travelers and high-end locals (and, of course, hookers!).

Pricey cocktails, chic decor, affluent men and prowling cougars are often found in this exotic environment, and though afternoons are generally reserved for quiet, elegant drinking, nights can give way to an electric, Martini-swilling crowd. Here are our favorite hotel bars in the city; as always, leave yours in the comments. ACE HOTEL: The Ace Hotel is notoriously hip, having turned its strip of 29th Street into a sea of swanky stores, bespoke subs and Stumptown. But the lobby bar is surprisingly unpretentious, catering to a fairly casual Midtown post-work crowd in the rear of the room. Friendly bartenders whip up a number of tasty specialty cocktails; try the citrusy Lust For Life ($14) made with gin, lavender syrup, lemon juice, fresh mint and club soda, or the zesty Pablo Honey ($14), made with tequila, agave nectar and fresh lime juice, grab a seat on one of the bar's plush leather couches and keep your eyes peeled for rock stars and poseurs heading in and out of the hotel. BEMELMANS BAR AT THE CARLYLE: The Carlyle's upscale lounge is one of the city's most celebrated classic spots, with its old-fashioned white-coated waiters, sophisticated cognac drinks and elegant tinkling piano music.

Named after Ludwig Bemelmans, a children's author and illustrator known best for his famed Madeline books, the bar boasts beautiful artwork by the man himself on its walls, with parasol-wielding rabbits and strolling giraffes craftily offsetting any hint of self-important stuffiness. As for the drinks, Bemelmans' menu is all class, from the savory Pisco Sours (Pisco 100, egg white, lemon juice, Angostura bitters and simple syrup) to the heavy Whiskey Smash (Makers Mark bourbon whiskey, muddled mint, muddled lemons, simple syrup). And do be prepared to shell out for the experience: cocktails run about $21 each, with per-person cover charges running $15-$25 on weeknights, and $15-$30 on the weekends. ANDAZ FIFTH AVE: With its dimly-lit subterranean ambiance, tasty tapas and laid-back crowd, the bar at the Andaz Hotel's Fifth Ave outpost is one of our favorites in midtown (the Wall Street location is also estimable). The bar itself feels more like a very upscale household kitchen than a hotel bar, outfitted with bowls of fruit and funky hanging lights.

Bartenders serve up a variety of cocktails ($10-$15) and fine wines, but the real specialties here are the shareable Latin-style small plates. Try the cured meats, with offerings including chorizo and salchichon running $9 a plate, seafood dishes like rock shrimpajillo ($15); also of note are the chorizo-and-manchego cheese croquetas ($9), the empanadas ($13) and the tender house-smoked pork belly ($15). Courtesy Gramercy Park Hotel ROSE BAR AT THE GRAMERCY PARK HOTEL: The Gramercy Park Hotel's bar has it all—sumptuous cocktails, attractive waitstaff, a fireplace and hello, pool table. Challenge one of stylish patrons to a billiards match, and sip on a Ginger Fig Martini or Elderflower Smash so smooth not even the $20 price tag will throw you. And if that's not enough to tempt you, artist Julian Schabel had a hand in the bar's creation, and his works adorn the walls, along with a smattering of Warhol, Twombly and Basquiat. Dress to impress, or you won't be allowed to join in on the fun.

THE LIBRARY BAR AT THE NOMAD HOTEL: You don't have to be a bibliophile to appreciate the NoMad Hotel's spectacular library bar, but if you happen to be one of those people who wander through The Strand just to smell the old books (it's not weird) you might as well just pour yourself a sherry and move in for good. Two levels of bookshelves stacked with real books and journals line the bar from floor-to-ceiling, and leather chairs, small tables, plush couches, Persian carpets and spiraling staircases get the library look down to a T. For refreshment, the bar offers a wide variety of wines, beers, snacks and cocktails curated by Death & Company alum Jessica Gonzalez; try the Matchlock ($15), a hefty combination of rye, bourbon, absinthe, vanilla, ginger, lemon, grapefruit and Angostura bitters, or the spicy Petticoat ($15) made with Sichuan peppercorn-infused Plymouth gin, apricot liquer, lemon and velvet falernum. THE JANE HOTEL BALLROOM: Yeah, the Jane is super scene-ey, the bouncers working the door can be pretty unreasonable and the chances of enjoying a high-class cocktail in peace and quiet here are very, very slim.

But, hey, sometimes you want to dress up, get sneered at by hot models and jump around on furniture to some Britney Spears tunes and Mo-town hits. And this bar's got everything: big couches and chairs, a disco ball, a giant stuffed ram that stares you down while you get weird, a mezzanine level for dancing and all the inebriated pretty young things you can handle. There's always the chance of a celebrity sighting, and we've heard tell even Harry Styles of One Direction fame has stopped by for a party or two (NO SCREAMING TWEENS ALLOWED). At the Jane, almost anything goes, though don't fall asleep on the furniture—the bouncers will bounce you out, and you won't get to finish that $12 gin-and-tonic you almost spilled on a palm tree by the DJ booth. FOURTY FOUR AT THE ROYALTON: This block-long Midtown spot is a sexy throwback to the city's old-school speakeasies and hotel bars, complete with mustached, vest-wearing bartenders serving up your drinks. The bar is dark and quiet (though you may find it slammed on some weeknights), so you can repair to an elegant leather couch by the fireplace and drink in peace.

The cocktail menu has been curated by some of the country's finest mixologists, including Dutch Kills' Richard Boccato and visionaries from Boston, Los Angeles and Miami; try the Eden's Elyxir ($16), made with Absolut Elyx, muddled cucumber, cocchi Americano, yellow chartreuse and celery bitters, or go for the zesty El Maya Verde ($16) made with tequila, house-made cilantro-mint syrup, Cointreau and lime and served in a glass rimmed with brown sugar. EST. 1986: The shabby Hotel Stanford isn't much to look at, unassumingly squelched in the middle of a busy Koreatown block. But there's no karaoke or ramen cafeteria to be had here: instead, the hotel shelters a surreptitious gem in the form of Est. 1986, a semi-speakeasy wine bar. The bar is small, with only a handful of tables and quiet booths for patrons. But what it lacks in spaciousness it makes up for in selection, with a hefty wine list and solid collection of cocktails. It can get a little cramped around happy hour, where select drinks are 50 percent off from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m., but the crowd thins as the night wears on, leaving lingering drinkers to enjoy their Malbecs in peace.

Courtesy Dan Nguyen @ New York City's flickr THE TOP OF THE STANDARD Designed by brilliant husband-and-wife design firm Roman and Williams, the top floor of The Standard High Line (formerly known as The Boom Boom Room until an objection from a Las Vegas club with the same name) is a stunning space age lounge with a unique sunken bar and seating areas that offer commanding views of the city. Cocktails, while very good, soar upwards of $15, and the lounge is much more difficult to get into than the funkier Le Bain across the hall. But it's worth trying; the vibe up there is sort of surreal and unworldly. It's usually not a problem getting in if you make a reservation close to when the club opens (check the hotel for times), and it obviously doesn't hurt to dress sharp. ST. REGIS KING COLE BAR: We've previously lauded King Cole Bar's pioneering Red Snapper, but there's more to this fancy Fifth Ave spot than its Bloody Marys. The space itself is an elegant nod to the city's old school upscale bar scene, with its small wooden tables and sleek wooden bar framing the St. Regis' signature piece, the famed 1906 Maxfield Parrish mural King Cole.