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For New Yorkers, there may be no sound quite so merry as the clinking of glasses echoing between skyscrapers on a spring or summer weekday evening. People the world over love a good happy hour, hence its name, but there’s just something special about afterwork drinks in this city when the weather gets warm. As you skip out of the office, there’s a lightness in the air. It’s a feeling of release shared among crowds of people who seem to have collectively decided to shut their laptops and head to cocktails with friends, making the most of the fleeting sunny season.
Add drink specials and an outdoor setting — be it a buzzing line of sidewalk tables, a rooftop with a view, or a cozy garden — and you have the recipe for a perfect night. All of the above can be found at Rockefeller Center, where the Midtown working crowd and those passing through congregate over rosé, craft beer, lively conversations, and unread emails, enjoyed in an iconic NYC setting that simply can’t be found anywhere else.
Here are 11 afterwork drink spots in Rockefeller Center that will have you counting down the minutes until quittin’ time.
Sidle up to the stylish bar or reserve a velvet booth for a happy hour with downtown energy at Smith & Mills. Raw bar bites include oysters, shrimp cocktail, and tuna crudo, all of which pair perfectly with the twist on a classic cocktail list — including a trio of mini-martinis. There isn’t a bad martini on the menu, but A Smokeshow, made with mezcal and Calabrian chili, is a showstopper.
The only thing better than a happy hour margarita is a happy hour margarita with tacos. Puya is known for its satisfying, homemade Mexican food, from birria to chicken tinga tacos, and a Thursday happy hour just launched with $8 cocktails, $6 beer, and $3 tacos with every drink from 4 to 7pm. If you just need something refreshing, sipping on a selection of aguas frescas is also a beautiful way to spend a warm afternoon.
An all-day cafe where locals start with a cappuccino and pastry in the morning, grab an afternoon-energy-boost panino and espresso at lunch, and then keep the party going with a spritz-fueled happy hour, Lodi embodies the Italian aperitivo spirit in the afterwork hours. Its patio seating is the place to be, and the cocktail menu includes multiple alcoholic and spirit-free spritz varieties to choose from. If you can pop out of work a little bit early, happy hour runs from 3 to 6pm on weekdays and pairs perfectly with stuzzichini, Italy’s answer to tapas.
The Rockefeller Center outpost of this popular spot — known for locally made wines and live music — is an open-air garden serving seven days a week. In the colder months, you can cozy up with a group in a heated dome and sip mulled wine. When it gets warmer, crowd around a wine barrel under an umbrella and enjoy red, white, or rosé on tap, or choose from a selection of Montauk Brewing Company beers accompanied by charcuterie or cannoli chips and dip for something sweet.
Always buzzing in the afternoon, Other Half Brewery has all the afterwork vibes you could ask for — especially when its beer truck comes out for the sunny season. Its craft beer has made a name for itself from Williamsburg to the Finger Lakes, and the team is always experimenting and collaborating with brewers from around the world on exciting new beers. But don’t leave without trying a classic: the Forever Ever, Other Half’s signature brew.
Pair a tropical cocktail (think: a Coconut Corpse Reviver with coconut rum and elderflower or a blood orange margarita) with inventive, farm-to-table takes on happy hour-favorite snacks such as oysters and New York Times–famous bread and butter. Here, the garden setting is taken indoors, with flowing greenery and wood sourced from owner and chef Greg Baxtrom’s family farm — but don’t be fooled: Thanks to its excellent TV setup, 5 Acres is also the ideal spot to grab a few drinks and watch a game, or three.
This stylish brasserie by the duo behind Tribeca’s Frenchette serves natural wines, elevated takes on favorite cocktails (we’re looking at you, framboise colada), and a selection of martinis at its Art Deco–style bar. It’s the perfect place to treat a client or out-of-town relative you’re looking to impress with steak frites instead of a basic burger and fries.
In a brick, 19th-century townhouse that served as a bar for more than 100 years before Pebble Bar moved in and continued the tradition, this is the happy hour choice of nostalgic New Yorkers and those who want to drink in the footsteps of legendary writers and broadcasters like Jack Kerouac, David Letterman, and Johnny Carson. Stop in once for a strong drink and a seafood tower or some potato chips with caviar, and you risk becoming a regular.
When you need a happy hour that transports you far, far away from New York City, head to Naro for a modern Korean aesthetic, soju cocktails, and sustainably grown South Korean teas. When it comes to food, this isn’t your Midtown Korean barbecue joint — expect smaller, more delicate dishes that double as edible art, with an emphasis on seafood and vegetables.
On those nights when you not-so-secretly hope happy hour wine will turn into pasta and more wine, linger at Jupiter. The extensive wine list includes hearty Italian reds and lighter rosés and orange wine, and cocktails range from unique takes on the classic Aperol spritz to summery sips like a tequila martini with passion fruit, Campari, and prosecco. Share the marinated artichoke hearts and burrata, or dive straight into a big plate of rigatoni cacio e pepe and linguine with clams.
Who can say no to $7 hand rolls and two-for-one select sake and beer at Blue Ribbon Sushi Bar? Park yourself at one of the 11 seats at the sushi bar, or bring a few coworkers and enjoy the seated dining options. Happy hour runs Monday through Friday from 3 to 6pm (dine-in only). Plus, Eater called Blue Ribbon the “best way to spend $50 at Rockefeller Center,” so you really can’t go wrong.
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