Black-Owned Bars In NYC: A Night Out From Harlem To Brooklyn

The craft beer bar that changed what Harlem's nightlife could look like. The cocktail lounge in Bed-Stuy named after the woman behind the bar. The Caribbean speakeasy on the Lower East Side that serves oxtail until 3am. New York has some of best bars in the country. These places exist, they're doing exceptional work, and they deserve to be found.

This guide strings six of the best Black-owned bars in NYC into a single evening itinerary — Harlem down to the Lower East Side, then across to Brooklyn. You can do all of it in one night if you start early and pace yourself, or treat it as a menu and pick the two or three that fit your borough and your mood. Either way, you'll end the night having moved through some of the most interesting Black-owned bar spaces the city has right now.

All six spots are part of EatOkra's curated Best Happy Hour Spots in NYC collection — save it to keep the full list close. Reading this on mobile? Visit the in-app collection here.

Harlem Hops, Harlem — the Black-owned craft beer bar NYC has been waiting for

2268 Adam Clayton Powell Jr Blvd, Harlem · Opens Wed–Fri at 3pm, Sat–Sun from 1pm

Walk into Harlem Hops and understand immediately why this place matters. There is almost no Black-owned craft beer bar in New York. The category — rotating taps, barrel-aged bottles, $5 can specials, the kind of place where the bartender knows enough about each batch to find you a beer you'll actually like — has been overwhelmingly white, in ownership and often in clientele. Harlem Hops changed that when it opened on Adam Clayton Powell Jr Blvd.

The tap list rotates constantly and leans local. There's usually a mead and a cider running alongside the drafts, and the can selection is deep enough that no serious beer drinker should feel boxed in. The staff are knowledgeable without being pretentious. The food is consistent and affordable.

What to order: Start with a sampler flight. Ask whoever's behind the bar what just came in. There's usually something worth knowing about.

Best time to visit: Early, around 4 or 5pm, before the room fills up on weekends. Closed Monday and Tuesday.

From Harlem, The Honey Well is an easy walk or short rideshare further up Broadway into Hamilton Heights.

The Honey Well, Hamilton Heights — cocktails and a 70s soul soundtrack

3604 Broadway, Hamilton Heights · Open daily from 4pm · Fri–Sat until 2am

The Honey Well is a basement cocktail bar on Broadway in Hamilton Heights that manages to feel both intimate and easy. The lighting is low. The music — reliably 70s soul and funk — plays at a volume that lets you actually talk. The cocktails are creative without being exhausting about it, and the room is the kind of place you walk into once and start telling people about.

Two things set The Honey Well apart from most cocktail bars in New York. First, the mocktail program: every non-alcoholic drink is made with the same care and priced comparably to the cocktails — rarer than it should be, and meaningful for anyone who isn't drinking that night. Second, the staff. Multiple regulars mention a head bartender named Mark by name in reviews. That kind of word-of-mouth is earned over a long time.

What to order: Ask Mark for a recommendation based on what you're in the mood for. The chicken skewers are worth getting if you want something to eat. If you want a full meal, eat before you come — the food menu is intentionally small.

Best time to visit: Reservation recommended on Friday and Saturday after 8pm. Walk-ins are easier earlier in the week.

Take the 2 or 3 train from 110th Street downtown to Chambers Street, then walk east to the Lower East Side.

Las' Lap, Lower East Side — a Caribbean bar that runs until 3am

74 Orchard St, Lower East Side · Open Thu–Sat from 5pm until 3am

Las' Lap on Orchard Street is easy to miss — the entrance is deliberately discreet, speakeasy-adjacent — but once you're inside, the two-floor space opens into something that feels like a Caribbean living room that decided to stay up past midnight. The music is a mix of hip-hop and Afrobeats. The drinks are tropical and well-made. The kitchen is doing more than bar food has any right to do.

The jerk chicken egg rolls are the thing to order — good enough that most tables get a second round. The oxtail arrives with sides and is the kind of dish that makes you wish more bars in New York took their kitchen as seriously as their cocktail list. The space is small; the intimacy is a feature, not a flaw.

Las' Lap runs until 3am Thursday through Saturday, which makes it the natural late-night stop on this itinerary. Come here when the earlier stops have warmed you up and you're ready to settle in for a while.

What to order: Jerk chicken egg rolls to start, something tropical to drink, the oxtail if you're hungry. The entrance on Orchard St is easy to walk past — look carefully.

Best time to visit: Thursday evenings are quieter. Friday and Saturday fill up fast and stay that way until close.

Take a rideshare from the Lower East Side into Brooklyn — the subway requires a transfer and runs slow at night.

Lucky's Cocktail Lounge, Bed-Stuy — the Brooklyn bar named after its owner

334 Marcus Garvey Blvd, Bed-Stuy, Brooklyn · Open daily from 4pm

Lucky's Cocktail Lounge on Marcus Garvey Blvd in Bed-Stuy is named after the woman who owns it — and who is frequently behind the bar herself. Lucky knows her regulars. She'll remember what you ordered last time. She'll also, if you ask nicely, make you something that isn't on the menu.

The food at Lucky's hits: fried chicken, sliders, cauliflower arancini, fries with a seasoning that regulars can't stop talking about. The Knock on Wood is the cocktail people mention by name in reviews. The Lucky's sauce that comes with everything is the kind of detail that tells you someone thought carefully about every part of the experience.

This is a neighborhood bar in the best sense of that phrase. It belongs to the block it's on. Come as a visitor and you'll be treated like a guest. Come back a second time and you'll start to feel like a regular.

What to order: The Knock on Wood cocktail. The fried chicken. Ask Lucky what she'd make if you gave her full control — worth it every time.

Best time to visit: Earlier in the week for a quieter experience. Friday and Saturday the room fills up and stays full.

The Armory, Boerum Hill — craft cocktails in one of Brooklyn's best bar rooms

149 4th Ave, Boerum Hill, Brooklyn · Open Tue–Sat from 5pm · Fri–Sat until 2am

The Armory on 4th Ave in Boerum Hill runs at a slightly higher register than the other stops on this itinerary — the kind of Black-owned cocktail bar in Brooklyn where you'd take someone you wanted to impress, or where you'd go to actually decompress in a room that's been designed to make decompressing feel easy. The cocktails are precise. The service is attentive without being hovering.

The Peach Puebla and the Monterey Daze both come up repeatedly in reviews by name. If Mikey is behind the bar, ask him to walk you through the menu — he will, without making you feel like you're being lectured. There's a backyard garden that opens in warmer months. If it's available, use it.

What to order: The Peach Puebla or Monterey Daze. Ask for Mikey's recommendation if he's on. The backyard garden is worth requesting when the weather's right.

Best time to visit: Closed Monday. Quieter Tuesday through Thursday; Friday and Saturday run late.

The Rum Bar BK, Crown Heights — if you want to go deep on rum

733 Franklin Ave, Crown Heights, Brooklyn · Open daily from 4pm (2pm Fri–Sun)

The Rum Bar BK on Franklin Ave in Crown Heights is the right fit when you want to actually learn something and enjoy yourself in the process. This Black woman-owned bar on Franklin Ave periodically hosts rum education events with spirits educators: you'll taste multiple expressions, understand where they come from, and leave knowing significantly more than you arrived with.

On a regular night, the cocktail list leans tropical and the Painkiller has a devoted following. The vibe is warm and personal — the kind of bar where the regulars know each other and the bartenders know the regulars. Go on a night when nothing is planned and you might end up spending three hours there without meaning to.

What to order: The Painkiller. Ask what rum education events are coming up — they're worth planning a visit around specifically.

Best time to visit: Friday through Sunday from 2pm. Watch their social for education night announcements.

Getting around: transit tips for the full route

This itinerary runs north to south — Harlem to the Lower East Side to Brooklyn — which maps naturally onto the 2/3 train line.

• Harlem to the LES: Take the 2 or 3 from 110th Street to Chambers Street, walk east to Orchard. About 30 minutes.

• LES to Brooklyn: Take a rideshare. Subway options to Bed-Stuy or Crown Heights from the LES involve a transfer and run slow at night — 40+ minutes is realistic.

• Within Brooklyn: Lucky's (Bed-Stuy), The Armory (Boerum Hill), and The Rum Bar BK (Crown Heights) are all within a short rideshare of each other.

If you're doing the full route, start no later than 5pm and budget around five hours. The LES and Brooklyn spots run late, so there's no rush at the end.

Frequently asked questions

Which of these Black-owned bars in NYC is best for a date night? The Armory in Boerum Hill is the most date-night-ready — precise cocktails, a quieter room, and a backyard garden in summer. The Honey Well in Hamilton Heights is a close second for its low lighting and 70s soul soundtrack.

Which Black-owned bar in NYC is best for a group? Lucky's Cocktail Lounge in Bed-Stuy handles groups well and has strong food options to share. Harlem Hops is ideal for a group that wants to work through a beer list together.

Do any of these bars serve food? Yes — Las' Lap (LES), Lucky's Cocktail Lounge (Bed-Stuy), and Harlem Hops all have solid food menus. The Honey Well has bar snacks. The Armory and The Rum Bar BK are primarily drinks-focused.

What's the best Black-owned late-night bar in NYC? Las' Lap on Orchard Street runs until 3am Thursday through Saturday, making it the best late-night option on this list. The Rum Bar BK in Crown Heights opens at 2pm on weekends and runs late most nights.

Save the full list

All six spots in this guide are part of EatOkra's Best Happy Hour Spots in NYC collection — curated by the EatOkra editorial team and updated as new spots open. Save it to your profile and we'll notify you when the list grows.

Exploring more of New York's Black-owned bar and restaurant scene? Start with our NYC City Guide, or browse the full EatOkra Collections lander for more curated lists beyond the city.