The best bars open on Sunday are worth knowing because they represent a different kind of bar experience entirely — slower, more honest, and often better than the Friday version of the same room. Sunday drinking has its own rhythm, and the bars that understand it open early, stock the vermouth and Bloody Mary supplies, and hire staff who prefer the pace of a long afternoon over the velocity of a Saturday night.
Best Sunday Bars in New York
New York's Sunday bar culture is anchored around brunch-hour openings, afternoon football, and the kind of slow drift through the East Village that starts at 2pm and ends when the sun goes down. These are the bars that do that day best.
01
Pete's Candy Store
Williamsburg, Brooklyn$Open from 5pm Sunday / Live music
A former candy shop in Williamsburg that has been one of the best small music venues in Brooklyn for over twenty years. On Sunday evenings, the back room hosts free live music — acoustic sets, singer-songwriters, country and folk acts — and the front bar serves cheap beer and decent cocktails to a crowd that is genuinely there for the music. No cover charge ever. It is the best five-dollar evening in New York that costs nothing.
Order: PBR in a can and whatever is on their rotating whisky list
02
The Penrose
Upper East Side$$Open from noon Sunday / Craft beer + cocktails
An Upper East Side neighbourhood bar that opens at noon on Sundays for a brunch menu that is a cut above its competition, followed by an afternoon of craft beer, cocktails, and football on the screens. The Penrose has the quality of a bar that was designed for exactly this use case — high ceilings, good natural light through the front windows, and a Sunday-specific menu that includes a proper Bloody Mary with house-pickled garnishes.
Order: House Bloody Mary with extra horseradish and a Miller High Life
03
The Spaniard
West Village$$Open from noon Sunday / Full kitchen
A West Village bar that has figured out the Sunday formula precisely: open at noon, run a full kitchen until late afternoon, stock the Bloody Mary bar properly, keep the cocktail list honest and short, and never play music too loud for conversation. The Spaniard achieves all five of these things without making it look effortful, which is the real achievement. The back garden is one of the better outdoor drinking spaces in the neighbourhood.
Order: Spaniard Bloody Mary with the house spice blend
The complete New York bar guide
From Sunday afternoon to late Friday night — every neighbourhood, every category. Our complete New York guide covers it all.
London pubs on a Sunday are a specific cultural institution — the roast lunch, the afternoon pint, the slow afternoon slide into the evening. Amsterdam's Sunday bar scene is more café-oriented, with vermouth and coffee sharing the menu until the evening trade takes over. Both cities do Sunday well.
04
The Jolly Butchers
Stoke Newington, London$Open from noon Sunday / Craft beer
A Stoke Newington craft beer pub that turns its Sunday trade into an event — twenty taps of rotating craft beer from British and European breweries, a kitchen serving proper Sunday roasts, and a garden that fills with neighbourhood residents from noon onwards. The Jolly Butchers has the energy of a pub that is proud of its Sunday trade rather than just tolerating it. The beer selection alone is worth the trip north of the City.
Order: Beavertown Gamma Ray pale ale and a roast with all the trimmings
05
Café Americain
Leidseplein, Amsterdam$$$Open all day Sunday / Art Deco
Amsterdam's grandest café, in an Art Deco building overlooking the Leidseplein, where Sunday afternoon is treated as a reason to order a proper cocktail at 2pm without anyone raising an eyebrow. The room is spectacular — high ceilings, stained glass, the kind of architectural ambition that the modern bar industry has essentially abandoned — and the bar service is strong enough to justify the room. Order at the bar rather than waiting for table service to maintain momentum.
Order: Classic Negroni or the house Sunday Spritz
06
The Sunday Social
Stockbridge, Edinburgh$Sunday only / Neighbourhood
A Stockbridge neighbourhood bar that has built its entire reputation around Sunday trade — opening at noon, running a short but honest food menu through the afternoon, and maintaining the kind of relaxed atmosphere that is impossible to manufacture and takes years of Sunday trading to develop naturally. The regulars are the same every week, which is both a sign of quality and the reason for it. Sunday at The Sunday Social is a reliable Edinburgh afternoon.
Order: A pint of Caledonian and whatever soup is on the board
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Best Sunday Bars in Chicago, Washington DC, and Miami
Three American cities with distinct Sunday bar cultures — Chicago does long Sunday sessions around football and brunch, Washington DC has a quieter bar scene that comes alive on Sunday evenings, and Miami turns Sunday into a full-day event starting at noon on any rooftop that will have you.
07
Bar Mirabel
Wicker Park, Chicago$$Open from noon Sunday / Vermouth bar
A Wicker Park vermouth and aperitivo bar that has made Sunday afternoon its primary business — opening at noon with a full vermouth menu, Spanish snacks, and a soundtrack that runs from classic jazz to bossa nova throughout the afternoon. Bar Mirabel is the Chicago bar that most convincingly replicates the Spanish Sunday vermouth tradition, and the regulars who come every week have established a community around the ritual.
Order: House Punt e Mes vermouth on ice with an orange peel and anchovy-stuffed olives
08
Café Bonaparte
Georgetown, Washington DC$$Open from 11am Sunday / European-style
A Georgetown café-bar that treats Sunday as the main event of the week — Belgian waffles, proper coffee, and a wine and beer list that opens at 11am without ceremony. The courtyard garden fills with the Georgetown neighbourhood crowd from noon through the afternoon, and the transition from brunch to afternoon drinking happens organically with no pressure in either direction. One of the few places in DC where Sunday afternoon has a genuine European tempo.
Order: Belgian Trappist beer in the correct glass — they stock Chimay, Orval, and Westmalle
09
Sundowner
Wynwood, Miami$$Open from noon Sunday / Terrace
Miami's Sunday bar scene starts earlier and ends later than most cities, and Sundowner has positioned itself at the centre of the Wynwood version of it. An outdoor terrace bar with serious cocktails, cold beer, and a DJ who understands that Sunday afternoon needs a specific tempo — not as loud as Friday, not as slow as a Tuesday. The crowd is creative industry Miami, and the conversation matches the cocktail quality.
Order: Aperol Spritz or the house mezcal paloma with fresh grapefruit
Bars with outdoor seating worth knowing
Sunday afternoons are better outside. Our outdoor seating bar guide covers the best terraces and gardens worldwide.
A bar that does Sunday well has a fundamentally different relationship with its customers than one that reserves its best effort for Friday and Saturday. The Sunday crowd comes with more time, more willingness to talk, and a different set of needs — the afternoon pint rather than the round at midnight, the late lunch that becomes an early dinner, the cocktail that arrives at 3pm with no judgment attached.
Every bar on this list understands that dynamic. They open on time, they staff properly, and they treat the Sunday trade as worth showing up for. That is not as common as it should be.
Best bars for locals in every city
Sunday regulars are the most loyal customers any bar has. Our locals guide shows you where they actually drink.
