The Best Bars for a Sunday Afternoon in New York

Radegast Hall in Williamsburg is the best beer hall in New York for a Sunday afternoon session. The retractable roof stays open on good days, the central yard fills with the right kind of crowd — not students, not tourists in the main — and the Central European lager and pilsner programme is strong enough to keep a serious beer drinker occupied for a full afternoon. The sausage and pretzel menu does exactly what it needs to. Opens at noon on Sundays.

Order: Pilsner Urquell on draught — the house pour and the right call here

Maison Premiere's garden section on Sunday afternoon is one of the most genuinely pleasant experiences New York has to offer — absinthe-forward cocktails, a dozen oyster varieties, and a New Orleans-inflected atmosphere that makes the afternoon feel like it is happening somewhere else entirely. The bar team takes Sunday seriously enough that the full menu is available from noon, and the weekend brunch cocktails include some of the better Bloody Marys in the city. Arrive at noon to get the garden; the rest fills by 1pm.

Order: The Maison Premiere Royale — Champagne, St-Germain, lemon, house absinthe rinse

Threes Brewing in Gowanus has the best taproom format for a Sunday afternoon in Brooklyn: 20 rotating taps, a comfortable indoor-outdoor setup, and a kitchen that runs from noon until the evening without interruption. The beer programme leans New York ingredients and seasonal production — what is on the menu in May will not be there in September. The Gowanus neighbourhood is quieter on Sundays than Williamsburg, which makes the general atmosphere considerably more relaxed.

Order: Whatever hazy IPA they are currently producing in-house — the programme rotates monthly

The Ear Inn on Spring Street has been in continuous operation since 1817. That is not a tourism pitch — it is context for understanding why the Sunday afternoon atmosphere here is genuinely different from any other bar in the city. The regulars are real regulars, the prices are fair, and the pace of a Sunday afternoon here has not changed much in the past fifty years. No cocktail menu, no food beyond bar snacks, no reservations. Just a pint and a good afternoon.

Order: Whatever is coldest on tap — this is not a cocktail bar and does not need to be one

Hudson Bar and Books in the West Village is the right Sunday afternoon pick when the agenda is a drink, a book, and nothing else. The gentlemen's club atmosphere — wood panelling, leather armchairs, a fireplace, a curated selection of literature on the shelves — is exactly what a certain kind of Sunday afternoon calls for. Cigars permitted on the terrace. The cocktail programme leans classic and the bartenders leave you alone in the way good bartenders know to on a Sunday.

Order: Old Fashioned — Buffalo Trace, demerara, Angostura, expressed orange peel

Employees Only on Hudson Street is at its best on Sunday afternoons, when the Saturday night crowd has cleared and the regulars return. The cocktail programme is among the city's most reliable for classic formats and creative variations, the kitchen runs the full menu from noon on weekends, and the psychic in the front room — a long-running venue quirk — is available for consultation if the Sunday afternoon is running toward the philosophical. One of the great West Village bars, full stop.

Order: Ginger Smash — gin, lemon, mint, house ginger beer, candied ginger garnish

Pouring Ribbons is the East Village bar that rewards a longer Sunday afternoon better than any other in the neighbourhood. The cocktail programme is organised by flavour profile rather than spirit category, which makes navigation easier and encourages ordering something outside of your usual pattern. The bar seats about 30 and fills comfortably without becoming chaotic on a Sunday. Arrive at 3pm, order two or three rounds from different parts of the menu, and let the afternoon take care of itself.

Order: Ask the bartender for something in the "adventurous and stirred" quadrant of the menu

Slowly Shirley does exactly what its name implies. The basement West Village bar runs a laid-back programme of classic and creative cocktails without any of the performative seriousness that can make cocktail bars feel like work on a Sunday. The music is good, the space is comfortable, and the bartenders are among the more personable in the city's cocktail circuit. Perfect for a group of two to six who want to settle in and stay for a while.

Order: Whatever their current sour variation is — the egg white programme is consistently the bar's strongest category