Upstairs Cocktail Bar

You’re guaranteed to have great conversation and a few too many cocktails in this narrow, living room-like bar next to the Jackson Heights-Roosevelt Ave station. Whether that conversation is with the person you came with, Lee the bartender and co-owner, or a group of regulars at the next table, all depends on the number of drinks and the lateness of the hour. If talk flags around 1am, there’s a wall of second-hand books and curios for inspiration—or someone might buy the bar a round of birria tacos from a truck downstairs (they don’t serve food, but feel free to bring snacks). Upstairs is the kind of place where it’s easy to become a regular, even if you don’t live in the neighborhood.

photo credit: Ken Pao Studio