Located at 545 West 30^th Street inside the lobby of The Shed Arts Center on the southern end of Hudson Yards, Cedric’s is a newly opened (no-tipping-allowed) cocktail bar from Danny Meyer’s Union Square Hospitality Group.  The bar takes up about half of the lobby space and offers numerous comfortable couch seating by the windows along West 30^th Street.  Cedric’s is a solid spot to visit once you’ve completed the walk along the High Line or your Hudson Yards visit.

Located at 225 Bowery atop the Sister City hotel in Manhattan’s Lower East Side, Last Light is a rooftop bar.  The bar has a fairly spacious indoor area, with outdoor decks on the eastern and western edges of the space.  Thus, the spot offers 360 degree views of Manhattan, Brooklyn and beyond.  As of our visit, Last Light opened daily at 3pm.  In our NYC bar crawling experience, it is rare to find a rooftop bar that opens before 4pm almost anywhere in Manhattan.  Worth a visit next time you’re bar hopping through the area.  Do come prepared: this spot is another cashless enterprise.

Located at 1415 Second Avenue on Manhattan’s Upper East Side, Workshop is a craft beer bar in an area of town that could use more of such spots.  It’s another just-larger-than-a-shoebox type of space.  Workshop offers ten hard-to-find craft beers on draught and another 10 bottled/canned beers.  Workshop also offers an extensive house cocktail list.  Workshop opens 4pm Tuesday – Friday and early afternoon on weekends (closed Mondays).