Located at the southern end of the Turnstyle Underground Market at the Columbus Circle A/C subway station, Merchants’ Gate is a rather small beer/cocktail bar adding variety to the dozens of food/coffee shops already in Turnstyle Underground Market.  The bar offers about 10 draught craft beers and another 10 mix of craft and generic bottled/canned beers.  The bar opens daily at 11am and can run as late as 2am daily, though some evenings it may shut earlier than that because Turnstyle Underground Market doesn’t get a lot of foot traffic late night.  The bar is another example of a cashless business, so be ready to pay with credit/debit.

Located at 636 Degraw Street in Gowanus, Brooklyn, ParkLife is a great spot for outdoor drinking.  Unfortunately, we visited on one of the coldest Saturdays of the year, so outdoor drinking wasn’t really an option for us.  There is a small indoor area that we inhabited during our visit.  We look forward to returning here on a July day when the hot sun is high in the sky.

Located at 119 West 45th Street inside of the Merrion Row Hotel, the Merrion Row Public House is a small bar/restaurant just beyond the main lobby area on the first floor.  The beer selection offers a mix of imports and American craft beers, while the food menu includes Irish and American cuisine.  The layout and look is vastly different from many of the other Irish pubs in the immediate area.  An overall solid spot that we look forward to returning on our next NYC pub crawl through the neighborhood.

Located at 9 East 45th Street in Midtown Manhattan, MJ Smith’s picks up where Eamonn’s left off.  We found MJ Smith’s a visual upgrade of Eamonn’s, the former inhabitant of the space.  The layout is generally the same with a long bar in front and a small dining area in back.  The beer selection was slightly underwhelming, as it could have been similar to what you’d find in a midtown pub circa 2002 (ie, not many craft beer selections).  Still, the staff is friendly and the food menu looked intriguing.  MJ Smith’s is a good spot for after-work drinks or if you “miss” your metro-north train at nearby Grand Central Terminal.

Located at 45 West 45th Street in Midtown Manhattan, Valerie is a bi-level contemporary and spacious cocktail bar.   This is a great spot to visit for after-work drinks or if you want to impress some friends from out of town.  The cocktail offerings include both classics and intriguing house concoctions.  We look forward to returning here on our next bar crawl through the area.

We stopped in at recently-opened Reception Bar, a Korean cocktail bar, located at 45 Orchard Street (just north of Hester Street).  The focus here is on cocktails made with Korean spirits.  Bartenders are knowledgeable and will help you pick the right cocktail for you.  It’s a rather small space, so you probably won’t want to bring parties larger than three here.

Be sure to stop in at Back Pocket Bar, located at 462 West 49th Street (close to 10th Avenue).  This spot is from the same owners as Pocket Bar NYC one block south.  As its name suggests, Back Pocket Bar is a rather small space.  We found it very charming.

Stop in at Decimo Ristobar, located at 764 10th Avenue.  It’s a wine bar/restaurant with great wine bar-like food.

is a small cocktail bar called Blue Quarter, located at 92 Second Avenue.  There’s a door at the back of the main dining room that looks as though it may lead to a restroom, but that door opens into the small-ish bar area of Blue Quarter.  House cocktails run $15/drink.  Blue Quarter is worth a visit the next time you’re bar hopping in the East Village.

Stop in at The Springs, located at 224 Franklin Street near the northern edge of Greenpoint.  Spacious indoor and outdoor space make it a spot to visit for more than one drink.