Sean Muldoon and Jack McGarry left Belfast for Lower Manhattan and built a three-floor Irish drinking saloon that has won more international bar awards than any establishment in New York. The ground floor Taproom is a proper pub: draft beer, Irish whiskey, and the democratic energy of a room where everyone stands. The upstairs Parlor is where the ambition lives: a 72-page cocktail menu organised by era, each drink researched with the rigour of a doctoral thesis on 19th-century American drinking culture. The cocktails reference historical recipes and lost techniques, built to be delicious first and educational second. The Irish identity is genuine — the whiskey programme is deep, the hospitality warm, and the FiDi crowd has adopted Dead Rabbit with the loyalty of Belfast regulars.
Location
Financial District, New York
Map
Insider Intel
In the Parlor: choose a cocktail from the 72-page menu by era or spirit — the historical categories guide you through pre-Prohibition, golden age, and modern drinks. The Irish Coffee upstairs is benchmark quality. In the Taproom: a pint of Guinness and a shot of Irish whiskey, because the pub format is excellent and uncomplicated. The Dead Rabbit Irish Coffee alone is worth the subway fare.
Evening in the Parlor from 5pm for the full cocktail experience — the after-work FiDi crowd creates a charged atmosphere that suits the room. The Taproom is best late, when the pub energy peaks. Weekday afternoons in the Parlor are quiet enough to study the 72-page menu with the attention it deserves.
30 Water Street, Financial District. Whitehall Street station (R/W) or Broad Street (J/Z). Cocktails $19-24 in the Parlor, pints $8-10 in the Taproom. Walk-in for the Taproom; the Parlor accepts reservations for groups. Multiple World's Best Bar wins. The three floors serve different purposes: Taproom for pub drinking, Parlor for cocktails, Occasional Room for private events. Cards accepted.