Empire Room

From the same man behind tony after-work destination Campbell Apartment comes the Empire Room, a swanky new bar and lounge in the Empire State Building. Although anyone who waits in line for hours to make it up all 102 floors probably deserves a drink, the Empire Room will actually be on the ground floor—but it's huge, clocking in at 3,500 square feet. In a past life the space was home to a post office, but as the Empire Room it's been given a $500 million makeover and outfitted with an Art Deco-themed interior that "harken[s] back to the golden age of the 1920s and ‘30s," according to owner Mark Grossich. Their diverse (and pricey!) cocktail menu includes The Empire Cocktail ($16), a blend of Bluecoat Gin, Dolin Dry Vermouth, Royal Combier Liqueur, lemon juice and raspberry-orange marmalade, topped off tableside with Moet & Chandon Champagne; and the potent sounding Prohibition Punch ($15), a mix of Appleton Rum, Gran Gala, passion fruit juice and Moet & Chandon Champagne. Soak up the fancy booze with some truffled popcorn ($10), miniature Wellingtons ($20) or rib-eye sliders ($19).

See more: Murray Hill bars, Midtown bars, Lounge bars