Employees Only has been on Hudson Street in the West Village since 2004. The entrance is marked by a small glowing neon psychic sign, which is subtle enough that you'd walk past it without knowing what it meant. Bartenders Jason Kosmas and Dushan Zaric built the program from the start, and twenty years later the bar is still on the World's 50 Best Bars list at positions that would embarrass most restaurants in the city.

The room has Art Deco bones, warm lighting, and bartenders in formal attire who are doing their actual job at a very high level. The EO Manhattan uses rye, vermouth, and Grand Marnier and has become one of the signature drinks of the neighborhood. The Amelia is vodka, elderflower, and blackberries, and it's been there since the beginning.

People who live nearby go regularly and don't feel the need to explain it. People who make a trip to New York and want one genuinely great cocktail bar usually end up here by the end of the list.