4 Best Nightlife in Gramercy, New York City

The Standard's sizable underground room draws top names in the business, and as part of Danny Meyer's southern-food restaurant Blue Smoke, it's one of the few spots where you can get dry-rubbed ribs to go with your bebop. There are welcoming Jazz for Kids concerts most Sunday afternoons.

This cocktail parlor invites you inside with its name, the beginning of an imaginary love letter to Irving Place, on which the bar resides. Interiors themed for different eras are chic and refined, and just as at sister property Raines Law Room, there are private sections of tables and couches for intimate conversations. Reservations are recommended (make them online), but you can sometimes get a table if you just show up.

A relatively intimate venue that holds about 1,000 people on two levels, Irving Plaza is known for its packed lineup of both indie and more mainstream acts, though tickets can get a little pricey. The sound system is good, and there are several bars.

A historic landmark (where O. Henry was a loyal customer), this is one of the bars that claims—with its 1864 date—to be the oldest continuously operating watering hole in the city. Pete's has charm to spare, with its long wooden bar and cozy booths, where locals crowd in for a beer or a fantastic burger. When the weather warms up, sidewalk tables with red-and-white-checkered tablecloths on scenic Irving Place are a neighborhood favorite.