Bar Snack
Iain Griffiths' bar takes its name from the snaquiri, a daiquiri poured snack-sized. The house daiquiri is seasonal and also comes by the glass and by the pitcher.
Why go
Griffiths built the whole room around that one drink (barsnacknyc.com), which means it sits the oldest examination in the trade over and over: rum, lime and sugar in the right proportions. The rest of the list runs wider than that: a frozen starter called the Mama Tried puts mezcal through strawberry, yuzu and matcha and comes out closer to a sorbetto than a cocktail, and the Salad Negroni is built on nectarines, basil and gin. Around them is a wood-panelled counter hugging the central bar, '70s music and Twisted Tea in the coolers, which Will Hartman clocked in December 2024, when every drink on the list ran under $18 (The Infatuation).
Griffiths opened it with Oliver Cleary, who runs bars in Brooklyn, in late 2024, and the trade caught up fast. The Spirited Awards, the drinks industry's own vote, named it Best U.S. Cocktail Bar in July 2026.5 Time Out had already made it the best bar in the city that January.7 The James Beard Foundation ran it as a Best New Bar semifinalist in 20269, and Loma in Providence took the award.10
Order this / avoid
- Order: a snaquiri first, then the Mama Tried.
- Order: the Spice Bag, which is buttermilk-fried chicken, fries and peppers in a paper bag lettered like the Spice Girls logo, with an orange curry sauce to pour over it. Griffiths named it off his Irish roots and it cost $18 in August 2025.6
- Order: the hot dog under onion jam, hot pickle and chips, or the fried cheese curds tossed in pickle dust.
- Order: the whiskey sour with a Guinness float if you want the one drink nobody else in the neighborhood is pouring.8
- Avoid: a weekend group. The house takes no party over six on Friday or Saturday, and nobody's name goes on a list.
What locals & experts say
- North America's 50 Best Bars 2026, announcing it third in the region:
It's all about 'dressed-up classics for dressed-down people' in this slick, 70s-inspired neighbourhood joint, where unpretentious service is perfectly paired with inventive, flavour-packed drinks designed to surprise and delight in equal measure.
2 - The same edition gave it the Disaronno Highest New Entry Award, and its venue page rates the bar food a thing of local legend.1
- Morgan Carter reviewed it for Time Out New York in August 2025 and scored it 5 out of 5, having been talked in off the street by a doorman promising the best bathroom in the East Village:
the convivial nature and solid list of tasty cocktails (and snacks!) found at Bar Snack certainly will.
6
Good to know
- Timing: it opens in the early afternoon and runs late, with a happy hour Sunday through Thursday.
- Booking: walk-in only.
- Seats: the stools go early in the evening and standing room is the realistic plan after that.6
Verdict
must-visit — Make it a weeknight and keep the party to three. Order wide across the list.