West Village

West Village · Cocktail bar

Little Branch

$ · Reviewed July 2026

Unmarked door on 7th Avenue, steep stairs down, mustard walls, corrugated steel ceiling, live jazz trio at 10. Little Branch is nearly twenty years old and still the most reliably great cocktail bar in the West Village. Order a classic. Stay too long.

West Village · Book store

Three Lives & Company

Reviewed June 2026

Open since 1978, still tracked by index card. The red double doors on the corner of 10th and Waverly open onto 675 square feet of dark wood, creaking floors, and classical music — the best fifteen minutes you can spend before dinner in the West Village.

West Village · Northern Italian restaurant

Osteria Carlina West Village

$$$ · Reviewed June 2026

A Turin-born husband-and-wife operation opened in 2021, and the West Village has been quietly returning ever since. Exposed brick, low light, tableside truffle shaving on the angel hair. No cocktails — wine, beer, and vermouth only. Book it or regret it.

West Village · Wine bar

WEST10WEST

$$$ · Reviewed May 2026

Small plates, natural wine, and West Village lighting doing exactly what West Village lighting is supposed to do.

West Village · Cocktail bar

Katana Kitten

$$$ · Reviewed July 2026

Masa Urushido's Japanese-American cocktail bar has been the best argument for drinking on Hudson Street since 2018. The Hinoki Martini alone is worth the trip. Come early, claim two stools at the bamboo bar, and let the night sort itself out.