With the craft cocktail revolution firmly in its groove for some time now, New York City’s bars have entered their latest phase: specialization. They’re following a restaurant-like path of centering around the cuisines of different regions around the globe.
For this list, we’re focused on the flavors and ingredients of India, Korea, Mexico, Peru, and more. Now, you can experience them mixed into world-class cocktails. If you’re feeling wanderlust, scratch the itch the same evening with a mixological visit to the region of your choice. First up, we’re visiting India and Italy.
NYC Drinks With India Vibes
INDN
Opened in the fall of 2025, INDN is considered NYC’s first true Indian cocktail bar. It follows a recent rise of Indian flavors and ingredients in cocktails on the menus of buzzy Indian restaurants. Here, the drinks aren’t engineered to keep up with the food—it’s the other way around.
The cocktail menu is expansive and cohesive, broken into themes. Think clarified cocktails like the Paneer Panic with gin, Empirical Cilantro, saag, turmeric, and lime (and you can also order a flight of smaller pours of four different clarified cocktails). There’s tandoori cocktails like the Tandoori Margarita with tequila, mezcal, spiced curaçao, and tomato agave. Plus, modern originals like the Whip Me Saffron with tequila, saffron, pistachio, and cardamom. Small dishes make elegantly complex and just plain delicious pairings, including Mushroom Keema Pao, Palak Chaat, and Tandoori Soy Chaamp. 30 W. 30th St., Midtown, indnnyc.com
Jazba
Jazba is a full restaurant, but the cocktails hold their own on the menu. In fact, the list is worthy of making a pit stop at the bar, and certainly of pairing one with your dinner. The dishes at Jazba are unique, stepping beyond some of the standards you’ll find at many other Indian eateries to highlight the cuisine of roadside stops in India. That same adventure can be discovered in chief mixologist Hemant Pathak’s cocktails.
The drinks are inspired by classics but reimagined with Indian flavors. For example: the Mulethi, named for the licorice plant features gin infused with it, alongside passion fruit, lemon, and honeycomb tuile. There’s the Kari-Yal, with curry leaf, citrus cordial, and coconut foam. Or, try the Paan, which showcases paan nectar, cherry bitters, and applewood smoke. There are also several stellar non-alcoholic options, like the Kesar, with orange, mango, grapefruit, saffron, lime, and soda water. 207 2nd Ave., East Village, jazbanyc.com
Saaqi
Saaqi is the speakeasy-esque offshoot of acclaimed Indian restaurant Musaafer, and the underground space for the eatery’s vibrant flavors to shine in drinkable forms. The room itself is stunning, rich in both texture and pattern with lush rugs, Corinthian columns, arched brick ceilings, paintings, and warm, golden lighting.
Created by Afzal Kaba, the cocktail menu highlights Indian art and craft traditions, pairing each with a coordinating drink. Toda Embroidery is made with coconut curry rum, Jaisalmer Indian Craft Gin, curry cordial, and curry oil. The Brass Art comes with Indian Jamun Gin, and a Topo Chico jamun liqueur cordial. For the Chamba Rumal, expect apple vodka, sea buckthorn, passion fruit liqueur, and absinthe.
There are also classics like an Old Fashioned and a Negroni updated with Indian ingredients and flavors, crafted shots, and non-alcoholic cocktails; all of which partner well with the Galawat Potato Cookie, Mushroomjhol Momo, Kholiwada Shrimp, Boti Roti, and Vegetarian Dip Platter. There’s even an “edible cocktail,” the Shammi’s Old Fashioned Bon Bon, for dessert. 13 Duane St., Tribeca, musaaferrestaurants.com
Italy Flavors in the Glass
Bar Bianchi
Bar Bianchi is the kind of place where you want to linger, where aperitivo hour stretches into a leisurely meal, then after-dinner drinks. The mid-century Italian design makes you feel like the main character in your own Fellini film. And while you’re living la dolce vita, there are top-notch classic cocktails to sip.
For starters, order a Negroni Classico, Bianchi Bianco, and Mezcal Negroni. Next move to the Martini Bianchi; the Sgroppino, the Amaretto Sour, and the Bicycleta. Finally, look toward three spritzes: Aperol, the Giuseppe with mint, and the Sbagliata Pesca with peach. Food options satiate any appetite at any point in the evening, from antipasti like Pesto Arancini, Salumi & Formaggi, and Crispy Artichokes to pasta dishes and full entrées. 5 Avenue A, East Village, barbianchinyc.com
Bar Ferdinando
In Carroll Gardens, Bar Ferdinando does old school Italian vibes with a modern sensibility. The all-day operation occupies the space that was Ferdinando’s Focacceria for over a century (previous owner Frank Buffa passed the torch to Sal Lamboglia, owner of neighborhood hot spots Cafe Spaghetti and Swoony’s).
Lamboglia’s concept isn’t an exact revival, per se, but it honors the hallowed ground on which it stands. The space is largely the same as it ever was. Yellow walls hung with family photos, a mismatched tile floor, and many of the menu’s beloved hits remain, much to the delight of locals who have been getting the panelle and arancini at this address for generations.
However, Lamboglia’s most significant addition to date is the bar program. It’s precisely dialed into what people want to drink now, including lower-ABV, flavor-forward accompaniments to conversation and good snacks, which Italian cocktail tradition just so happens to nail. There’s a flawless 50/50 Martini; a lush Campari Spritz with strawberry and basil; a Negroni All’ Oliva; the Little Italy with rye, Cynar, vermouth, and bitters; Fernet with lime, mint, and cola; and an extensive amaro list. 151 Union St., Carroll Gardens, Brooklyn, barferdinando.com
Bar Pisellino
Few bars feel more like a portal to another place than Bar Pisellino. Step inside and you have to pinch yourself to remember you’re not dreaming and you’re not actually in Naples, even if the mosaic tiled floor, rich woodwork, and marble-topped bar is telling you otherwise. So are the bistro tables lining the exterior, with chairs placed next to each other for prime people-watching. It all feels peak European.
The iconic duo Rita Sodi and Jody Williams of Buvette and I Sodi acclaim opened this spot in 2019, right across the street from the jewel in their crown, Via Carota. Bar Pisellino opens at 8 a.m. serving up excellent coffee and decadent pastries. As the afternoon approaches, this spot becomes the aperitivo hour destination with Aperol Spritzes, Sgroppinos, Americanos, Sbagliatos; three different negronis; a Fizz, a Frappe, and a perfect Martini; beer, wine, and soda. All this alongside paninis, tremazzini, bomboloni, and cornetti. 52 Grove St., West Village, barpisellino.com
