30 Must-Visit Queer Spots in NYC — The Ultimate Gay Agenda!
As born and raised native New Yorkers, people are always asking us for our favorite queer spots in NYC! If you’re heading to New York City and want to experience the best of the LGBTQ+ scene — this is your go-to guide. From iconic lesbian bars (even the one we met at) to queer owned coffee shops and bookstores, NYC’s queer spaces are as diverse and electric as the city itself.
if you are planning a trip, or just want somewhere fun to go in the city, here are 15 queer spots we absolutely love (and think you will too!)
1. Cubbyhole - The Cutest Lesbian Bar in the West Village
📍281 W 12th St, Manhattan
Yes! This is the one where we originally met, and its one of the most iconic lesbian bars of all time. Tiny, cozy, colorful, and bursting with queer joy. Come for the good vibes, stay for the dollar bills on the ceiling and strong drinks.
2. 3 Dollar Bill - Queer Raves, Drag Chaos & Alt Energy
📍260 Meserole St, Brooklyn
The biggest queer venue in Brooklyn, this East Williamsburg warehouse club is home to everything from leather nights to drag pageants. With multiple dance floors and a huge outdoor space, it’s the perfect spot to lose your voice screaming to a hyperpop remix at 2AM.
3. HAGS - Fine Dining, But Make It Queer
📍163 1st Ave, Manhattan
The world’s first queer fine dining restaurant. Intimate, elevated, and community-driven, with a menu that changes with the seasons — and always centers inclusion and joy. Co-founded by queer couple Telly and Camille, it’s a must-book experience.
4. Club Cumming - Cabaret, Chaos & Alan Freakin’ Cumming
📍505 E 6th St, Manhattan
A piano bar meets performance space meets dance floor, owned by the Alan Cumming. Expect everything from drag bingo to burlesque to Broadway open mic — with strong drinks and zero judgment.
5. Jungle Bird - Queer-Owned Tropical Cocktail Spot
📍174 8th Ave, Manhattan
Tropical cocktails, queer vibes, and cozy-but-sexy décor. This Chelsea bar is owned by LGBTQ+ folks and serves up colorful drinks and lowkey fun — ideal for pregame hangs or date night whispers.
6. Henrietta Hudson - A Queer Bar for Everyone
📍438 Hudson St, Manhattan
A self-described “queer human space built by lesbians,” Henrietta Hudson is one of NYC’s longest-running lesbian bars — recently reimagined for the full LGBTQIA+ fam. Chill cocktails, strong community energy, and great DJ nights.
7. Lesbian Herstory Archives - Sapphic Stories with Soul
📍484 14th St, Brooklyn
A brownstone packed with the largest collection of lesbian materials in the world. It’s intimate, cozy, and run entirely by volunteers. Flip through zines, photos, and letters that’ll make you tear up and power up.
8. Ginger’s Bar - Brooklyn’s OG Lesbian Dive
📍363 5th Ave, Brooklyn
This Park Slope staple is warm, unpretentious, and packed with neighborhood charm. Think: pool tables, friendly faces, and a welcoming vibe that spans generations of queer women.
9. Pasta Night - Queer Owned Pasta Pop-Up In Brooklyn
📍Rotating locations, Brooklyn/Manhattan
Run by a queer couple, this rotating pasta pop-up is handmade, cozy, and giving big “queer Italian dinner party” vibes. This spot is perfect for a date night out with your people.
10. Leslie-Lohman Museum of Art - Where Queer Art Lives
📍26 Wooster St, Manhattan
The only museum in the world dedicated to LGBTQ+ art. Exhibits change often, always bold, always intersectional. It’s where you go to remember that queer folks have always made beautiful, radical things.
11. The Monster - Piano Bar Meets Dance Floor Fantasy
📍80 Grove St, Manhattan
Live show tunes upstairs, thumping dance party downstairs. It’s chaotic, it’s classic, it’s camp. If you love drag queens, sequins, or belting “Defying Gravity” in a room full of strangers — this is your bar.
12. Miti Miti - Queer-Owned Latin American Cravings
📍138 5th Ave, Brooklyn
Fun cocktails, tacos, tostones, and plantain nachos — all served in a lively queer-friendly space in Park Slope. Great for dates, birthdays, or rolling in with your chosen fam.
13. Marie’s Crisis - Show Tunes, Screaming, and Queer Joy
📍59 Grove St, Manhattan
A West Village piano bar where everyone’s belting Broadway at the top of their lungs — and no one’s judging your pitch. It’s loud, it’s packed, it’s iconic. Think: queer Glee club energy with strong drinks and zero pretense.
14. House of Yes - Bushwick’s Queer Circus Fantasy
📍2 Wyckoff Ave, Brooklyn
Think: drag, aerial silks, body paint, and the hottest crowd you’ve ever seen. It’s queer maximalism with a consent-forward, body-positive twist. Come as you are — or as a glittering disco alien.
15. Honey’s - Meadery Vibes, Queer Magic
📍93 Scott Ave, Brooklyn
A queer-run meadery and natural wine bar with rustic-chic energy and fermented fun. Come for the cocktails, stay for the queer trivia nights lgbtq+ vibes.
16. Julius’ - The Oldest Gay Bar in NYC
📍159 W 10th St, Manhattan
This cozy West Village bar has been proudly queer since before Stonewall. Soak up the history (it was the site of the 1966 “Sip-In”), and enjoy the no-frills, all-vibes energy that only a true OG can deliver.
17. Industry - Where the Boys Go to Dance
📍355 W 52nd St, Manhattan
Sleek and packed every night of the week, Industry is a Hell’s Kitchen staple for gay men (and their besties). Drag shows, stiff drinks, and nonstop bops. This is such a fun place to go out to dance.
18. Ladybird - Vegan Tapas & Dreamy East Village Energy
📍111 E 7th St, Manhattan
This dreamy, velvet-draped spot is plant-based AND queer-owned. Come for vegan artichoke fondue, stay for the vibey cocktails and date-night lighting.
19. NYC AIDS Memorial - Quiet Power, Queer Legacy
📍Greenwich Ave & W 12th St, Manhattan
A peaceful public space built to honor those lost to HIV/AIDS — and the activists who fought back. Reflect, grieve, and remember in the heart of the West Village.
20. Books Are Magic - Queer Lit Heaven in Brooklyn
📍225 Smith St, Brooklyn
Not officially a queer bookstore, but absolutely beloved by queer Brooklynites. Diverse shelves, adorable merch, and tons of LGBTQ+ author events.
21. Elsewhere - Bushwick’s Queer-Centered Music & Art Haven
📍599 Johnson Ave, Brooklyn
Multi-room venue, rooftop parties, and themed dance nights with a crowd that’s always serving lewks. Gender-neutral bathrooms and queer DJs galore.
22. Pieces - Classic Drag + Divey Chaos
📍8 Christopher St, Manhattan
Drag shows seven nights a week. Cheap drinks. Go-go boys. A little bit sticky, a whole lotta fun. An NYC gay bar rite of passage, you might even see a queen from RuPauls Drag Race.
23. Big Night - Queer-Owned Dinner Party Dream Shop
📍154 Franklin St, Brooklyn
Part wine shop, part cookbook store, part hostess fantasy. This queer-owned Greenpoint fave is where you go to romanticize your life and prep for a dinner party with your sapphic crush.
24. Bluestockings Cooperative - Queer Lit + Zine Vibes
📍116 Suffolk St, Manhattan
A collectively run bookstore and café full of radical reads, zines, and community spirit. Come for the books, stay for the workshops, poetry nights, and chosen family energy.
25. The Bush - QTPOC-Owned, Dancey & Intimate
📍333 Troutman St, Brooklyn
One of the newest queer spaces in Brooklyn, this cozy bar has a packed calendar of drag shows, bingo, art events, karaoke, and community fun — centering QTPOC voices and vibes.
26. Somm Time - Queer-Owned Wine Bar with a Cozy Twist
📍959 2nd Ave, Manhattan
Run by a fabulous gay couple, this Upper East Side wine bar is your go-to for curated pours, charcuterie boards, and warm hospitality. It's giving: “first date turns into five hours of flirty eye contact and obscure wine facts.”
27. For All Things Good - Handmade Tortillas, Queer-Owned
📍343 Franklin Ave, Brooklyn
A beautiful Oaxacan café serving fresh tortillas, tlayudas, and community warmth. Queer-owned, sunlit, and so worth the trip.
28. Good Judy - Backyard Drag & Cocktails in Park Slope
📍563 5th Ave, Brooklyn
Chill bar in the front, dance party in the back. With backyard drag shows and a rotating DJ lineup, it’s the definition of a hidden gem.
29. Christopher Park - Sacred Quiet Across From Stonewall
📍38-64 Christopher St, Manhattan
Across from the Stonewall Inn and home to the George Segal “Gay Liberation” statues, this peaceful park is a pocket of queer history and community reflection.
30. Principles GI Coffee House - Queer Coffee, Culture & Community
📍139 9th St, Brooklyn
A warm, welcoming café in Gowanus that’s queer-owned, community-centered, and beautifully designed. Principles BK has amazing coffee, vegan pastries, and is also used as a queer event space hosting a multitude of community driven events.
Planning a trip to NYC?
Book a queer history walking tour with Christopher Street Tours - Led by queer guides and rooted in joy, activism, and community, their walking tours bring LGBTQ+ history to life right on the streets where it happened. From Stonewall to present-day resistance, it’s a moving, magical experience — and the perfect way to connect with NYC’s queer past and present. Tours begin in the West Village. You can find moree info at christopherstreettours.com