Amazing cocktail bar in the East Village, with great lounge music. Bartenders are super polite and serve mean drinks, bar is cozy yet still spacious. Must try the Mace drink, a sweet and tangy beet based cocktail. Great for a date, small groups or even to knock back a cocktail alone at the bar, people watching. Location is super, just off Ave A. read more

Cocktails were incredible and so many creative options. They tell you on the menu how each cocktail is centered around spices and herbs, which makes it pretty unique. Vegan Mac and cheese was also very good. Quite hard to get a table and menu is pricey but pretty typical for a cocktail in NYC. read more

I've already been to Mace twice- it's great! Very good for groups: the first time I went with a group of about 10 on a Thursday, and we were able to all sit together. Amazing! The bartenders are nice , helpful, and funny. The cocktails are very unique, and the menu is gorgeous. Probably my favorite is the cinnamon: it's so yummy. There's a pretty good variety. Cinnamon is relatively sweet, cocoa is SUPER sweet, mace is fruity and refreshing (with beets.. interesting!), and one of them (can't remember) is intensely spicy. The menu is pretty small, so if you go with a big group you can taste all of them. Probably my only complaint is that the drinks aren't that strong. Only one or two of them are spirit-forward. So, people who don't like sweet drinks may not enjoy Mace so much. But overall, I enjoyed the cocktails a lot. read more

One of the best bars I have been to. Great spice/herb themed drinks. Very well thought out concepts. Our server, Ethan, was great and made awesome drinks. Very nice guy. Atmosphere is relaxed with good jams. The bar has hangers and USB/outlet ports (very convenient!). Would recommend! read more

I LOVED THIS PLACE! The drinks are our Art and deliciousness. They supposedly change the menu often so don't wait to grab your new fav drink before it goes away for good! I will be back! read more

One of the best customer service experiences I've ever had. So good that we joined Greg at his second location. Pop-up Xmas theme is on point from the creative drink menu to the decor. Favorite drink was the Yippie kayak. I'll be back! read more

original cocktails with complex ingredients and small bites. Dimly lit and understated space with attentive and knowledgeable staff. the drink I got (Mace) did not live up to expectations but service was on par (patrick proactively offered to make another drink and another for us to try when I felt my drink was overly sweet). Will definitely be back to try other cocktails. read more

Amazing drinks and creative, tasty food. One of the rare spots that can do both really well! I got the Spruce, cauliflower (amazing), broccolini, burrata, and flatbread. read more

This place was a very pleasant surprise. Came completely by accident and was VERY impressed but an interesting menu, interesting flavor profiles and six solid cocktails Recommend read more

This place is sort of tucked away off the row of other great cocktail bars on Ave C. My friend and I nearly walked right by it. We arrived at around 8:30 on a Friday evening and there were only one or two other parties. We sat down at the empty bar with somewhat low expectations. We were oh so wrong. The menu breaks down the cocktails by the main spice/ingredient, taste (nutty, fruity, smokey, etc), and ingredient origin. I found this helpful as some of the ingredients were a bit intimidating, but after round one, I was more than happy to take any recommendation the bartender offered. The drinks were amazing! We started with the Black Sesame and the Ginger. My friend told the bartend the Black Sesame was the best drink she's ever had. It was creamy and smelled incredible. The ginger was great too. We followed that up with the Lavender and the Cassia, both of which were great. The bar itself is cute. It would make a nice date spot. It started really filling up around 10pm. They change the menu every season so I can't wait to try the rest of their fall cocktails. I'll certainly be back soon. read more

You don't order drinks on the menu. You order herbs. How pretentious is that b.... holy crap these drinks are amazing. I take everything back. The cilantro tastes so good - something like a Cucumber Collins with a little extra herbal complexity. I ordered something with ginger syrup off the menu, and it was fantastically balanced and delicious as well. At $14 a drink, it's very reasonable for a NY bar read more

Really good bar, very fun to go and try some totally unique cocktails! Do not fear the strange ingredients - everything we had was fantastic. We went on a Wednesday and it was a great place to sit and hang out, although the music gets louder throughout the night. Service was prompt and very friendly. If you like coffee, try the cardamom. read more

Note that the bar has moved to W. 8th St. in May 2021. It is now bigger and better than ever before with amazing cocktails of course and terrific food, something that they didn't have in their previous location. There are even more of Nico's spice-based cocktails on the menu. The chef provides wonderful varied dishes. It is not just one of the World's 50 Best Bars, it could well be Manhattan's First Best. read more

Mace is a laid back cocktail bar that is slightly out of the way but delivers great interesting cocktails. Mace uses strong spices to deliver unique cocktails that each has it's own character. With names like Chia Seed, Nutmeg, and Mace, they present wildly different cocktails with individual flairs. Definitely worth a visit and it's not hard to find a spot. Great for intimate conversations or with a small group. Drinks are strong and flavorful, but be careful if you aren't a fan of lots of spices in your drink. read more

Over the holidays, the whole place is reinvented as a holiday theme pop-up cocktail bar...Complete with candy cane wallpaper, themed music and a holiday themed menu. . . Even cookies! There is even a Hanukkah section (in a cozy nook in the back). I had a delicious fruity cocktail and wish I could go back and get it year round. During the holiday theme time, there is often a short wait so plan to go early or late if you're in a big group! read more

Mace - My "Santa" fruity drink! - Cocktail Bars Near Me - New York, New York

Funny / tacky Christmas decorations. If that's your thing, then your in for a treat. However if you are think fancy drinks are not just stuffing 18 ingredients into a glass, then you'll find something the cocktails mediocre and overpriced. read more

Wow wow wow. Cocktail bar, social scene, and chill zone all in one. I'm an east village fan for both the laid back vibe and the pulse that beats strong. This cocktail bar is tasty, young, and a great place to meet others. The infused cocktails were delicious! The menu was unique. If you're looking for a SATC vibe check it out. Noticed it is frequented by the young hot tourism industry professionals but what isn't in the wondrous world of Dien town Manhattan? read more

This place was a lot of win. Tried a few cocktails and all were inventive and well balanced. Really enjoyed the Thai chili. Alex the bartender was charming and good company on our cocktail journey. So very recommended. read more

Absolutely delightful. AMBIANCE: We were there on a Monday evening so it was relatively quiet, though it felt perfectly comfortable to have a loud(ish) conversation with laughing, etc. Nice decor without being overwhelming. SERVICE: Attentive and friendly bar tender who took his job seriously without being a snob. Whenever we asked what a particular ingredient in a drink was, he described it and then poured us a little so we could taste it. DRINKS: WINNERS ALL AROUND! #8 Coriander Seed was probably the strongest drink we tasted. Lovely woody and nutty flavors. #10 Vanilla Bean was also strong. If you are a bourbon and whisky lover, this will be your jam. Really delightful flavor medley. #11 Saffron was refreshing and a tad tart, the egg whites were perfectly whipped, you could smell the rose water but it in no way made the drink too sweet. #12 Long Pepper was dangerously drinkable. Did not taste strong (though I am sure it was). read more

This bar wins for most interesting cocktails. I'm always surprised by the changing menu and the diverse ingredients they use. I love how the cocktails are categorized by country, taste, and liquor. The vibe is chill but elegant. A great spot to start or end the night. read more

Cocktails are unique and A+ excellence, staff is incredibly friendly and superb hosts, AND the customers are all friendly too! My friend and I went to Mace on 4th of July when it started pouring. We came in to the bar completely soaked, and the bartender promptly gave us a stack of good-quality napkins for us to pat ourselves dry. He then patiently answered all of our questions about the different cocktails, made suggestions, and chatted/joked with us throughout our stay. We wanted to try and catch some fireworks, but didn't want to stray too far, so one of the bartenders actually ran outside in the drizzle to the corner to check if we'd be able to see fireworks from there and kindly loaned us an umbrella to go out and get a look. I will definitely be returning. :) read more

Really poor experience here last night. Nowhere stated did it say 1 drink min per person and when we sat down waitress told us we had to drink one drink each and then she said the beers didn't count as drink!!!! WTF? Super rude and obnoxious blonde girl. Do not recommend read more

No better cocktail place. Unique delicious cocktails. We run through the entire list of 12/14 drinks every time we are there. They change the list every 6 months or so.. so something new to look forward on every visit. read more

Wow. Some of the best drinks I've ever had in my life. I really really enjoyed my Ghost Pepper and Damiana. What's even nicer about this bar is that despite its hip decor with dark lighting and a Massive Attack-esque playlist, the bartenders are extremely cool and they create a very "neighborhood bar" vibe. Definitely glad I checked this place out, and will definitely hit it up again next time I'm in NYC. read more

Easily the best cocktails I've had in my life. Each drink is very unique in ingredients and design but so smooth and well balanced in flavor. Wonderful ambiance with appropriate music matched with an intimate vibe. Rowdy enough but easy to converse. I highly recommend. read more

My new favorite alphabet city bar. This place has an intimate classy vibe and it's not too crowded. Each of the drinks are based off of a plant and the bartenders really know their stuff. My favorite is the Mace, which is made with beet juice. I've also tried the vanilla special cocktail which was a little too sweet for me. Their truffle popcorn is amazing too! read more

Quite possibly the best cocktail bar in the city. To be fair, I am not a connoisseur of high end cocktail establishments, but I feel like Mace can hold its own with most. It's very rare that I find a place where I'm willing to drop $100 on drinks, this is one of them. read more

The atmosphere here is great. It's cozy and inviting, pretty decor, and our waiter was very nice. I really liked the idea of this place but ended up thinking the drinks were only ok. My boyfriend went with Mace and I went with Rose Petal. Both drinks were good but I wasn't blown away by any of the flavors. The Rose Petal drink was milky and sweet and was interesting presentation-wise: It comes in a plastic bubble tea cup and has actual boba in it. The idea was cool but I also felt like I'd spent $14 on what essentially looked like and tasted like bubble tea. I'd probably come back but I wouldn't put it on my list of favorite bars in that area. read more

Cocktails were solid. Very interesting menu and a huge choice of cocktails. The space was sooo small and it gets sooo crowded. For being a cocktail bar that's in the world's top 50, I don't know if these were the best cocktails I've had though... read more

This one sucked on the night I visited. Nice looking place but so what? Those are a dime a do3!. Almost everyone working there seemed really tight assed, uptight, and failed to smile or in any way be welcoming. The prissy self important host insisted on seating me in a specific spot at a mostly empty bar counter. The bartender glumly took my order. I am guessing there is some problem with the owners or management because it either is an unhappy staff that they hire or something about working here is making them unhappy. The bartender insisted I had to yell my order because "it's noisy in here" and looked generally peeved with me. When he brought me the bill for $13 and I paid with a $20 he asked if I wanted change. Just basically read more

Mace is going to quickly be a New York cocktail staple. Their new location is a great space with a ton of great restaurants nearby. The owner was extremely quick and responsive even on a Saturday night! I tend to go pretty standard at cocktail bars and their version of an old fashioned, Pandan, was incredible. It had perfectly mixed elements and so so tasty. I'll be going back just to have that drink again. read more

When I read about the concept behind this cocktail bar, I was especially eager to try it out. Cocktail bars are pretty much a dime a dozen these days, but ones with drinks centered on key spices? Not so much. My friend and I arrived at 6 pm on a Monday night to find the bar mostly empty. (Contrary to what another review said, this bar is not a speakeasy. There's nothing hidden about it.) We headed to the back and sat at a small table. The space is smallish, so I probably wouldn't come here with a group. It seems ideal for two people who want to talk. There was music (a rather odd selection that included Steve Winwood and oldies from the 60s), but it wasn't so loud that we couldn't hear each other. For our first round, I ordered the Cinnamon (cinnamon-infused pisco, creme de pêche, oat orgeat, lemon juice, egg white) and my friend had the Grass (silver needle white tea-infused shochu, grass cordial, grapefruit oil). We liked them both a great deal; the Cinnamon was, well, cinnamony, but also citrusy, which was an interesting and refreshing combination. Next up I had the Thai Chili (gin, cucumber, Bird's Eye chili tincture, lime, elderflower liqueur, egg white), and my friend had the Chamomile (brown butter & hay fat-washed cognac, chamomile syrup, lemon juice, champagne). I don't really have a high tolerance for spicy foods, so I was a little nervous about my drink, but there was no need to be. It had a bit of a kick to it, but not enough to make my eyes water or anything even close to that. This round of drinks was also delicious. For our final round, I had the Pandan (batavia arrack infused with pandan leaves, clarified milk, clarified pineapple juice, clarified lime juice, aman black tea, coconut water, ginger juice, 8 spices), and my friend had the Cocoa (banana & roasted cocoa nibs-infused prata cachaça, pecan orgeat, olive oil, salt, egg). I don't even like rum, but the Pandan was fruity and delicious without being overly cloying. The Cocoa tasted like a white russian to me (yum). If I had to choose, the Thai Chili might have been my favorite drink just because it was so unique, but they were all stellar. All of the flatbreads looked enticing, but we ended up ordering the avocado and crab meat, which was quite tasty. They cut it into thin strips, which made it perfect for sharing. I was impressed with everything we drank and ate here and will make a point of coming back. By the time we left around 8:30, we were the only people in the bar, so I hope that isn't a bad sign. I really want this place to succeed! read more

Great sounding on paper but the drinks aren't up to par. The drinks have ingredients like seaweed infused scotch, licorice and tobacco essence -which sound amazing but everything that we tried came out bland and uninteresting. I couldn't detect any tobacco or even a hint of smoke in my drink nor any other loud-sounding ingredients that were described. Got 4 drinks and it was the problem for every single one, none of them worked. Seems like this place tries to do two things at once - making an original sounding menu to stand out and at the same time watering the drinks down to suit the average palate. So if you are looking for adventurous and interesting cocktails, unfortunately this is not the place. read more

Went last night for nice drinks with some friends from out of town. Awesome space with a cool ambiance. The craft cocktails were delicious -- got the hibiscus cocktail and the basil seed. Definitely out of the box and cool stop for a more laid back/upscale drink. read more

The Thai chili was amazing. We also tried the Pandan and the Cacao, and they were both great as well. The atmosphere was pretty low-key and the bartender was helpful without being annoying or condescending. Looking forward to going again. Wish I had one of their drinks in my hand right now... read more

I booked a cocktail making class with Joann at Mace Bar for my cousin's 21st birthday party. We wanted it to be a fun end to an amazing first trip to NYC for my cousin and boy was it! Joann was absolutely fantastic, she made us all feel so welcome and relaxed, taught us so much about the history of cocktails and helped us to make some of the best cocktails we have ever tasted. I would 100% recommend the cocktail making class, as well as MACE bar to anyone. Thank you so much Joann and MACE team. Katie, Lizzie, Helen and Jackie xxx read more

The cocktails at this place are genuinely different from what you get elsewhere. Spice forward home-made unique. They have the most beautifully produced/designed cocktail menu I've ever seen, with pictures of the key spice above each drink. And the staff are lovely too. read more

Omg this is the cutest little cocktail bar. At 10:30pm-midnight on a Saturday, there's just the right amount of people and noise. The prices though... oh shit, get ready for that next paycheck honey.. because it. is. esspensiveeeeee. The most expensive cocktail was $16.. and personally, that's literally way too much for me, even if I'm getting the best cocktail in the entire world. But the menu is pretty extensive and eclectic with the spices and herbs they use from around the world. Pretty impressed with their recipes and down to come back again. Good date spot as the first bar you stop at.. but please, go to another place after because yeeshhhhh...$$$$ read more

Probably the coolest cocktail bar I have been to in the city. The staff is extremely knowledgeable and passionate about what they do. I would recommend this spot for anyone looking for good atmosphere and great drinks. Also the crab and avocado flatbread was delicious! read more

After a second failed attempt at visiting a bar around the block, I ended up making my way to Mace. Unlike some of the other places in the area, Mace is a quiet, intimate spot where you can actually hear your friends speak. The cocktail selection is unique, each drink is based around one spice like cinnamon, mace, etc. Try the Thai chili if you're into spicy. There isn't much of a food menu, but there are a few flatbreads (try the fig and manchego) to help you soak up the cocktails. read more