It’s just three simple ingredients: Campari, gin, and vermouth. Perhaps there’s also a whimsical peel of orange thrown in. But much like Brat, or being rich and famous, Negronis are a lifestyle. It’s impossible to not look sophisticated ordering one. Take one sip and you’re guaranteed to exude class and elegance. It’s as if you’re a character in a Fellini film, perhaps even La Dolce Vita. Heck, it’s like being in The Lizzie McGuire Movie. One swig and suddenly one turns either into a dapper Marcello Mastroianni or Hillary Duff, on the cusp of making out with an Italian pop star. Nothing can bother you today: the only things on your mind are love and how to find more of it. Or in the case of Lizzie McGuire, to blow the lid off the fact that that aforementioned Italian pop star was lip-syncing all along.
In honor of the cocktail, the third week of September is Negroni Week. It was christened that way by the Pope, or at the very least by bartenders looking to educate the public on the drink. And in honor of it, I embarked on a mission to find the finest places to have a Negroni in all of New York City. My task, if I chose to accept it, was to have my favorite cocktail at some of the best bars and restaurants in the Big Apple. Please don’t pity me: I’m sacrificing myself for my craft. Teachers are the real heroes.
One of the stops at the top of my list was Dante. Do you know how every mom and aunt across the globe now chugs Aperol spritzes like water? Dante was an early New York champion of the cocktail, as well as Negronis, too. Just look inside: there’s a shrine to its main ingredient, Campari, adorning its walls. In 2019, Dante was anointed World’s Best Bar. Not bad for the century-plus-old establishment: it first opened in 1915 as an Italian cafe and, as I read, a mobster by the name of Jimmy Lollipops used to frequent the space. That was all good enough for me. As I walked in on a bustling Saturday, I did the sign of the cross at the Campari wall shrine and sat down. I then tasted a Negroni flight. Yes, that’s right: four different types of the cocktail; including one made with mezcal, another with chocolate, a white Negroni, and a classic variation. They make theirs with Bombay Sapphire. (The kind of gin a Negroni is made with is a key ingredient, after all.) They went down smooth, none standing out above the other because all were delicious.
Next to me, my entertainment was a couple in their 50s. Upon sitting down, the woman had a question for the waitress: “Can I have a hot towel with lemon to clean my hands?” Ma’am, the Spa at the Four Seasons is located Downtown.
Elsewhere in the West Village, one of the most authentic Italian restaurants in New York City, or perhaps the country, is L’Antica Pizzeria Da Michele. No, this isn’t a place with red plaid tablecloths that serves calzones. Da Michele can trace its roots back in Italy to Naples, the birthplace of pizza, when its original location opened in 1870. The “eat” in Eat, Pray, Love centered on Da Michele: it’s where Julia Roberts chows down. (Though the pizza’s so good, she probably could have prayed there, too.) While the Naples space is no frills, Da Michele’s New York location is more of a refined and stylish affair. Italian accents can be heard everywhere and the food amounts to dishes commonly found outside Italy (ricotta-stuffed zucchini flowers). With that authenticity in mind, sipping a Negroni here feels like you’re somewhere deep in an urban Italian city (without the stifling bureaucracy, of course).
But we’re in New York: the only city on earth where rents double your monthly income and all one can say in reply to your landlord is: “Thank you!” And the most quintessential old-school New York place to sip a delightful Negroni and chow down on old-school, red sauce Italian food is Patsy’s. Sure, Taylor Swift may be galavanting to Lucali and Via Carota as of late, but Frank Sinatra, the Swift of his day, would frequent Patsy’s. Located in the heart of the theater district, the wood bar may be small, but the move here is to pull up a seat at the table and order a no-frills Negroni. Choose the gin of your dreams and enjoy it along with a plate of pasta swimming in red sauce. Actually, treat yourself to a cannoli too—you earned this. Is there a heaven? Yes. The downside is, it’s in Midtown.
Since the above Negroni havens have been around for decades, I wanted to cast the net a little wider and visit some new Negroni spots as well. Bar Primi: Penn District opened back in May. The Penn District means it’s by Penn Station. Wait, stay with me here! You’d never think the train depot is across the street once you’re inside, with a large, eye-popping space that includes plenty of tables on its patio. This offshoot of the original Bowery location is anything but old school. Case in point: their burrata pockets, which would leave most Italian chefs shouting “Madonna mia!” and clasping their hands. But printed atop the drinks menu here, like a crown on a king, is their ‘Solid Negroni.’ No, they’re not being humble: the mad scientists here have actually created what amounts to a Negroni jello shot. If you’re looking for evidence of modern American innovation, head to Bar Primi. The future is bright. And jiggly.
Another fresh spot that opened in recent months is already staking a claim in the Negroni scene. Brooklyn’s Bar Madonna marries quality cocktails alongside a menu that includes comfort food favorites like meatball parm and Calabrian chicken wings. Just make sure you wipe the sauce from your mouth when you’re eating them—this place is hip. One of the most interesting aspects of Bar Madonna are the custom plates, each emblazoned with drawings using old pictures of the owner’s family (and yes, they flaunt massive eyeglasses and cigarettes). But I’m not here to gawk at the plates: it’s time to focus on the task at hand. I order a classic Negroni and request Botanist gin. It’s so smooth it tastes like punch. A recent addition to the menu includes a cocktail dubbed Campari and Chamomile, a unique Negroni variation that boasts chamomile and honey soda. It is a revelation, and I will be having this for breakfast tomorrow.
Over in Chelsea, Cucina Alba has only been open since 2022 and is a sleek, low-lit oasis that I’m told is popular with the fashion crowd. Aside from the massive pizzas they serve for lunch on Versace platters, Alba is big on their own Negroni variations. They have three including an Alpino (Beefeater gin and Savory Pine) and Rosa in Bianco (mezcal and stone fruit). I’m beginning to think that Negroni possibilities, much like a gaffe from J.D. Vance, seem limitless. (And the sweet waitress sounded so much like Dakota Johnson, I’m still not sure if it was actually Dakota researching a new role.)
By now, I’ve had so many Negronis that my friends and family are gearing up to host an intervention. Suffice to say, adventure was coming to a close—and my final stop came courtesy Missy Robbins, known for her popular Italian restaurants in Williamsburg, Brooklyn, including Lilia. Around this time last year, she opened MisiPasta in the neighborhood, a bustling cafe with a sunny garden out back: a perfect spot for Negroni sipping. On my previous visit, Missy herself made me a Campari soda and prepared it exactly like Milan’s Camparino in Galleria does (that’s the very first place to sell Campari) by freshly carbonating it right at the bar. I figured her Negroni had to be tops as well. And as I sipped one in the sun in a smokey glass with a delicate wisp of an orange peel, with the sun shining on my face, I figured correctly.
