Food · The Bronx
NYC Bar Report: Median Cocktail Hits $16, With NoMad Priciest and Bayside Cheapest
Happy hour guide 5PM NYC has released its first Barometer Report, covering menus across 108 neighborhoods. The citywide median cocktail is $16, ranging from $19.50 in NoMad to $12 in Bayside, with far wider gaps between neighborhoods than between boroughs.
By NBT Editors · 2026-10-21
5PM NYC, a happy hour guide, published its first 5PM Barometer Report on October 19. The site was launched this February by Sam Zukin, a 26-year-old who works in finance and wanted a central place to find drink specials. He says it draws about 50,000 visitors a month, and many bars use its free listing tool to post their own hours and deals.
The report crunches roughly 109,000 listed prices from 2,254 bar and restaurant menus across 108 neighborhoods and all five boroughs. The citywide median cocktail costs $16. NoMad is the most expensive neighborhood at $19.50, while Bayside, Queens, near the Long Island border, is the cheapest at $12. Carroll Gardens and Throggs Neck follow at $12.50.
Boroughs sit much closer together than neighborhoods do. Median cocktail prices are $17 in Manhattan, $15 in Brooklyn, $14.45 in the Bronx and $14 in both Queens and Staten Island, a spread of no more than $3. The Bronx and Staten Island had noticeably less price data than the other boroughs.
Zukin was struck by how little Google ratings track with price. Median cocktail prices were the same at venues rated above 4.5 stars and those below four. He reads that as a sign that bar owners are somewhat disconnected from the data, and hopes the report helps independent shops see where they stand in their own neighborhoods.
The Spirits Business adds menu detail: the Margarita appears on 48% of cocktail menus, the Martini on 41% at $17, and the Spritz on 39% at $16. Cocktails with words like "Gold," "Smoked" or "Matcha" run about $2 higher.
(Details are drawn from points that agree across reports by Gothamist, The Spirits Business.)
Opened
Price
