Literary Bars of New York City

Writers, like all of us, love to go chill with their friends at a bar. New York is full of bars with famous literary customers.

Algonquin Hotel
59 W 44th St
The location of meetings of the Algonquin Round Table, whose membership included Dorothy Parker, George S. Kaufman, Robert Sherwood and Alexander Woollcott. By this virtue, the hotel is a New York City Historic Landmark. High class style, but welcoming nonetheless.

Cedar Tavern
82 University Pl
A popular hangout for the beat writers, such as Jack Kerouac and Allen Ginsberg. Ginsberg called it an extension of his apartment. Kerouac was allegedly ejected for urinating in an ashtray. It is currently closed for renovation, but the owners vow to reopen one day.

Chumley's
86 Bedford St
With a working fireplace in winter, kick back in this bar patronized by Hemingway, Fitzgerald and Steinbeck. The former speakeasy has cluttered walls and brags about its history, but you can still get comfortable in one of the corners with friends.

Kettle of Fish
59 Christopher St
The location itself is famous, being the former site the legendary literary bar The Lion's Head. But Kettle of Fish is famous in its own right, being the bar of choice of Bob Dylan and other poets. The clientele is still pretty bookish, even with the casual sports-loving drinkers that come by. Music from the nearby cabaret can be heard in the otherwise quiet atmosphere.

KGB Bar
85 E 4th St
The youngest of the bars on this list, KGB Bar opened in 1993 but is now a New York literary mainstay. The bar hosts fiction readings on Sunday nights, poetry on Monday and non-fiction most Tuesdays. The name is taken from the location's former status as the Ukrainian Social Party HQ, and the décor is communist-themed, with red flags hanging from the walls.

McSorley's
15 E 7th St
One of New York's oldest operating bars, McSorley's has hosted, among others, Joseph Mitchell and e.e. cummings, both of whom wrote works about the bar. Unfortunately, McSorley's relies too much on its history to draw people, and the beer quality is limited at best.

Minetta Tavern
113 Macdougal St
This great Italian bar, now a popular hangout for NYU students, is delightfully historic in its décor and style. Murals of Macdougal streets bohemian past are visible on the walls, and the dessert cart is to die for. No wonder Ezra Pound and Ernest Hemingway loved the place.

White Horse Tavern
567 Hudson St
Probably the most famous bar on the tour, but for the saddest reason. The self-destructive poet Dylan Thomas is known for drinking himself to death in this bar. Kerouac and Norman Mailer also frequented the spot, and it remains a West Village institution for a wide range of people, from bohemian artists to yupis