8 Best Margaritas in NYC

Happy National Margarita Day!

In honor of this festive holiday, I, a margarita afficindo if I do say so myself, have decided to compile a list of the best margaritas in New York City. After living here for over 10 years, it’s safe to say I’ve done plenty of field research, so you can count on all of these margs being some of the best you’ve ever had.

1. Luckydog

By far, my favorite margarita in all of NYC is at Luckydog, a dog-friendly bar in the popular neighborhood of Williamsburg. What makes this margarita so damn good? Well, for starters, the staff freshly squeezes lemons and limes to make their own citrus mix, so you’re not drinking any of the pre-made crap that comes out of a soda gun or in a giant jug. It’s then mixed with two ounces of tequila and an ounce of Cointreau, a higher quality triple sec, shaken, and poured into a pint glass. Better known as the “one pound” margarita, the drink is only priced at $12, and is boozy enough that one should certainly do the trick.

• Address: 303 Bedford Ave, Brooklyn, NY 11211

2. Kokomo

Kokomo is also in the popular neighborhood of Williamsburg, Brooklyn. A Caribbean-influenced restaurant, Kokomo offers a classic marg, but also many varietals of tropical flavors, giving the beloved drink a unique twist. Go for the Likkle Fiyah with mezcal, apricot, lime, agave, and triple sec, or Good Vibes, which takes my favorite cocktail ingredient of passion fruit, and whips it into a marg-like concoction. Good Vibes has a nice froth to it thanks to the addition of egg whites, giving it pisco sour vibes but with a tequila base, still being a play on a margarita.

• Address: 65 Kent Ave, Brooklyn, NY 11249

3. Casa Enrique

Casa Enrique is a Michelin-star Mexican restaurant located in Long Island City, Queens. Once visited by the late and great Anthony Bourdain, Casa Enrique is not your average Mexican street food, but instead a place to dine on elevated traditional dishes. Despite being best known for their mole, this incredibly delicious establishment has no wrong answers when it comes to ordering UNLESS you decide to go here and not order a margarita. I have the unfortunate conundrum of living just two blocks away from Casa Enrique, and I dream of these damn margaritas. They are so good that it’s dangerous to think of how many I could throw back without a problem. Nonetheless, if you’ve never had one, let this be your endorsement to do so.

• Address: 5-48 49th Ave, Long Island City, NY 11101

4. Ladybird

Not quite a classic margarita, Ladybird offers low-ABV cocktails for those who want to imbibe without getting completely hammered. I was seriously impressed with their take on a spicy margarita in their cocktail Spiced Budgie, featuring maple, jalapeño shrub, pear, lime, and for the boozy element, sherry. It certainly still feels (and looks) like you’re sipping a spicy marg, but the aftermath won’t leave you slurring your words by any means. Even better than Ladybird’s cocktails is their entirely vegan menu; I still daydream about the mushroom toast. To top it all off, the aesthetics inside of Ladybird make it for one instagrammable marg-sipping spot.

• Address: 111 E 7th St, New York, NY 10009

5. PLANTA Queen

If you’ve ever seen photos of the most perfect looking sushi and noodles on your Instagram feed, only to read that they were vegan, I’m going to guess you’ve heard of PLANTA Queen. After being a large phenomenon in Florida, PLANTA Queen is finally in New York City, with locations in Chelsea and Williamsburg. While their food is absolutely impeccable, their cocktail game gives some of New York’s best spots a run for their money. Included in that realm of cocktails is the classic margarita, PLANTA Queen not only makes a great marg, but they present it ever so beautifully, just like they do with all of their cocktails. Enjoy this trendy restaurant by ordering one of the trendiest drinks on the map.

• Address: 15 W 27th St, New York, NY 10001

6. Jajaja Mexicana

Furthering the movement of the vegan train, Jajaja Mexicana is not messing around when it comes to plant-based cuisine, or their insanely delicious margaritas. One of the coolest factors about ordering a marg from Jajaja Mexicana is the option for a “swirl,” where you can order your classic marg frozen with a sangria swirl or a mango habanero swirl. Who needs soft-serve ice cream when you can have soft-serve margs? Margaritas aside, the cuisine at Jajaja Mexicana is not to be messed with, because, well, it’s perfect. One of my favorites is the Sikil Pak, a classic Mayan dish of muddled pumpkin seeds, habanero, and tomatoes, served alongside plantain chips. Jajaja is one of the few restaurants in New York City to serve up such classic dishes with a vegan twist, and with four locations to choose from, you simply don’t have an excuse to not go.

• Address: Several locations, but my favorite is 119 Kent Ave, Brooklyn, NY 11249

7. Dos Caminos – Times Square

For those who like a spicy meatball, err… margarita, head to Dos Caminos in Times Square. I embarked on a long-term backpacking trip in early 2019, and before I left, my sister and brother-in-law came to spend some time with me in New York City. After we saw a Broadway show and were in the hell that is Times Square, we needed a drink pronto. Insert Dos Caminos, and twist my arm to grab a margarita. I ordered a spicy margarita, and let me tell ya, for those who can handle the heat: this is your spot. I HATE when I order a spicy margarita and it’s only a little spicy. No. I want to feel the burn and be in pain; Dos Caminos certainly did that without sacrificing the quality or flavor. Dos Caminos is located in the W New York – Times Square.

• Address: 1567 Broadway, New York, NY 10036

8. Royalton Rooftop

Royalton Rooftop located inside Royalton Park Avenue is one of my favorite bars in New York, whether for a cozy vibe or a solo date night, but definitely for a margarita. They have two versions of the margarita on their menu: the “day” margarita, featuring Casamigos silver tequila, ginger, lime, and cointreau, so, overall, pretty classic with the kick of the ginger; or the “night” margarita: featuring mezcal (yum), cointreau, lime, agave, and for the kicker, jalapeño with a fennel-salt rim. This is the first place I’ve ever had a fennel-salt rim, and let me tell you, Royalton Rooftop is onto something; not that that surprises me, because Royalton Rooftop always knocks the ball out of the park when it comes to creating delectable concoctions. If you’re feeling the heat from to many margs, take a dip in their open-year-round rooftop pool.

• Address: 420 Park Ave S, New York, NY 10016

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