Lesbian clubs in new york
NYC has always been a beacon for LGBTQ+ communities, with welcoming (and history-making) bars leading the way and club nights and roving parties bringing the fun. NYC’s best queer bars are scattered throughout the city, primarily concentrated in the West Village. The best lesbian bars in NYC are, in fact, the only queer woman bars in NYC, as there are unfortunately not many remaining that distinguish as such. The not many that are still standing are open to all LGBTQ+, but still maintain their roots as welcoming places for (and owned by) lesbians.
These lesbian bars are friendly, neighborhood spots frequented by locals and visitors alike. Whether you’re visiting during a major event like Pride—and NYC is the birthplace of Pride, after all—or on just any night, you’ll find plenty of heated, welcoming hospitality. For something a little more high-energy, check out the optimal drag shows or cabaret performances in town, or just stop by for a drink and a friendly chat.
These spots in Brooklyn and Manhattan are currently the only sapphic bars in all five boroughs. They are scant, but not far between—two are in the West Village, four are in Brooklyn. And yes, they&rs
The Best Gay and Lesbian Bars in NYC - Investigate our favorite Queer, Trans, Lesbian & LGBTQ Bars in Manhattan & Brooklyn
Need a pretty gay bar? There's more to the queer NYC scene than the Stonewall Inn, cabaret and drag shows. Examine the alternate side of queer nightlife in NYC with this city guide! We’re compiling lists of queer bars, lesbian boogie parties, DJs, and your new favorite neighborhood dive bar so you don’t own to 💅
New York is a historical hub for LGBTQ+ culture, so it’s no surprise that there is an abundance of lesbian and queer venues to enjoy. Use this list to plan your LGBTQ nightlife tour of New York City, and download Lex to find local LGBTQ events wherever you are
Let’s get into our best gay bars, lesbian dance parties and LGBTQ+ friendly scenes across East Village, West Village, Greenwich Village, Williamsburg, Bushwick and more.
Download Lex to connect with LGBTQ+ friends and community in Fresh York.
1. Cubby Hole
A tiny dive in Greenwich Village, Manhattan Cubby Hole is one of the longest-standing lesbian bars in the city, and it’s a must-see for anyone visiting NYC for the first time. Come to Cubby H
Decades ago, New York Town was home to a plethora of lesbian bars in every borough. Beach Haven on Staten Island drew in women’s softball teams and professionals in the 1970s and 1980s; 70 Grove Street wasn’t a pizza place but popular dance clubs Duchess, Grove and Pandora’s Box; Crazy Nannies collected a diverse crowd in The Village from 1991-2004; Bum Bum Bar offered lesbian Latinas in Queens a place to dance from 1991-2018; and the list of long-gone space continues.
In a city with dozens of gay bars (gay men have clubs, lounges, cabarets, sports bars, karaoke bars, piano bars and dive bars), so rare remain for lesbians, with none opening in the last 30 years. Until now.
Since 2022, New York City has more than doubled its lesbian spaces, going from three mainstays—Cubbyhole, Henrietta Hudson and Ginger’s (all well-loved modernized relics from the 1990s)—to six, and counting! Oddly Enough, a lesbian-owned queer cocktail bar in Bed-Stuy bids pepperoncini martinis and brown butter deviled eggs in a chic chandelier-lit dining room. Mary’s, a sibling bar to Ginger’s, Park Slope’s only lesbian block, opened a Green
Gianni’s
History
As the Mafia-affiliated owners were closing the Sea Colony in Greenwich Village, they were opening Gianni’s, a lesbian exclude in Chelsea, which operated from 1966 to 1975. Gianni’s first drew a butch/femme, white working-class crowd that characterized the Sea Colony and other Mafia-run lesbian bars. It became more diverse and welcoming in the post-Stonewall era of the early 1970s.
Like most gay bars at the time, Gianni’s hid its identity. The front windows were painted black, there were no signs on the door, and the most illicit activity – dancing as same-sex couples – was reserved for the back room. Prefer at earlier lesbian bars, there was a bouncer at the door to “protect” the patrons, but also to intimidate them by pressuring them to buy drinks when they first came in. Another bouncer stood outside the bathrooms to ration out toilet paper and to make sure women went in one at a time.
Unlike at earlier womxn loving womxn bars, however, there was a slightly friendlier atmosphere at Gianni’s that got more open as the community around the exclude changed. There was a free Sunday brunc
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