Bookstore bars worth visiting, from New York to London
From #BookTok to celebrity book clubs to high-profile literary film adaptations, it’s safe to say that reading hasn’t been this cool in years. So it’s not a big surprise that our favorite nerdy pastime has also begun to seep into the world of nightlife.
For years, bookshops have housed cozy cafes where you could while away the hours with your new purchase over a latte or a mug of Earl Grey. But lately, many bookstores are getting their liquor licenses and doubling as bars, each with its own unique perspective. You can pair a Burgundy with Baudelaire in Paris, sip some Irish whiskey as you tackle “Ulysses” in Melbourne, or read about American history over a local cider at one of the most architecturally significant intersections in the U.S.
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Here are seven bookstore bars we’re adding to our reading list this year.
Rough Draft Bar & Books: Kingston, New York
Unsurprisingly, New York City is a major hub for literati lounges, with standouts including the East Village’s Book Club Bar and the Black woman-owned Liz’s Book Bar in Brooklyn. For one of the most charming examples, however, head 100 miles up the Hudson River to the state’s first capital, Kingston. Rough Draft Bar & Books sits on the “Four Corners” — the only intersection in America where all four buildings were constructed before the Revolutionary War.
Rough Draft’s stone building dates to 1774, and it has housed the Kingston Academy, a cabinetmaker, a newspaper and a radio station. Now, it falls somewhere between a neighborhood bookshop and a rustic tavern, where you could imagine the Founding Fathers drinking a pint while trading edits on their pamphlets. The rotating list of beers, wines and ciders skews local and creative, meaning you might find drinks like beet-infused rosé cider from Wayside Cider in the Catskills.
Leopold’s Books Bar Caffe: Madison, Wisconsin
Open until midnight seven days a week, Leopold’s describes itself as a “night owl-friendly neighborhood bookstore.” The hours are perfect for a shop just a few blocks from the University of Wisconsin campus. Travelers will particularly love the selection here: Shelves are arranged not by genre but by country of origin. For example, Japanese cookbooks share space not with other cookbooks but with novels and poetry collections from Japan for a fuller picture of the culture.
That worldliness extends to the wines sold, with bottles from unexpected spots like Lebanon, Macedonia, Georgia and India. (Join house sommelier MJ Hecox for Friday “office hours” to learn more and try samples.) The bar — lined with an exuberant tropical-plant-and-macaw wallpaper — serves a wide assortment of cocktails, ranging from Black Walnut Manhattans to gelato-based Grasshoppers to an assortment of clever $5 shots.
Swans Bar at Maison Assouline: London
Assouline’s often triple-digit statement coffee table books are a culture lover status symbol, so it’s no surprise that the publisher’s London flagship store is something of a scene. Sitting on Piccadilly near the Royal Academy of Arts and Fortnum & Mason, Maison Assouline occupies a Grade II-listed former banking hall from 1922 and houses the utterly elegant Swans Bar.
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You can order posh classics like the Dirty Gibson (with a honey-balsamic-onion garnish) and the 72 British pound ($96) Eau de Martini, which comes with a caviar bump. There’s also a selection of travel-themed cocktails inspired by destinations like Italy’s Lake Como and Australia’s Byron Bay, which come topped with garnishes like edible surfboards and cityscapes.
Buck Mulligan’s: Northcote, Australia
Named for a character from James Joyce’s “Ulysses,” this Melbourne bookstore bar in the inner suburb of Northcote has one main focus: Ireland. Shelves are lined with classics, contemporary novels, plays and poetry collections originating from the Emerald Isle. The Celtic theming continues behind the bar, which aims to have the city’s largest collection of Irish whiskeys — plus bottles from Scotland, Japan, the U.S. and even Tasmania.
If you’re not looking to sip whiskey neat, there’s a compact collection of cocktails, including Irish coffee and a hot toddy, which you can order with traditional or peated whiskey. Look out for special events, like a fiddle-fueled St. Patrick’s Day party and a complimentary glass of Redbreast Potstill (with book purchase) on Bloomsday — a day dedicated to Joyce.
La Belle Hortense: Paris
The medieval streets of Le Marais are perfectly suited for flaneurs. If you need a place to recuperate after all that gloriously aimless wandering, you can’t do much better than this blue-fronted “cave/librairie/bar litteraire.” The divided shelves showcase books on top (rare editions, novels, cookbooks, biographies) and bottles of wine on the bottom.
The move is to wait for one of the red stools and belly up to the zinc-topped bar. There, order a glass of whatever the staff recommends alongside a charcuterie plate. The place is cramped, cozy and more than a bit bohemian, and you can often catch book launch parties, photography exhibits, lectures and even jazz sets.
Cafebreria El Pendulo: Mexico City
Popular among tourists and locals alike, this Mexico City mini-chain has branches around the city, a few of which have their own cafes. After dark, you’ll want to head to the location in the Zona Rosa (the city’s gayborhood) for a drink at the on-site Bukowski’s Bar. It pays homage to bohemian writers and their relationships — the good, the bad and the ugly — with alcohol. (The eponymous poet Charles Bukowski infamously romanticized his alcoholism.)
The venue also doubles as an inviting jazz and blues club. Different nights of the week mean music by the house jazz trio, Broadway standards by a pianist or even an open-mic night.
Bad Animal Books: Santa Cruz, California
The “bad animal” in question? Humans, of course. It refers to Dionysus, the Greek god of wine and partying, and his influence over people in Euripides’ “The Bacchae.” The heady references abound at this Santa Cruz used bookshop and natural wine bar. It focuses on the humanities and especially “the wild side of the human animal — the excessive, psychedelic, revolutionary, fierce, transgressive, uncanny and uncivilized,” as the website describes it.
Its wine list is mostly natural, organic and small-batch, with bottles from Hungary, Greece and Georgia. The shop is also home to a pop-up called Hanloh Thai Food, helmed by culinary artist-in-residence chef Lalita Kaewsawang. Regulars can join a wine club, which offers two bottles per month, notes on how to pair with food and literature, discounts on books and free monthly tastings.
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