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Don't be put off by its sign; this tiny little bar across from Carnegie Hall has a wonderfully inviting, only-in-New-York ambience. Since the '20s, this bar has attracted all kinds: businessmen, concert patrons, students from the nearby Art Students League and a late-night crowd of after-hours restaurant and bar employees. Posters of Ireland and New York memorabilia cover the walls, including a large, colorful illustration of some of the pub's best patrons and employees. Some of the bartenders look like they've been here a little too long and the waitresses are not the model types you'll find at Whiskey Park an avenue away, but Carney's is what a dive bar should be: comfortable and familiar. — Tobey Grumet

If you can't make it to the West Side, there is another P.J. Carney's on East 56th Street between Park and Lexington Avenues.