Lesbian bars in NYC that are open in 2026
NYC has six lesbian and sapphic bars open in 2026: Cubbyhole and Henrietta Hudson in the West Village, Ginger's in Park Slope, The Bush and Boyfriend Co-op in Bushwick, and Gladys Books & Wine in Bed-Stuy. Each was confirmed open from 2026 listings. For gay bars generally, see bars and lounges.
Cubbyhole
The decorated ceiling
Open since 1994 and the best-known lesbian bar in the city: a tiny corner dive with a ceiling buried in seasonal decorations and a jukebox. It is cash only, there is no cover, and the happy hour is properly cheap. Go early on a weeknight if you want a stool.
Henrietta Hudson
Weekend dance floor
Running since 1991, which makes it the longest-standing lesbian bar in the country, and now billing itself as 'a queer human bar built by lesbians'. Weeknights are for drinks, trivia and karaoke; weekends turn into a packed dance floor, and recent listings mention a cover of about $10 after 10 p.m.
Ginger's Bar
Backyard patio and pool table
The come-as-you-are neighborhood bar: a front room, a pool table, Spice Girls memorabilia and a backyard patio that makes summer afternoons disappear. Cash only. It closed during the pandemic in 2020 and came back, which tells you how much Park Slope wanted it.
The Bush
Mixers and a real dance floor
A self-described 'dyke bar for the queers', BIPOC and lesbian-owned, with a narrow bar up front and a purple-lit dance floor with disco balls behind. The calendar runs to karaoke, comedy, speed dating and mixers, so it is the easiest place on this list to actually meet someone.
Boyfriend Co-op
Cafe by day, bar by night
A worker-owned cooperative that is a coffee shop by day and a cocktail bar by night, open from 8 a.m. on weekdays and until 2 a.m. on Fridays and Saturdays. Events are free: poetry readings, open mics, workshops. Bring a laptop at noon and stay for a drink.
Gladys Books & Wine
Books and wine under one roof
Tiffany Dockery's Black lesbian-owned bookstore and wine bar across two floors. Browse from 10 a.m., order a glass, and come back for film screenings, discussion nights and community mixers. A good first-date room and a better third one.
Sapphic-leaning bars, wine bars and women's sports bars
Not billed as lesbian bars, but you will not be the only one.
| Bar | Where | Why go |
|---|---|---|
| Good Judy | 563 5th Ave, Park Slope | Two floors and a patio, dance parties and live piano karaoke, ten blocks down 5th Avenue from Ginger's |
| Someday Bar | 364 Atlantic Ave, Boerum Hill | Women-owned cocktail bar, open since 2019, with community events |
| Athena Keke's | 222 Greene Ave, Clinton Hill | Queer-owned women's sports bar; Liberty watch parties and Bolivian-inspired snacks |
| Wilka's Sports Bar | 241 Bowery, Manhattan | Women's sports on the screens, watch parties, open from noon on weekends |
| Blazers Sports Bar | Williamsburg | Queer-owned and one of the city's newest women's sports bars |
| Saint James Libations | 269 Stanhope St, Bushwick | Black queer women-owned wine bar; R&B nights, vinyl sessions, readings |
| Mary's Bar | North Brooklyn | A queer Irish pub known for art workshops and a big Halloween party |
| Purgatory | 675 Central Ave, Bushwick | Women and queer-owned, upstairs, with music, game nights and drag |
| Misfits Kava Bar | 82 Central Ave, Bushwick | Queer Latina-owned and alcohol-free; board games until late |
| Kween | 34-10 30th Ave, Astoria | A relaxed cocktail bar and the sapphic anchor in Queens |
Sober or sober-curious? Misfits Kava Bar pours no alcohol at all, Boyfriend Co-op is a cafe until evening, and Gladys is a bookstore first. More daytime ideas are on our eat and drink page.
Sapphic parties and pop-ups in NYC
A lot of the scene has no fixed address. These were all listed as running in September 2026; follow the accounts, because dates move.
Misster Wednesdays at The Woods
Wednesday night, every week
The weekly one, with DJ Amber Valentine, an indoor dance floor and a big backyard with food. Entry has been reported as free. Arrive around 10 p.m.: in summer the line can wrap the block. Take a car home after 11, when the trains thin out.
PAT at Union Pool
Monthly Thursday party
A monthly Thursday party with a lesbian-leaning crowd spread across a disco room, a patio and a taco truck. Listed as free. It starts in the afternoon, so it works as an after-work drink that gets out of hand.
Lesbo-a-Gogo at the Stonewall Inn
Fridays upstairs at Stonewall
Friday nights in the upstairs lounge of the Stonewall, with DJs and go-go dancers. It pairs neatly with Cubbyhole and Henrietta Hudson, both a short walk away.
Dave's Lesbian Bar
Live bands and mutual aid
A monthly pop-up that is part bar, part mutual aid project: live queer bands, open mics, bazaars with haircuts and tattoos, and fundraising for local causes and for a permanent space of its own.
Grotto
Dressed-up cocktail nights
A roughly monthly sapphic cocktail pop-up for queer women, trans and nonbinary people, with themed nights in hotel bars and members' clubs. Dressier than everything else here.
BABE
Roving wine bar
A pop-up wine bar founded in 2024 that mixes music, dancing and art with a bit of winemaking education. Follow @babewinebar for the next one.
Also on the 2026 calendar: Lavender Laughs, queer comedy shows and open mics at lesbian bars; We Met IRL queer speed dating; and the annual Garden Party in Williamsburg. For club nights that are queer across the board, see nightlife; for drag, see drag shows.
The NYC Dyke March
The Dyke March is a protest, not a parade. It has run every year since 1993, organized by a non-hierarchical volunteer committee and funded by community donations. Tens of thousands of people step off from Bryant Park and march down Fifth Avenue to Washington Square Park, with volunteer marshals holding the intersections and the Fogo Azul drumline, a fixture since 2016, setting the pace.
In 2026 it stepped off at 5 p.m. on Saturday, June 27, the day before the Pride March. Expect the same slot in 2027. Afterward the crowd spills into the park and on to after-parties. The rest of the weekend is on our Pride page.
- Annual
NYC Dyke March
Volunteer-run and community-funded since 1993. Donations pay for accessibility, safety marshals and operations.
Lesbian Herstory Archives
Lesbian Herstory Archives
The world's largest lesbian archive
The world's largest collection of materials by and about lesbians, kept in a limestone townhouse and run by volunteers. It was founded in 1975 in Joan Nestle's Upper West Side apartment; the collective bought this house in 1992 and reopened here in 1993. Visits are by appointment and hours vary, so check the calendar on the site before you go. It is free.
The Archives also host events: storytime for kids, panel discussions, craft sales and volunteer nights, which are an underrated way to meet people. Ginger's is a fifteen-minute walk down 5th Avenue. For more queer landmarks, see history and our walking tour.
Sports teams and social groups for queer women
Where the group chats come from. Full details are on our sports page.
Join a WTNB+ league
Big Apple Recreational Sports runs women, trans and nonbinary divisions in dodgeball, kickball, bowling and pickleball, with early registration for WTNB+ players. The New York Gay Football League has a Women's+ Division, and Big Apple Softball has a Women+ conference.
Run on the second Saturday
Front Runners New York holds a Women's Fun Run on the second Saturday of each month, 10 a.m. at the Daniel Webster statue in Central Park. Guests are welcome.
Climb on a Wednesday
CRUX runs Queer Femme Wednesdays on the first and third Wednesday of the month at Movement climbing gyms, for about $15.
Find your people by type
Butch Monthly holds several meet-ups a month, from boxing at OutBox Gym to board games. Queer Athena runs field days, karaoke and picnics.
Go to a Liberty game
New York Liberty home games at Barclays Center draw one of the biggest sapphic crowds in the city. Watch away games at Athena Keke's, Wilka's or Blazers.
Queer and lesbian-owned bookstores
| Shop | Where | Good to know |
|---|---|---|
| Bureau of General Services Queer Division | Room 210, The Center, 208 W 13th St, West Village | Volunteer-run queer bookstore; readings, a lesbian book club and zine fairs |
| Gladys Books & Wine | 306 Malcolm X Blvd, Bed-Stuy | Black lesbian-owned bookstore with a wine bar |
| The Nonbinarian Bookstore | 1130 President St, Crown Heights | Trans-owned and entirely queer; lesbian movie nights and a monthly book club |
| Hive Mind Books | 219 Irving Ave, Bushwick | Queer woman-owned books and coffee; open mics and a queer book club |
| Astoria Bookshop | 36-19 30th St, Astoria | Queer woman-owned general bookstore with a strong LGBTQ+ section |
For what to read once you get there, see the OUT NYC bookshelf.
The sapphic neighborhoods
| Neighborhood | The feel | Anchors |
|---|---|---|
| West Village | Historic, walkable, best for a first night | Cubbyhole, Henrietta Hudson, Stonewall, The Center |
| Park Slope | Brownstones, strollers and long-term couples | Ginger's, Good Judy, Lesbian Herstory Archives |
| Bushwick | Younger, artier, later | The Bush, Boyfriend Co-op, Saint James Libations, Hive Mind Books |
| Bed-Stuy and Clinton Hill | Black queer energy and good wine | Gladys Books & Wine, Athena Keke's |
| Williamsburg | Party nights | Misster at The Woods, PAT at Union Pool, Blazers |
| Astoria | Cheaper, calmer, friendly | Kween, Dave's Lesbian Bar pop-ups, Astoria Bookshop |
A short history of lesbian New York
- 1925
Eve's Hangout opens
Polish-Jewish immigrant Eva Kotchever, known as Eve Adams, opens a tearoom at 129 MacDougal Street in Greenwich Village, often called the first lesbian bar in the United States. Police raid it within about a year and she is deported; she is murdered at Auschwitz in 1943.
- 1975
Lesbian Herstory Archives founded
Sahli Cavallaro, Deborah Edel, Joan Nestle, Pamela Oline and Julia Stanley start the Archives in Nestle's Upper West Side apartment.
- 1980s
About 200 lesbian bars nationwide
The high-water mark, according to the Lesbian Bar Project.
- 1991
Henrietta Hudson opens
On Hudson Street in the West Village, where it still is.
- 1993
First NYC Dyke March; the Archives reopen in Park Slope
The march has run every June since, funded by the community.
- 1994
Cubbyhole opens
On West 12th Street, and barely changed since.
- 2020
The low point
The Lesbian Bar Project counts just 15 lesbian bars left in the country. Ginger's closes during the pandemic, which prompts filmmakers Erica Rose and Elina Street to start the project. Ginger's later reopens.
- 2026
The comeback
The national count is back up to 36, and New York has added The Bush, Boyfriend Co-op, Gladys Books & Wine and a wave of women's sports bars.
A sapphic weekend in NYC: the itinerary
Friday: the West Village
- Afternoon
The Center and its bookstore
Start at The Center on West 13th Street for the Keith Haring mural and the Bureau of General Services Queer Division bookshop in Room 210 (open Wednesday to Sunday afternoons).
- Early evening
Cubbyhole
Walk a few minutes to West 12th Street. Bring cash, get there before the after-work crowd, look up.
- Night
Henrietta Hudson, then Stonewall
Ten minutes south on Hudson Street for dancing, or Lesbo-a-Gogo upstairs at the Stonewall Inn on Christopher Street.
Saturday: Park Slope by day, Bushwick by night
- Morning
Front Runners or a slow start
Runners: the 10 a.m. fun run in Central Park welcomes guests. Everyone else: coffee, then the F or G train to Park Slope.
- Afternoon
Lesbian Herstory Archives and Ginger's
Book an Archives visit ahead (484 14th Street), then walk to Ginger's for a beer on the patio. Good Judy is ten blocks back up 5th Avenue, nearer the Archives, if you want a second stop.
- Evening
Dinner and wine in Bed-Stuy or Bushwick
A glass at Gladys Books & Wine or Saint James Libations. Dinner ideas are on our eat and drink page.
- Late
The Bush
End on the dance floor at 333 Troutman Street. Boyfriend Co-op, a short walk away on Myrtle Avenue, is open until 2 a.m. if you want somewhere quieter.
Sunday: easy does it
- Late morning
Coffee and books
Boyfriend Co-op opens at 10 a.m. on Sundays; Hive Mind Books, also in Bushwick on Irving Avenue, opens at 11.
- Afternoon
A game
If the Liberty are at home, go to Barclays Center. If not, Athena Keke's in Clinton Hill will have women's sport on.
- Evening
Astoria nightcap
Take the N or W to 30th Avenue for a last cocktail at Kween, and check whether Dave's Lesbian Bar has a pop-up on.
Frequently asked questions
How many lesbian bars are there in NYC?
About six, depending on how strictly you count. Four long-standing or dedicated lesbian bars are open in 2026: Cubbyhole, Henrietta Hudson, Ginger's and The Bush. Add Boyfriend Co-op and Gladys Books & Wine and local guides count six, plus eight or more sapphic-leaning bars and several pop-ups.
What is the oldest lesbian bar in NYC?
Henrietta Hudson, at 438 Hudson Street in the West Village, opened in 1991 and is the longest-standing lesbian bar in the country. Cubbyhole followed in 1994.
Are there lesbian bars in Brooklyn?
Yes, Brooklyn has four: Ginger's Bar in Park Slope, The Bush and Boyfriend Co-op in Bushwick, and Gladys Books & Wine in Bed-Stuy, with sapphic-leaning bars such as Good Judy, Someday Bar and Athena Keke's close by.
When is the NYC Dyke March?
It is held on the Saturday before the NYC Pride March in late June. In 2026 it began at 5 p.m. on Saturday, June 27 at Bryant Park and marched down Fifth Avenue to Washington Square Park. The 2027 date had not been announced when we checked.
Can you visit the Lesbian Herstory Archives?
Yes, you can visit the Lesbian Herstory Archives. The Archives at 484 14th Street in Park Slope are open to the public and free, but visits are by appointment and hours vary. Check the calendar on the Archives' website and book before you go.
Where do queer women go out in NYC on a weeknight?
Wednesday is the big one: Misster at The Woods in Williamsburg draws hundreds every week. Henrietta Hudson has karaoke and trivia midweek, and Cubbyhole is busy every night.
Are NYC lesbian bars trans and nonbinary inclusive?
Yes, NYC's lesbian bars welcome trans and nonbinary people. Henrietta Hudson describes itself as 'a queer human bar built by lesbians' and The Bush as 'a dyke bar for the queers'. Trans women, trans men and nonbinary people are part of the crowd at every bar on this page.
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