10 Queer-Led Restaurants and Bars to Celebrate Pride All Year Round

Llama Inn is the kind of cool, laid-back restaurant you’d expect to find in Williamsburg but its seasonal Peruvian menu and Latin-inspired cocktails completely exceed all expectations. Since opening in 2015, the airy eatery has been a local favorite for brunch and dinner, and with the help of bar manager Natasha Bermudez, it’s also a place where you actually won’t mind sitting at the bar for a sip and bite, even when the restaurant is at capacity. The dishes, which range from oysters and ceviche to beef tenderloin stir-fry and pork shoulder are perfect accompaniments to the cocktails, like Sangria-esque Llama Del Rey and A Touch of Evil, made with dark rum, mezcal, and passionfruit.

Hidden Pearl is, as the name suggests, truly a hidden gem. Located in the back of Wanpaku, a modern Japanese restaurant in Greenpoint, Brooklyn, this intimate cocktail bar explores tropical Japan through creative small plates, with craft cocktails and mocktails to match. Head bartender Lisa Fernandes competed on the fourth season of Top Chef, and has more than 20 years of experience both in the kitchen and behind the bar. The menu explores the refined flavors of Japanese whisky with concoctions like the Kariyushi Club Cocktail, which combines whisky with passion fruit, yuzu kosho, peaches, and citrus. Hidden Pearl also highlights spirits such as baijiu and shochu, a sweet and refreshing barley-forward distilled liquor, in cocktails like the Last Samurai, made with shochu, gin, yuzu, lemongrass, aloe, lime, Chartreuse, Maraschino, cucumbers, and egg whites for a frothy, creamy finish.

Bed-Stuy’s Oddly Enough, owned by Laura Poladsky and Caitlin Frame, opened its doors in 2022 as one of the few new Queer cocktail bars in town, and has since become an ideal spot if you’re looking for a fun night out with good eats, good drinks, and, most importantly, Queer vibes set to a funk or disco soundtrack. The compact menu features globally inspired small plates for vegans and omnivores alike, with a robust offering of inventive cocktails and zero-proof drinks. We’re particularly partial to the pepperoncini martini. Outdoor and indoor seating is available making this the perfect pit stop before or after the Pride parade, or as a pre-dinner amuse bouche any night of the week.

Walk-ins only.

Porto Salvo, opened in 2017, is a nautically inspired Italian restaurant by partners in life and business, chef Luigi Ghidetti and Mark Lu, where they channel old world coastal Italian cuisine with a modern twist: think crudo, carpaccio, and plenty of shareable small plates. Dining (or drinking) here feels more like a community gathering than a stuffy fine-dining experience. The menu features a variety of shareable small plates that perfectly pair with their classic cocktails like the God Father, Negroni, and Aperol spritz, as well as the signature Kiss on the Cheek, which combines rosemary-infused vodka with peaches, lemon juice, and Grand Marnier.

Note: Reservations are only accepted for parties of five or more by texting the full name and number of guests to (929) 376-7866.

Surbhi Sahni, chef and owner of Tagmo restaurant and mithai (sweets) shop in Manhattan’s historic Seaport neighborhood goes all in when it comes to creating an intimate and inviting space that serves authentic regional Indian dishes. Come early and enjoy the happy hour menu, which lives up to its name, with bites like a Desi charcuterie board and masala fries with an exciting cocktail menu to match it. We’re partial to the rose lychee spritz and, for an extra spice kick, the mango chili spritz.

Take a trip to New Mexico by way of Ursula, the acclaimed restaurant by chef and owner Eric See which recently relocated from Crown Heights to Bed-Stuy. The stunningly turquoise (and pink) dining room visually transports you, while the smells from the kitchen and the taste of all those New Mexican-sourced ingredients make you feel like you’re in Santa Fe. What makes the cocktails, beer, and wine menu at Ursula exceptional is the care that they’ve taken in curating their list to include mostly Queer-, woman-, femme-, Black-, POC-, and Indigenous-owned makers. Open all day, it’s the perfect stop for a drink paired, with plenty of gluten-free and vegan options, too.

Walk-ins only.

Think American comfort food classics in a modern diner setting and that’s Elmo for you. The lively restaurant has been serving the Queer community and all of Chelsea for more than 20 years with an expansive crowd-pleasing menu, but it also has a secret:it’s also home to one of the city’s best cocktail lounges, The Coby Club. Tucked just below Elmo, it can only be described as sexy with moody lighting, velvet furniture, and live jazz music. Don’t sleep on the Village Mule with bourbon, elderflower, and ginger beer or The Great Wall made with a smoky mezcal cocktail with rosemary and sweet pineapple.

Owner Brian Martinez has been in the food service industry since high school (he got his start working at McDonalds) and has since opened numerous restaurants, his latest being Fresco’s Grand Cantina, a modern Mexican-fusion restaurant famous for its drag brunches. The menu hits on all the classics, from overstuffed burritos to unique bites like the Cuban-inspired ropa vieja taco and a Thai-infused Phuket taco. Did we mention the massive cocktails? Expect to see a whopping 34-ounce serving, including refreshing frozen options perfect for cooling off on a hot summer day.

Call (347) 808-7338 to make a reservation.

Chef Roberto Santibañez has mastered the recipe for a great dining experience: old-school Oaxacan meets New York City Mexican fare, tequila-based cocktails, and a picturesque backyard — what more could you ask for? The tortillas are handmade daily, the guacamole is made to order, and the chef’s famous black mole contains more ingredients than words in this blurb, probably. Originally opened in 2009, Fonda in Park Slope is a neighborhood gem worth the trip. Make sure you try the frozen Rosalita or mango margarita (it’s on the happy hour menu) or the mezcalita, a citrusy, smoky cocktail. And if you’re in Manhattan, check out Fonda’s Chelsea and Tribeca locations.

Call (718) 369 3144 to make a reservation.

Are you sipping a chianti while enjoying a bowl of fresh pappardelle with wild boar ragu in a picturesque villa nestled in a small town outside of Florence, or are you having dinner in the West Village? It’s the latter, but in this case both feel true. Chefs and partners Jody Williams and Rita Sodi opened Via Carota in the fall of 2014, and the restaurant has since become a neighborhood staple and a celeb-favored destination thanks to the old-world-inspired Italian menu, rustic decor, and the community they’ve built in New York City. Yes, you come to Via Carota for the pitch-perfect food (don’t sleep on those salads, either) and homey ambiance, but while you’re there do order one of the Negronis, of which there are six — each balancing sweet and bitter notes perfectly. Seriously, they’re so good, the folks at Via Carota bottled it. Reservations are limited (and a little hard to get), but if you can’t get a table, the bar is the perfect place to unwind with an aperitif, or head across the street to Bar Pisellino.