If you're looking for bars in New Rochelle, this page is the shortcut: seventeen places we'd actually send a friend to, grouped by the kind of night you're having rather than dumped into one endless list. New Rochelle drinks well for a city its size - a downtown brewery, a couple of proper old taverns, a wine bar, a handful of sports rooms and a late lounge or two - and the walk between many of them is about four minutes. Last updated September 2026.
We've noted what each place is good for, not what its marketing says. Where a spot has a website, it's linked. Where we don't know something, we've left it out.
The densest cluster of bars in New Rochelle sits in the few blocks around Division Street, which means you can start with a beer and end up somewhere entirely different without moving your car.
18th Ward Brewing (40 Division St) is the anchor. A downtown craft brewery taproom with rotating house beers, it's the one to hit when you want to actually taste something new rather than order the same lager you always order. Good for a low-key catch-up, for beer people, and for anyone who likes a room where the thing being poured was made about thirty feet away. It's also the highest-rated bar on this list, and deservedly so.
A few doors down, Scratch Bar & Grill (26 Division St) is the American bar and grill you point at when someone says "I don't care, I just want to sit down and eat and have a drink." It handles the pre-movie dinner, the after-work pint that turns into food, and the group that can never agree on cuisine.
Jaleo Bar & Grill (12 Division St) rounds out the block and holds a 4.8 rating - worth a stop if you're already down here and want somewhere with a bit of energy to it.
Up Main Street, 179 Bar and Grill (179 Main St) is another 4.8-star room and a solid straightforward choice for a drink and a plate without fuss.
And if you're after glasses rather than pints, Aura Wine & Bar (501 Main St) is the wine bar this city needed - small plates and salads, and the right room for a first date, a quiet birthday, or the drink you have with one friend when you actually want to hear each other talk.
These are the bars people mean when they say they miss real bars.
Beechmont Tavern (750 North Ave) opened in 1928 and has the wings, burgers and draft beer to show for it. It's the North End institution - the place for a long Sunday, a post-game debrief, or introducing someone to New Rochelle in one sitting. If you only visit one tavern on this list, make it this one.
Lawton Street Tavern (47 Lawton St), the old McKiernan's, is a neighbourhood tavern with pub food and the kind of steady, unbothered atmosphere that's genuinely hard to fake. Good for a solo pint and a conversation with whoever's next to you.
C J Cullens Tavern (77 Pelham Rd) sits over on the Pelham Road side and is the local for that stretch - handy if you're closer to the water than to downtown.
Kotton Bar and Grill (103 Union Ave) is another off-the-main-drag option, the sort of place regulars keep to themselves.
American Legion Post 8 (112 North Avenue) deserves a mention too: a 4.7-rated bar with a completely different feel to a commercial pub, and a reminder that some of the friendliest rooms in town aren't the ones with the biggest signs.
When the deciding factor is how many screens are visible from your stool:
Spectators Sports Pub & Restaurant (227 North Ave) is the default. Sports pub, full menu, beer - it does exactly what the name promises, and it does it for whatever season you're in. Good for a big group, because nobody has to compromise on food.
LIT Sports Lounge & Grill (234C North Ave) is the slightly more lounge-y take on the same idea, with a grill menu, a few doors along the same stretch of North Avenue. Worth knowing about when Spectators is packed for a big game.
Shooters Bar (155 North Ave) is the no-frills North Avenue option - straightforward, unpretentious, and open when you want a drink rather than an experience.
New Roc Social Bar & Lounge (16 Memorial Hwy) is the cocktail lounge downtown, with bar bites, DJs and outdoor seating. It's the natural second or third stop of the night - the point at which someone in your group says "let's go somewhere with music." The outdoor seating makes it a genuinely good warm-weather option, too.
La Clave Night Club (596 Main St) is the place to go when the plan is dancing, full stop. Come for the night out, not for a quiet drink.
Just over the line in Yonkers, Empire City Casino by MGM Resorts (810 Yonkers Avenue) is the option when you want a big room, late hours and something to do besides drink. It's a short drive and the obvious choice for a group that wants a whole evening under one roof.
Feel it Healthy Spot LLC (134 North Avenue) sits in the bars and pubs category but goes its own way - a good one to know about if the usual pint isn't what you're after that night.
- First-timer in town: 18th Ward Brewing, then Beechmont Tavern.
- Date night: Aura Wine & Bar.
- Big group, no consensus: Spectators or Scratch.
- Actually staying out: New Roc Social, then La Clave.
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