The Odeon in Tribeca.

It’s easy to see why The Odeon has been a part of the fabric of TriBeCa life for so long. Located on a corner of West Broadway, the location is hard to miss with the great neon signs calling out into the night. Like watching a re-run of Seinfeld, it is reassuringly familiar, classically New York and, even when you know what’s coming next, still eminently satisfying. The drink menu is pretty great. You’re going to want to try the Cosmopolitan, since legend has it that The Odeon created it here ($16). Cocktails are well made and beers carefully poured. Food dishes are executed with sufficient care and portions are of manageable proportions.

Minettta Tavern @ The West Village.

Once upon a time, you’d find Ernest Hemingway, Dylan Thomas, and E.E. Cummings tying one on at Minetta Tavern. Today, you’re more likely to squeeze into a red leather banquette and rub elbows with yuppie couples and e-marketing agency partners noshing on roasted bone marrow, escargot, and one of the best burgers in NYC. Cozy up to the bar for one of the best martinis in the world and certainly in New York. Minetta Tavern has taken a turn for the upscale in its 81 years. The Odeon might have invented the Cosmopolitan but Minetta Tavern has perfected it. While any of the martinis here are excellent, this bar serves the best Cosmo you may ever taste ($17). You’ll need a reservation.

21 Club @ W 52nd Street.

A visit to the legendary 21 Club will be a memorable and unique experience. Also known by some as the Jockey Club, with its 21 jockey statues standing guard in front of the club. This one-of-a-kind Midtown Manhattan’s classic restaurants makes a mean martini ($17) that’s best neat, and some say, with a burger. The standard is offered with Plymouth Gin or Ketel One Vodka, though diners are welcome to request the vodka or gin of their choice. As always ambiance lends to the martini enjoyment and this historic establishment will provide some of the best atmosphere New York has to offer.

King Cole Bar @ St. Regis Hotel.

A tiny jewel box of a bar tucked inside the lobby of the St. Regis hotel, the King Cole Bar’s claim to fame is either the Maxfield Parrish mural of Old King Cole that hangs behind the bartenders or the legend that a bartender there invented the Bloody Mary. Either way, the bar knows how to mix a cold martini. The shaken or stirred blend of Hendrick’s gin, Martini Rosso vermouth, and Nonino Amaro is garnished with burnt orange peel ($25) and perfumes the whole bar when it’s made.

Russian Vodka Room @ 265 W. 52nd Street.

Stay away from the flavored, colored, sweetened martinis on the list and go for the Filthy Russian, a dirty martini made with vodka and garnished with stuffed olives ($16). The huge jars of liquid behind the bar are not science experiments; they’re vats of delicious, ferocious homemade flavor-infused vodka. One shot, served by the lovely bartendress, will knock you off your barstool. After two, you’ll be cheering the end of the Cold War with the rest of the talkative Russians downing shots at the curved bar. With no windows, live piano music, and eccentric regulars, RVR makes it easy to get lost in the fun-house atmosphere.

The Campbell Apartment @ Grand Central.

Generally known as Grand Central’s much-loved ‘secret bar,’ The Campbell is tucked into a hard-to-find corner of the Grand Central Terminal, in what was once the office of millionaire railroad executive John Williams Campbell.  It’s a sad fact that you can’t get a great gin martini elsewhere in Grand Central Terminal except at The Campbell Apartment’s bar. Pick your gin (or vodka) and ask for it very cold ($15). Interiors of the historic space are largely intact, including the Florentine decor, coffered ceilings, leaded windows and John Campbell’s old safe. The original wooden bar has also been retained, while lighting has been improved inside the space.