Made ByBar
Dutch Kills
Chef in Residence
Richard Boccato
Other
- 01CityNew York City, United States
- 02RecognitionWorld's 50 Best — No. 35
Dutch Kills earned back-to-back World's 50 Best Bars rankings in 2011 and 2012, placing it among a small cohort of New York bars to achieve that recognition from a Queens address rather than Manhattan. With a 4.5 Google rating across more than 1,200 reviews, it has held its position in the serious cocktail conversation well beyond its peak press years, a reliable indicator of sustained execution rather than momentary hype.
- World's 50 Best · #35
At a glance
- Price
- $$
- Per person
- $30
- Neighborhood
- Long Island City
<h2>Queens on the Global Bar Map</h2><p>When the World's 50 Best Bars list published its 2011 rankings, Dutch Kills appeared at number 35, a signal that serious cocktail culture in New York City had begun spreading beyond its traditional Manhattan axis. The following year, it climbed to number 35. That two-year consecutive placement, in a period when the global bar recognition circuit was tightening its criteria and expanding its geographical reach, placed Dutch Kills in a specific historical bracket: among the first wave of outer-borough bars to receive that tier of international attention.</p><p>The broader pattern matters here. In the early 2010s, New York's cocktail scene was consolidating around a craft-revival ethos, ice programs, house-made syrups, spirit-forward builds, and the venues earning international recognition were almost exclusively operating in Manhattan's established bar corridors. Dutch Kills, operating from Long Island City in Queens, was an anomaly in that geography, and the recognition it received reflected how clearly it had matched the technical standard of its Manhattan-based peers without attempting to replicate their setting or format. For a deeper map of where the city's bar conversation now stands, see our full New York City restaurants guide.</p><h2>What the Awards Record Actually Tells You</h2><p>Two consecutive World's 50 Best Bars placements, peaking at number 35, function as a durable credential rather than a historical footnote. The list's methodology during that period weighted technical execution, menu depth, and consistent guest experience, criteria that do not reset when a bar drops off the annual ranking. Bars that reached that tier in the early 2010s tended to either maintain their standard quietly or collapse under the weight of their own reputation. Dutch Kills' 4.5 Google rating across more than 1,200 reviews suggests the former: a bar that has held operational quality long after the peak press attention moved on.</p><p>That kind of sustained score across a large review base is more informative than a single award year. It implies consistent execution across staff changes, seasonal shifts, and the kind of volume pressure that erodes standards at bars relying on a single founding figure. In the competitive context of New York bar culture, where <a href="https://www.enprimeurclub.com/bars/attaboy-nyc">Attaboy NYC</a> runs a no-menu format with comparable critical weight and <a href="https://www.enprimeurclub.com/bars/amor-y-amargo">Amor y Amargo</a> has built an entire identity around bitter spirits, Dutch Kills sits in a peer group defined by program depth rather than concept novelty.</p><h2>Long Island City as a Bar Context</h2><p>Long Island City occupies an interesting position in New York's hospitality geography. A short subway ride from Midtown Manhattan, it developed a small but serious food and drink culture in the 2000s and 2010s that operated with lower rent pressure and correspondingly more room for program investment. The bars that emerged there during that period were not destination venues in the tourist sense; they became destinations because the work warranted the trip, not because the address was convenient.</p><p>That dynamic shapes how Dutch Kills reads against Manhattan comparisons. Bars like <a href="https://www.enprimeurclub.com/bars/angels-share">Angel's Share</a> in the East Village or <a href="https://www.enprimeurclub.com/bars/superbueno-new-york-city">Superbueno</a> operate within a denser hospitality cluster, where foot traffic and adjacency to other venues do part of the work. A Queens address removes that ambient support, which means the bar's own offering carries the full weight of drawing guests across a borough line. The World's 50 Best placement confirms it succeeded at exactly that.</p><h2>How Dutch Kills Fits the Broader Craft Cocktail Generation</h2><p>The early-2010s craft bar movement produced a recognizable set of operating principles: ice cut to order, syrups made in-house, a repertoire built around pre-Prohibition templates reworked with current ingredients. Bars that earned international recognition during that window tended to execute those principles with discipline rather than novelty, the point was precision, not eccentricity. Dutch Kills emerged from that same tradition, and its comparable set internationally includes bars like <a href="https://www.enprimeurclub.com/bars/bar-leather-apron-honolulu">Bar Leather Apron in Honolulu</a> and <a href="https://www.enprimeurclub.com/bars/kumiko">Kumiko in Chicago</a>, both of which apply comparable craft-revival discipline in non-Manhattan geographies.</p><p>Domestically, the comparison extends further. <a href="https://www.enprimeurclub.com/bars/jewel-of-the-south-new-orleans">Jewel of the South in New Orleans</a>, <a href="https://www.enprimeurclub.com/bars/julep-houston">Julep in Houston</a>, and <a href="https://www.enprimeurclub.com/bars/abv">ABV in San Francisco</a> all represent the same generational shift: serious cocktail programs operating outside the primary bar corridors of their cities, earning recognition on program merit. Dutch Kills sits in that cohort by virtue of its awards record and sustained guest scores, not by virtue of marketing or concept. For reference across a different market entirely, <a href="https://www.enprimeurclub.com/bars/the-parlour-frankfurt-on-the-main">The Parlour in Frankfurt on the Main</a> and <a href="https://www.enprimeurclub.com/bars/allegory">Allegory in Washington, D.C.</a> illustrate how the same craft rigor translates across geographies.</p><h2>Planning Your Visit</h2><p>Dutch Kills is in Long Island City, Queens, accessible by subway from Midtown Manhattan in under fifteen minutes on multiple lines. The bar operates in an area that rewards arrival with time to explore rather than a strict point-to-point itinerary. The 4.5 rating across more than 1,200 reviews suggests the bar handles volume without significant service degradation, which indicates it is built for real use rather than special-occasion traffic only.</p><h3>Peer Comparison at a Glance</h3><table><thead><tr><th>Bar</th><th>Location</th><th>Notable Recognition</th><th>Format Signal</th></tr></thead><tbody><tr><td>Dutch Kills</td><td>Long Island City, Queens</td><td>World's 50 Best #35 (2012)</td><td>Craft-revival, borough destination</td></tr><tr><td><a href="https://www.enprimeurclub.com/bars/attaboy-nyc">Attaboy NYC</a></td><td>Lower East Side, Manhattan</td><td>Consistent global recognition</td><td>No-menu, guest-led format</td></tr><tr><td><a href="https://www.enprimeurclub.com/bars/amor-y-amargo">Amor y Amargo</a></td><td>East Village, Manhattan</td><td>Named editorial recognition</td><td>Bitter-spirits specialist</td></tr><tr><td><a href="https://www.enprimeurclub.com/bars/angels-share">Angel's Share</a></td><td>East Village, Manhattan</td><td>Long-standing critical profile</td><td>Japanese-influenced, quiet format</td></tr></tbody></table>
Know before you go
- Dress code
- smart_casual
- Reservations
- walk_in_friendly
- Parking
- street
- Payment
- credit_card
- Outdoor seating
- Yes
- Groups
- Welcomed
Frequently asked
Is Dutch Kills more formal or casual?
Dutch Kills sits comfortably in the serious-but-unpretentious bracket that defines the best of the craft bar generation. The Long Island City address sets the tone: this is a neighbourhood bar with world-ranked credentials, not a hotel lobby lounge. Come dressed however you'd arrive at a good Brooklyn or Manhattan cocktail bar.
What awards has Dutch Kills received?
Dutch Kills has received recognition including: World's 50 Best Best Bars #35 (2012); World's 50 Best Best Bars #38 (2011).
What do regulars order at Dutch Kills?
The bar built its reputation on the craft movement's core principles: spirit-forward classics, house-made syrups, and ice cut to the drink. Regulars tend to trust the bartenders' direction rather than arriving with a fixed order. A well-made Old Fashioned or a riff on a Daiquiri will tell you a lot about the program quickly.
Where can I find Dutch Kills?
Dutch Kills is located at Dutch Kills, Queens, NY, New York City.
What should I know about Dutch Kills before I go?
Dutch Kills is in Long Island City, Queens, accessible from Midtown Manhattan in under fifteen minutes by subway. It earned back-to-back World's 50 Best Bars rankings in 2011 (number 38) and 2012 (number 35), placing it in the same conversation as the bars that defined New York's craft cocktail era.
How hard is it to get in to Dutch Kills?
Dutch Kills does not operate on a reservation system in the way a tasting-menu restaurant would, so getting in is largely a question of timing rather than advance planning. Weeknight visits carry less risk of a wait than Friday or Saturday evenings. The Queens location draws a more local crowd than comparable bars in Manhattan, which works in your favour.
Why did Dutch Kills' World's 50 Best Bars ranking matter for New York's outer boroughs?
When Dutch Kills entered the World's 50 Best Bars at number 38 in 2011 and climbed to number 35 in 2012, it was one of the few outer-borough venues to appear on a list dominated by Manhattan and international addresses. That placement confirmed Long Island City, Queens as a credible destination within New York City's serious cocktail circuit, not merely a spillover from Brooklyn or Midtown.
Address
Dutch Kills, Queens, NY
Long Island City
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