Cubbyhole, New York City

About Cubbyhole

Cubbyhole is one of New York's last lesbian bars, tucked into the corner of West 12th and West 4th in the West Village. The lineage runs deep: the space opened in 1987 as DT's Fat Cat under Tanya Saunders and Debbie Fierro, took the Cubbyhole name in 1994, and is now run by Lisa Menichino, who first tended bar there under Saunders. The ceiling — a dense canopy of paper lanterns, fish, and kitsch layered on over the decades — is half the reason people photograph the place. It's tiny, cash-friendly, and warm rather than scene-y: a jukebox, a packed bar most nights, and a crowd of queer women, their friends, and allies who treat it like a neighborhood living room. Expect to be shoulder-to-shoulder on weekends. With so few lesbian bars left in the city — or the country — Cubbyhole isn't just a good West Village stop; it's a piece of living history worth planning a night around.