Where to watch the NYC Marathon in 2026, with a Sunday happy hour nearby

Our picks

1. 

   1. Whisk & Whiskey Park Slope

   Draft Beers $6 · Wines $8
   Wed–Fri 3pm–7pm · Sun all day · 259 4th Ave · Union Street (R)

   A bar on Fourth Avenue itself, at number 259 in Park Slope, so the course runs right past the door. Sunday is its strongest day: the happy hour runs all day, with draft beers, wines, well drinks, two house cocktails called the Queen Bee and the Jenny, and a Narragansett with a well shot. It also runs Wednesday to Friday. Union Street on the R is a two-minute walk.

   Deal checked Oct 21, 2026 on the bar's own site.

2. 

   2. Papacito's Greenpoint

   2-for-1
   Mon–Fri 11am–4pm · Daily 4pm–7pm · Mon–Wed, Sun 1am–2am · Thu–Sat 3am–4am · 999 Manhattan Ave · Greenpoint Avenue (G)

   A bar on Manhattan Avenue in Greenpoint, about four minutes on foot from where the course meets Greenpoint Avenue, in the stretch NYRR places at miles 10 to 13. Its afternoon happy hour runs every day, Sunday included, with two-for-one frozen margaritas, Tecate and Modelo cans, house margaritas, sangria by the pint, a tequila and Tecate combo, and nachos. Greenpoint Avenue on the G is three minutes away.

   Deal checked Oct 21, 2026 on the bar's own site.

3. 

   3. Troost Greenpoint

   BEER $1 off · COCKTAIL $2 off
   Daily 4pm–6pm · 1011 Manhattan Avenue · Greenpoint Avenue (G)

   A cocktail and wine bar a little farther up Manhattan Avenue, at number 1011, about five minutes on foot from the course at Greenpoint Avenue. Happy hour runs daily in the late afternoon, Sunday included, with money off beer, cocktails and house wine by the glass or quartino, plus a tap Negroni. Pair it with Papacito's for a two-stop Greenpoint afternoon. Greenpoint Avenue on the G is three minutes away.

   Deal checked Oct 20, 2026 on the bar's own site.

4. 

   4. The Alvin Public House Upper East Side

   $8.00 house margarita, sangria, green tea shot
   Daily 4pm–6pm · 406 E 64th St · Roosevelt Island (M)

   A pub on East 64th Street, a few steps from First Avenue and close to where runners come off the Queensboro Bridge at mile 16. Its happy hour runs every day in the late afternoon, Sunday included, with Trumer pilsner, Kona Big Wave, Sloop Juice Bomb, pinot grigio and pinot noir, a pineapple mule, a blackberry gimlet, a house margarita, sangria and a green tea shot.

   Deal checked Oct 21, 2026 on the bar's own site.

5. 

   5. The Hunterian Upper East Side

   Draft beer $2 off · Wine by the glass $9
   Mon all day · Tue–Sun open to 7pm · 413 East 70th Street · 72nd Street (Q)

   A bar on East 70th Street, just east of First Avenue. On Sundays, as on every day from Tuesday on, happy hour runs from opening until the early evening, which suits a long watch that starts with the front of the field. The deal covers money off draft beer, plus wine by the glass and well shots and drinks at happy hour prices. The Q at 72nd Street is five minutes away.

   Deal checked Oct 18, 2026 on the bar's own site.

6. 

   6. Westville Upper East Side

   margaritas $8 · sangria $8
   Daily 4pm–7pm · 1359 1st Avenue · 72nd Street (Q)

   A restaurant right on First Avenue at number 1359, inside the stretch NYRR places at miles 16 to 18. Happy hour runs every day from late afternoon into the early evening, Sunday included, with classic, spicy or smoky margaritas, sangria, signature and seasonal cocktails, all wines by the glass, all beers and mocktails. The 72nd Street Q station is three minutes away.

   Deal checked Oct 21, 2026 on the bar's own site.

Race day basics

The race is on Sunday, November 1, 2026, with the official start at 8 a.m., according to NYRR. Spectators can watch along most of the course from mile 3 to mile 26. There is no viewing at the start on Staten Island or on any of the bridges, and NYRR asks spectators to stay behind the blue tape or barricades. Pedestrian crossing zones are set up in Brooklyn and Manhattan so you can get from one side of the course to the other.

NYRR recommends the subway as the way to move between spots, and its app has a spectator guide and runner tracking, which is the easiest way to know when your runner will reach you. NYRR also says the 2026 course has a new section through East Harlem and the Bronx after the Willis Avenue Bridge, so check the official map if you plan to watch up there.

Fourth Avenue, Brooklyn

Fourth Avenue is where the field comes off the Verrazzano-Narrows Bridge and heads north through Brooklyn, and NYRR points spectators to the R train for it. It is long and straight, so crowds spread out more than they do in Manhattan.

On our list, 15 bars sit within about five minutes of the avenue, and 4 of them run a Sunday happy hour. Whisk & Whiskey is the one right on the course, with an all-day Sunday deal. Chela and 390 Social, both on Fifth Avenue in Park Slope, a block over, list Sunday windows in the late afternoon but do not publish their offers, so the pick cards show times only. Both take reservations on Resy, which is worth doing on a crowded Sunday.

Greenpoint, miles 10 to 13

NYRR describes Williamsburg and Greenpoint as the stretch where spectators line streets full of shops and restaurants as runners head toward the Pulaski Bridge into Queens. Manhattan Avenue, before Greenpoint Avenue, is listed among the streets closed to traffic on race day. The Pulaski Bridge itself is closed to spectators, and NYRR notes many fans cheer on the Queens side, just past the halfway mark.

We found 8 bars on our list within about five minutes of Manhattan Avenue and Greenpoint Avenue, 3 with a Sunday happy hour. Papacito's and Troost are the two with published offers, and they sit a minute apart on Manhattan Avenue, just north of Greenpoint Avenue. Walk back to the course between rounds, or settle in once your runner has passed. The G at Greenpoint Avenue serves both.

First Avenue, Upper East Side, miles 16 to 18

Runners come off the Queensboro Bridge onto First Avenue at mile 16, and NYRR describes this as a stretch where spectators line the sidewalks and cheer runners on. It is the most bar-friendly part of the course on our list: 22 bars sit within about five minutes of First Avenue between the bridge and the low 90s, and 10 of them run a Sunday happy hour.

The Alvin Public House is closest to the bridge, The Hunterian runs its deal from opening, and Westville is right on the avenue. If you want to see your runner twice, NYRR lists Fifth Avenue between East 90th and East 105th Streets, at miles 23 and 24, as another viewing spot. From First Avenue at East 90th Street, that is about a 13-minute walk west across the Upper East Side, straight-line, which gives you time after a runner passes on First Avenue to catch them again near Central Park.

Crowds, hours and what we could not confirm

Expect the bars on these stretches to be full, especially on First Avenue. Arrive early, go in small groups, and do not count on a table with a window. We could not confirm race-day hours or whether any bar will run its usual Sunday happy hour on November 1. Bars on a big event day sometimes change menus or skip deals. The times and offers on the cards come from each bar's regular published schedule.

We also have no bars on our list with a Sunday happy hour within a short walk of the East Harlem or Fifth Avenue viewing areas, so we have not recommended any there. For the rest of the day, our Sunday happy hours page lists every Sunday deal in the city.

Happy hours near First Avenue and East 70th Street

Walking time estimated from straight-line distance (about 80 m a minute). Up to 40 bars, closest first.

How we put this together

Race date, start time, course, viewing areas, bridge rules, crossing zones and the 2026 course change come from nyrr.org (the 2026 race page, the course pages, the Watch the Race guide and NYRR race-week news), checked October 23, 2026. Bars come from our database of New York happy hours, which records each bar's schedule and offers from its own website; the six picks were last checked between October 18 and October 21, 2026. We counted bars within about 400 meters of points along each stretch of the course and kept those whose happy hour includes Sunday. Walking times are straight-line distances at about 80 meters a minute.

Something wrong or out of date? Tell us and we will check it.

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