48 Record Bar

48 Record Bar opened in December 2023 on the second floor above Sassafras Bar in Old City, founded by Donal McCoy — who owns Sassafras and formerly ran the Tin Angel music venue — with Joey Sweeney. It takes its cue from Tokyo's audiophile kissa bars: a room of roughly forty-five seats built around a high-fidelity vinyl system and a collection, with about sixteen cocktails alongside beer and wine.

The listening-bar format is one of the best answers there is to the problem of a night out without alcohol, and the reason is structural rather than about the drinks. In a kissa the music is the reason you are in the room. Volume sits at a level where conversation is possible but not constant, which removes the obligation to keep talking that makes sober socialising tiring. There is a thing to attend to that is not the glass in your hand, no bar to stand at, and no rhythm of rounds — the record side sets the pace instead.

The zero-proof lineup is small but genuinely named rather than improvised. The Polyester Dinosaur combines pineapple with a turmeric-honey syrup and ginger over a tajín rim, which is a properly savoury build: turmeric is earthy and slightly bitter, ginger brings heat, and tajín — the Mexican chilli-lime-salt blend — puts salt and acid on the lip of the glass, so every sip starts sharp. A Coconut Matcha Mojito runs creamier, with matcha's vegetal astringency doing the work that would otherwise fall to the rum.

The hours are the other argument. Five in the evening until two in the morning, Tuesday through Sunday, with a four o'clock Saturday opening. A room that runs to two, where the entertainment is a record collection rather than a bar, is about as good as this gets. Closed Mondays.