Ashford & Simpson's Sugar Bar

Our Story

We are talking sweet music, soul-stirring riffs, runs and melodies in a cozy environment, with delectable cuisine you can find only at Ashford & Simpson’s Sugar Bar. Presenting a fresh alternative to the mundane, the Sugar Bar, is an intimate full service restaurant, showcasing local and international talent, from R&B/Soul, Jazz, and Caribbean to traditional African rhythms. Intimately immersed in big flavors, live performances, and our signature Sugartinis, an evening here might begin at the watering well where specialty cocktails and a selection of cultural appetizers set the mood and wet the appetite.

Sugar Bar was established in 1996 by Nickolas Ashford, one half of the songwriting and performing sensation, Ashford & Simpson. Co-owned with his wife Valerie Simpson, the Sugar Bar offers an intimate and elegant ambiance, with the feel of an old country village, on the trendy Upper West Side of Manhattan. Located inside of a beautiful, converted brownstone, the Sugar Bar is best known for its sensational cuisine and live entertainment.

Since its inception, the Sugar Bar has been the hot spot for celebrities such as: Bruce Willis, Stevie Wonder, Whoopi Goldberg, BeBe Winans, Andre Harrell, Dr. Maya Angelou, Michael Douglas, Patrick Ewing, Dexter King, Al Sharpton, Andre Leon Talley, NormanLeary, Berry Gordy, Diahne Carroll, Kathleen Battle, Lynn Whitfield, Don King, Clarence Williams III, Roscoe Lee Brown, Susan E. Taylor, Judith Jamison, Marilee Edgars, Jackee', Stephanie Mills, Eddie Murphy, Johnny Gill, Geraldo Rivera, David Rockefeller Jr., and Freddie Jackson to name a few.

If you want sweet, Ashford & Simpson’s Sugar Bar can satisfy your sweet tooth! The Sugar Bar not only offers decadent deserts, but also sweet music, soul-stirring riffs, and sweet melodies, within a cozy environment. Presenting a fresh alternative to the mundane, the Sugar Bar showcases local and international talent, from R&B/Soul, Jazz, and Caribbean, to traditional African rhythms.

Our signature Sugartinis, and other specialty cocktails, will be the beginning of an entertaining and enjoyable evening, complemented by a selection of cultural appetizers that set the mood and whet the appetite.You can enjoy your dinner in the main dining room where every table has an excellent view of the stage, or dine in the more intimate setting of the enclosed garden. Also, enjoy a cool summer night's breeze at our outside café.