June Baby, a Filipino American cocktail bar, opens today on Second Avenue in the East Village

A Filipino American cocktail bar that started as a pop-up opens its first permanent home in the East Village on Wednesday. June Baby is at 197 Second Avenue, between East 12th and 13th streets, Eater NY reported.

The bar comes from couple Roxanne Diaz Bangalan and Darwin Pornel and their partner Ben Rojo, who launched June Baby as a pop-up in 2025. The name nods to Philippine Independence Day, June 12. The owners told Eater they want it to feel like the Filipino American house parties they grew up with.

What to order

• Ube colada ($15), Rojo's signature drink.
• Calamansi highball, a vodka soda built around the Filipino citrus, with a nonalcoholic version.
• Turon-Tado, a daiquiri riff on the banana-roll dessert turon, with caramelized banana and jackfruit; a margarita with green mango and bagoong (shrimp paste) salt; and a buko pandan Negroni ($17).
• Pulutan-style plates: pork lumpiang shanghai, an eggplant Parm ($17) with a marinara inspired by the stew caldereta, and the June Baby burger ($18), an In-N-Out tribute with fries and banana ketchup.

Chef-consultants from the pop-up Solo Diner worked on the menu, according to Eater.

The space

The 1,100-square-foot bar holds 76 people and takes over the former Black Emperor, a bar Rojo previously opened at the same address. The team kept Black Emperor's mahogany bar top, Eater reported, and the room shows work by local Filipino artists. What Now New York first reported the plan for 197 Second Avenue, initially targeted for spring 2026, and noted Pornel's background at NoMad and Rojo's Los Angeles bar No Smoking.

June Baby joins a cluster of Filipino spots downtown, including Naks in the East Village and Hoy on the Lower East Side.

If you go

June Baby, 197 Second Avenue (between East 12th and 13th streets), East Village. Open 4 p.m. to midnight, Tuesday through Sunday; closed Monday. Walk-ins only. Updates on Instagram.