Banc Café

The owners of Sunnyside’s rustic hangout Blooms Public House—which burned down in 2003—now run this seductive restaurant-cum-lounge. The space boasts a vaulted-arch ceiling and a sleek bar adorned with imported Italian beers. The plates are large and impressive too, especially the tender charred yellowfin tuna and a chopped-sirloin burger that dripped with juice. Finicky eaters can craft a whole meal from the tapas menu: golden cubes of fried Brie are served with prosciutto slices and a sweet port-wine reduction, and coconut shrimp is paired with a sweet papaya-mango-pineapple salsa. Add a weekend DJ and happy hour from 5 to 8pm and it’s no wonder why so many tapas-and-’tini-loving locals are sticking around the neighborhood come nightfall.