Cornelius (CLOSED)

The sumptuous dark-wood aesthetic, collection of costly spirits and classed-up grub make the tremendous value found at Cornelius’s tile-topped bar come as a pleasant surprise. Weekday happy hours featuring discounted drafts (try Kelso’s orange-kissed St. Gowanus Belgian ale) and one-buck oysters are popular. But the real draw here is the 200-plus library of boutique liquors. The drink menu’s omission of descriptions can be maddening, but the bartenders will eagerly offer input or mix dead-on cocktails like the warming bourbon-and-bitters Steamboat—a maple-syrup-spiked riff on the Manhattan.