Photograph: Filip Wolak
Photograph: Filip Wolak

Cocktail Bodega

Best blind date spots at bars and cafes in New York

Ensure that your blind date goes smoothly by planning to meet at one of these casual NYC bars or cafés.

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Blind dates involve enough guesswork—will the person look like his or her dating-site profile photo? will we actually have anything to talk about?—without having to pin down the perfect venue. Use this guide to the best blind-date spots to make your life a little easier: Bars like Alphabet City Beer Co. or Pacific Standard are laid-back and cheap, so you can linger if things go well (or make a break for it if they don’t).

RECOMMENDED: More great dates in NYC 2013

  • Cocktail bars
  • Lower East Side
  • price 1 of 4
Once the initial inspection is over, suss out whether you and your date’s tastes are simpatico by ordering a make-your-own cocktail ($11), combining your choice of liquor and fruit or veggie juices. Or calm your jitters by ordering one of the specialty drinks ($13), such as the Energy Memory Punch, which mixes rum with pineapple and orange juices, mango nectar and fresh mint.
  • Beer bars
  • East Village
  • price 2 of 4
This laid-back East Village beer bar and shop offers 12 frequently rotating taps, which often include brews from local outfits (such as Rockaway Brewery), along with Alphabet City’s own Easy Blonde ($6). If you’re picking up a bad vibe, order a half-pint ($3–$3.50) to save time, calories and cash. And if it goes really poorly, console yourself by choosing from the more than 350 bottles available to make a custom six-pack ($8–$14). You deserve it.
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  • Beer bars
  • Boerum Hill
  • price 2 of 4
When it comes to suggesting a suitable meeting spot, easy access to transportation and plenty of seating are essential. This Park Slope bar, five blocks from the Atlantic Ave–Barclays Ctr subway station, has both, along with enough beers to satisfy craft-brew fanatics and those who just want to ease into first-date chitchat. Sip on an Anchor Liberty ($6) and let the alt-rock–leaning soundtrack prompt questions about your favorite bands.
  • Bakeries
  • DUMBO
  • price 1 of 4
Can’t decide between meeting for coffee or drinks? This Dumbo bakery—an offshoot of the Cobble Hill original—lets you opt for both. Choose from a rotation of six wines and five beers, or go for caffeine over alcohol with a cappuccino ($3.75). When it starts getting dark, the manager dims the lights; come in the late afternoon and grab a seat by the counter, where the immense windows provide a romantic view of the neighborhood at dusk.
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  • Greenwich Village
  • price 1 of 4
Assess your possible connection with a clear head by grabbing dessert at this bakery, which has romantic low lighting and cozy tables. Start a conversation while snacking on sweets like the shop’s famous buttermilk pie ($5.75); if it goes well, linger over a cappuccino ($3.75) and play a board game like Battleship or Trouble. The shop is open late—until 10:30pm during the week, and until 1:30am on weekends—so there’s no need to rush.
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