MANHATTAN BARS

M by Megu

Peasant Wine Bar
Hey, bobo type: Trundle your date into this candlelit enoteca under Peasant restaurant. Brick walls, communal wooden tables and dim lights provide all the romance you’ll need, while a sturdy list of Italian wines coupled with DiPaulo meats and cheeses supplies the sustenance. If the wine leaves you and your wallet feeling empty, PWB offers free house-made grissini, Italian-style cheese bread sticks, to snack on. 194 Elizabeth St between Prince and Spring Sts (212-965-9511, peasantnyc.com)

Pegu Club
Gin is the star ingredient at this second-story bar, apropos for a place meant to recall a British officers’ club in late 19th-century Rangoon, Burma. The original Pegu Club in Rangoon is mentioned in Rudyard Kipling’s From Sea to Sea (1899), where it is described as “full of men on their way up or down.” The decor here—brass lamps and carved wooden grilles on the windows—emphasizes that colonial vibe, but the prices (most mixed drinks are $12) befit modern times. 77 W Houston St at West Broadway (212-473-7348, peguclub.com)

NEXT IN MANHATTAN: TRIBECA»

BRONX | BROOKLYN | MANHATTAN | QUEENS | STATEN ISLAND

They need a drink!
From Cosmo girls to finance guys, these recent victims of cutbacks share their picks for where to buy yourself (or them) a cocktail (or two).