The bar at Dear Irving.   (Photo: Liz Clayman)

Dear Irving
55 Irving Pl., nr. 17th St.
Even the name is romantic at this upscale, speakeasylike cocktail parlor from the team behind Raines Law Room. You’ll find four themed rooms of seating to time-hop through: JFK, F. Scott Fitzgerald, Abraham Lincoln, and Marie Antoinette (which is a particularly gorgeous French-inspired space with chandeliers, gilded stools, and sofas). Cocktails are serious, ice is hand-carved, and, best of all, you won’t waste time waving down a waitress for a drink. Each table has a personal buzzer, to ring for service when the time is right.

Have some S'mores pie.   (Photo: Melissa Hom)

Butter and Scotch
818 Franklin Ave., nr. Union St.; 347-350-8899
If you or your special someone has a sweet tooth, try retro bar-bakery Butter & Scotch, from Kumquat Cupcakery's Keavy Blueher and First Prize Pies' Allison Kave, where you can indulge in drinks from beverage director Jen Marshall like the Rock & Rye Float (New York Distilling Rock & Rye, Blue Marble coffee ice cream, seltzer) and the DF Sour (El Jimador tequila, lime, cilantro) paired with a S’mores pie. If you want to save some of that sugar for later (WINK), they also have savory items like cheddar-dill cheese balls.

Boilermaker
13 First Ave., at 1st St.; 646-924-8153
For a casual Valentine's Day, it doesn’t come better than Boilermaker, where the unpretentious beer and shot combo is right there in its name. The space (previously occupied by Golden Cadillac, with a majority of the team staying on) is an ode to minimal excellence, with shaken and stirred cocktails with names like "Blood of My Enemies" (rum, Amaro Monetnegro, and Punt e Mes) running $11 and four mixed drinks on tap, including a Zombie (be sure to heed their maximum of two per person). The eponymous drink special has been updated, with the "Dark and Bitter' pairing Victory Storm King Stout with Ramazzotti Amaro, and the "Beer Eye on the Straight Rye" putting together Two Brothers Cane & Ebel Red Rye Ale with Sazerac 6 yr Rye. Soak it up with food by Miguel Trinidad of Jeepney and be sure to have the Doughtnut Stars, served with a raspberry-chipotle sauce and espresso-brownie sauce. It's a special day, after all.

The Link Ray    (Photo: Courtesy of the Happiest Hour.)

The Happiest Hour
121 W. 10th St., nr. Greenwich Ave.; 212-243-2827
Valentine’s Day is probably not the best time to go on a first date. But if you’re brave enough to do it, Happiest Hour is a pretty great place for that initial rendezvous. The tiki venture by drinks duo Jon Neidich (ACME) and Jim Kearns (NoMad, Pegu Club, Mayahuel) is a whimsical ride, with choose-your-own-adventure drinks and simple but tasty fare. Have a celery, lime, and cane soda Link Ray with your choice of jalapeño tequila, rum, or gin ($12), or go classic with a Gibson, with housemade onion and brine ($12). Both pair well with the smoked fish dip ($10) or one of three burgers. And if things aren't going well, much of the space is standing-room anyway, so it will be easy to call it an early night.

Copper & Oak
157 Allen St., nr. Rivington St.
Copper & Oak isn’t romantic in the traditional sense. There are only eight stools at the bar, and there are no cocktails to speak of. But if you’re looking for an alternative, whiskey-soaked kind of night and want to sample some of their 600-plus hard-to-find bottles (including the largest collection of Japanese whiskys in the U.S.), this spot is for you. Just know that it's a small sliver of a space so it's routinely full, but time it right and the world could be yours.

Analogue   (Photo: Liz Clayman)

Analogue
19 W. 8th St., nr. Sixth Ave.; 212-432-0200
This homey Greenwich Village spot is a little over a year old and has stealthily been flying just under the radar. With potent offerings like the Queen Victoria (lemon juice, plum shrubs, cardamom bitters, $14) and the their special Valentine's Day offering, the Lover's Knot (Gin,Creme Yvette, lemon, cane syrup and egg white, finished with lemon oils and garnished with rose buds, $16), it won't take much to get in the mood. But if cocktails don't work, the live jazz records in the background will pick up the slack.

Erv's on Beekman
2122 Beekman Place, nr. Flatbush Ave., Prospect Lefferts Gardens; 916-96-2122
A low-key neighborhood spot tucked in a corner of Lefferts Gardens, Erv’s is where you go for a date night without the hassle. (Full disclosure: The principal investor is Steve Fishman, a New York contributing editor.) During the day, they serve coffee and pastries (try the cassava pone from Erroll’s on Flatbush or the homemade tamales), which transitions to a café-bar in the afternoon, with espresso-based cocktails like the Black Morning ($7, Blackwell's Jamaican Rum, Cynar Italian liqueur, Gran Classico and Honey Syrup, with a fresh shot of espresso). At night, it’s a full-blown bar with a cocktail list 14 deep, including four fernet-based. Have a Robo-Trippin (Fernet, pressed lime, ginger liquor, cochi torino, allspice, and jalapeño tincture, $10), curl up against one of the sheepskin wall hangings, and let the night take you where it may.