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With its tiered seating, balconies, and dramatic staircases, the Maritime Hotel’s Japanese-themed ballroom so resembles an over-the-top set for a kung fu movie that it’s easy to imagine actors kicking high in the air over the throng of the dancers’ heads. The chinoiserie booths, hanging lanterns, and vaulted ceiling are all gorgeous as is the crowd—a mix of scruffy fashionistas (who come for the typically brief open-bar specials) to the well-heeled types (who take over afterwards). D.J.’s spin standard remixes, party anthems, and hip-hop; occasionally rock stars play faux-secret shows. The extensive and varied cocktail list includes plenty of shochu (including hearty Zuisen awamori, Okanawa’s take on the distilled-rice spirit) as well as the signature Three Monks cocktail, an earthy, super sweet combination of sake and amaretto. — Emily Gould