The Immigrant
341 E. 9th St., nr. First Ave.; 212-677-2545
This ten-stool wine bar (with room for twenty more in the back room) lets you impress a date without looking like you’re trying too hard: It’s usually lively but not packed, suitably romantic (flickering candles, exposed brick, a pre-WWI cash register) but understated, and unlike many of its East Village neighbors, it’s hushed enough to carry on a quiet conversation. The lone two-top in the front window makes a snug setting for an after-dinner drink: Ports and dessert wines run $12 a glass, including rarities like Anatolikos, a red made from sun-dried grapes in Greece, and De Bortoli Old Boys, a 21-year-old Australian port.