Santos’ Party House
100 Lafayette St., nr. Walker St.; 212-714-4646
Andrew W.K.’s long-gestating dance club is now fully operational, and D.J. nights are quickly filling the calendar. Studio 54 vet Nicky Siano takes over Sundays, John and Alessandro’s Cruisin’ stops by once a month, and a rotating cast of crème de la scenesters have already made pit stops (DFA’s Tim Sweeney, Modal’s Brennan Green).
El Morocco
3534 Broadway, at 145th St.; 212-939-0909
The famed late El Morocco had its heyday as a celeb hangout in the first half of the twentieth century. (Humphrey Bogart was allegedly banned for life.) The swank piece of history has now been revived with the blessing of the family of one of the old owners, along with the trademark zebra-print décor. The newfound focus is on live Latin jams: Everything from meringue to reggaeton to bachata will grace the 10,000-square-foot space.
The Habitat
988 Manhattan Ave., nr. Huron St., Greenpoint, Brooklyn; 718-383-5615
This Greenpoint spot was built from scratch using wood from Williamsburg’s own Moon River Chattel, and it pretty much resembles the interior of a Big Buck Hunter lodge. Grub selections such as empanadas and mussels fra diavolo enliven a twelve-strong rotating draft list (featuring mainstays Captain Lawrence and Crop Circle), and specialty cocktails like Pink Lemonade go down easy.
Arlo and Esme
42 E. 1st St., nr. Second Ave.; 212-777-5617
The East Village Yacht Club couldn’t survive in this space (or in its new spot on the Bowery, for that matter), but Arlo and Esme seems to be doing just fine. The bi-level outpost boasts a tiny specialty coffee shop on its ground floor, but the real draw is the 4,000-square-foot nightlife space beneath, equipped with a pool room and nightly D.J.’s.
Franklin Park
618 St. John’s Pl., nr. Franklin Ave., Crown Heights, Brooklyn; 718-975-0196
Franklin Park, from Southpaw’s Matt Roff, is a lackadaisical beer garden now catering to the underserved Crown Heights community. That means the place already has the potential to be overrun on any given night, but with good reason: Lounging on wooden picnic benches and sipping a Radeberger underneath crisscross branches is as idyllic as it sounds.
Inc. Lounge
Time Hotel, 224 W. 49th St., nr. Broadway; 212-320-2984
The Time Hotel’s second-floor bar, formerly known as the Time Lounge, has gotten a makeover. Along with the name change comes a redesign courtesy of the people behind the Dream Hotel’s Rm Fifty5 and a “more is more” approach one might expect from a hotel lounge: zebra-print armchairs, oodles of mirrors, and plush, oversize couches.