Nightlife in Manhattan

Peri Wine Bar curates a varied stock of quality vintages, serving them by the glass and bottle, alongside a menu of light fare. Rows of obsidian and amber bottles perch on hardwood shelves hanging from the rustic brick walls, their fragrant contents sourced from wineries across the world. Beneath hanging chandeliers, patrons divvy up gourmet pizzas, salads, and appetizers, emerging from a kitchen that remains open until the last, bleary-eyed call of the night. The bar hosts live music, DJs, jazz, and dancing during the course of the week, and the in-house WiFi pipes in with pairing recommendations and aerates chardonnays with essence of funny-cat videos.

Opposites attract at Gallery Social Bar and Lounge, both on the menu of comfort snacks and upscale entrees, and at the bar, where a spectrum of loungers and club dancers sample colorful splashes of fruit juice, exotic liqueur, and top-shelf vodka from Stoli and Absolut. In the kitchen, cooks decorate flatbreads with sweet, juicy pears and savory blue cheese and build sliders from tangy morsels of pulled pork, ground beef, and caramelized onions. Hookahs deliver puffs of flavor to curious palates, and a patio gives guests a breath of fresh air after shaking it to DJ tunes or spelling out their phone number in hookah smoke rings. On any given night, guests can enjoy hot meals until 2 a.m. and the flicker of the flat-screen TV until 4 a.m.

Three Wise Monks first threw open the doors of its welcoming, renovated saloon in spring of 2012, unveiling gleaming pint glasses and the malty scent of freshly crafted brews. Barkeeps rotate more than 14 craft beers through the tap lines, supplementing suds with bottles from breweries such as Founders, Flying Dog, Rogue, and Smuttynose. Three Wise Monks updates visitors online on the daily contents of its hop rocket, a Randallizer that infuses beer with basic hops or flavors such as coffee beans, fruit, and Clydesdales' tears.

Pool balls clatter on felt-lined tables, darts fly into their cork boards, and 15 large-screen televisions broadcast premium sports channels—as strings of lights twinkle at the tops of exposed-brick walls, these sounds help to create a convivial atmosphere at The Recovery Room. The stool-lined bar remains open until 4 a.m. every night, doling out pints of domestic and imported beer and shots of masterfully mixed liquor.

To accompany drinks in the early evening, the kitchen churns out an extensive spread of traditional American and European comfort foods. In addition to baking chicken pot pies and stuffing philly cheese steak sandwiches, the cooks also whisk together Irish breakfasts with bangers, baked beans, and black-and-white pudding all day long.

Like any good basement, Cellar 58 is full of secrets. Hidden in the back of the East Village eatery is a wine-tasting room—recently described as "elegant" by New York magazine—that shelters more than 150 varietals hailing from such overlooked countries as Greece and Bulgaria. Two-dozen wines can be poured by the glass, including several culled from the vineyards of Italy, France, and similarly eminent regions.

There also lurks a surprising treasure in the front dining room. Marble-topped tables play host to entrees and small plates prepared by chef Fabio Bano, who comes to Cellar 58 from the ultra-private Soho House. Using cooking methods that he learned and perfected in Italy, Bano handcrafts pastas and inventive desserts, which, like top-secret memos, melt satisfyingly upon entering the mouth.

Every once in a while the muddled sounds of conversation, music, and cue balls clanking against pool tables spill onto the corner of 236th Street and Broadway. The source of the sounds is The Bridge Tavern, a neighborhood pub with an emphasis on the community. Its ceiling stretches over the establishment with a mural dedicated to Kingsbridge and another mural celebrating the Yankees. Amid a row of Bronx street signs and a wraparound bar, servers fuel the chatter with beer, wings, and half-pound burgers.