"Cocktails, oysters, and ramen. What more do you need for a perfect evening out? Especially when those cocktails (from an Angel’s Share alum) include things like a very umami hijiki seaweed concoction with Japanese whiskey, or a vesper martini with sweet potato shochu and orange bitters. Get to this little basement level Washington Heights spot early to avail of their $1.75 happy hour oysters (until 7pm), then move on to some crunchy karaage and a bowl or two of ramen by candlelight. The soupless seafood ramen ($32) is great, but the $19 vegetables ramen is the sleeper hit." - bryan kim, molly fitzpatrick, willa moore, will hartman, sonal shah