"You woke up this morning in the mood to drink a cocktail out of a teacup in a room that feels like a secret chamber in a 19th-century sea captain’s haunted mansion. That’s what Banzarbar is for. This place is hidden behind an unmarked door on the second floor of a restaurant (Freemans) at the back of a little alley, and it’s just one candlelit room with a couple of tables and a U-shaped bar. The cocktails have names like Even Keel and Deception Island, there’s an optional five-course tasting menu, and - if you really want to feel like a 19th-century sea captain - order the whole fried octopus called The Kraken." - bryan kim