Comments (0) Best Smoking Bar - 2006

Dalva Cocktail Lounge

Though it's located at one of the most hipster-heavy corners of the city, Dalva usually feels like a quiet hideout, even on weekend nights. Instead of sharing the neighborhood's hipster/meat-market vibe, Dalva cultivates an adult-Euro-dive bar feel, with low lighting, no dance floor, a beautiful antique wooden bar, and small wire chairs like those in a Parisian cafe. More Parisian still is its blessedly laissez-faire attitude toward smoking: There's a charming back room in which you can happily destroy your lungs in relative peace. The excellent jukebox gilds the lily with lots of great old rock and punk tunes, but be warned that on the weekends rock-box democracy is surrendered to DJs playing techno a bit too loud for the cozy, candlelit vibe.