4. Charlie’s Bar & Kitchen: 112 Lincoln Ave.

Photograph by Angelo Shenery

This great date spot in The Bronx is located in the Clock Tower Building, once a piano manufacturing building. Many credit the building’s adaptive reuse for putting Mott Haven on the development map. Every year, the building holds spring and summer events on its roof top deck. Charlie’s can be found on the ground floor, and is The Bronx’s version of Cheers: it’s lively on the weekends, but cool and calm during weeknights.

Its eclectic menu features mussels cooked with white wine and served with garlic toast, and rustic chicken pasta. Happy Hour is from 3-7pm and every first Saturday of the month is its Hip Hop Brunch. Make sure to ask its Aussie bartender, Dan, for a Bronx Gin.