• Wilfie & Nell

  228 W. 4th St., nr. Seventh Ave. S.; 212-242-2990

  With poor old Chumley’s still shuttered, West Village singles were hurting for a rustic, unpretentious pub to cruise and booze in. Maybe that’s why, so shortly after opening in November, Wilfie & Nell was abuzz with gaggles of spicy-Margarita-swishing twentysomethings and older bohemians stooped over pints at the bar. The small, candlelit room is so permeated with Irish bonhomie (the owners are from Dublin, and their handsome barkeeps excel in chitchat) that you can’t help but strike up a conversation with the cutie seated next to you. The rickety communal tables and conscientiously sourced pub grub are surefire conversation starters. Luckily, the Berkshire-pork sliders come three to a plate, so it’s easy to offer one when you catch a stranger staring. Just make sure to resist the game-killing McClure’s pickles.

From the 2009 Best of New York issue of New York Magazine