Search results for

Located in Buffalo’s booming Theatre District, Buffalo Proper is a great place to stop before or after a show. Guests can look forward to nearly 30 specialty cocktails, plus seasoned bartenders ready to mix all the classics. Favorites include the BFLO Bramble (vodka, blackberries, mint, lemon) and the Bare Knuckle Boxer (whiskey, lemon, honey, and strawberry), but there’s also beer and wine should cocktails not be your thing. While the two-story, lofted space is massive, it fills up quickly on weekends, so go early to secure your spot at the bar or one of the high-top tables. Then, put in an order for your favorite drink, along with elevated bar fare like Japanese-style fried chicken, white bean burgers, and grits with crème fraîche and cheddar.

Hotel Tórshavn sits right in the city center, with the harbor to its front and the Town Hall Square to its back. Opened in 1923, it underwent a major renovation in 2007 and now features a sleek reception area and 43 bright, comfortable rooms, complete with work desks, complimentary Wi-Fi, and large windows to let in the ocean breezes. In addition to spacious conference facilities, the hotel offers two dining options—Hvonn Brasserie, which serves steak, pasta, and pizza overlooking the marina, and Hvonn Cocktail Bar, where guests can enjoy light meals, ice cream, and pastries alongside coffee, beer, and cocktails. Even if you’re not staying on site, you’ll want to be here on Tuesday evening, when the bar hosts jazz nights with local musicians.

This quaint neighborhood corner joint, on Charleston’s rapidly gentrifying Westside, serves Charleston food with a French accent. That’s not nouveau fusion-and-foams French—it’s rich old-school braises, and buttery, mounted sauces over braised local fish and pork ribs. Although the fancier entrees shine, it’s hard not to defer to the tempting double burger with pickled lunchbox peppers, or the French dip with its fall-apart brisket and intense au jus. Start with artichoke heart au gratin dip, the crab gnocchi with smoked bacon lardons, or a salad made with pears, figs, burrata, and toasted pine nuts. Pair everything with an excellent wine list and local beers. The best seats in the wood-ceilinged, cozy dining room overlook the kitchen (and can be reserved), where conversation with the cooks is welcome.

Kenya‘s first board-game café. like many great spots in Nairobi, is hidden away—in this case, on the 8th floor of an office building. If anything, Bao Box’s location is actually a boon because the altitude offers fabulous city views, and its seemingly random location adds to the completely fun vibe of the place. Walls are stacked high with all the famous board games like Monopoly, Settlers of Catan… and some lesser-known gems including one bluntly named “Fact or Crap.” Whatever your board-game poison, here lies something for you. The decidedly non-corporate decor is funky and outdoorsy with blankets and colorful cushions on pallets. A simple menu of burgers, chips, beers, wines, and soft drinks will satisfy peckish players.

Following the lead of mixed-use space Deus ex Machina in Camperdown, Rising Sun is a motorcycle workshop cum café and restaurant built for the Newtown community. That means garage space with tools and repair bays for members as well as regular workshops (one just for women), art events, and a public night ride on the last Tuesday of the month. Then there’s the rustic-chic café that whips up Asian-fusion cuisine that’s as rootsy and beautiful as the bikes. Come in the morning for breakfast ramen—bacon, roasted tomatoes, and a fried egg floating in bone broth—and a Japanese twist on a bloody mary. Then return for creative tapas and share plates in the evening complemented by a stellar list of Australian beers and wines.

“Mixed-use space” doesn’t come close to describing this hip destination on the banks of the Garonne River. Covering nearly five acres, the Darwin Ecosystème is first and foremost an incubator for sustainable development. Here, in renovated warehouses on the former Niel military barracks, several businesses have set up shop to help propel the green economy. Also on-site is everything from a bike-polo field, skate park, music venue, and free-expression space for graffiti artists to an urban farm, gourmet grocer, and Bordeaux’s largest organic restaurant. When you visit, be sure to stop by Les Chantiers de la Garonne, a “beach bar” on the riverbank where you can relax on a lounge chair with some oysters and Darwin beer (brewed on the premises), then dance the night away to electro beats.

Surprisingly, great cocktails and an ocean breeze can be hard to find in San Diego, which makes JRDN at the Tower23 Hotel somewhat of an anomaly. It may be a scene—there are bouncers at the door, and the 70-foot-long wave wall would be more at home in Miami—but the wind-protected patio is practically on the boardwalk, offering great views of Crystal Pier and surfers catching waves. On warm evenings, drinks like the cava-based Raspberry Sparkler and the spicy chili-mango margarita make the experience even sweeter. JRDN’s happy hour (Mondays–Fridays, 4 p.m.–6 p.m.) offers discounted beer, wine and sake and coincides with the sunset for much of the year, making it a prime time to score a seat outside.

A quick bus ride from the city (or a refreshing end to the Bondi to Coogee Coastal Walk), Coogee Pavilion is one of the most happening beach bars in Sydney. The downstairs area is home to a wood-fired pizza oven, oyster bar, juice stall, and kids’ zone with giant Scrabble, pétanque, ping pong, and nautical books, while the breezy rooftop features four different bars, outfitted with love seats and wire-frame stools for taking in the breathtaking bay views. Aussie wines and beers plus fruity cocktails shaken with house-made juice pair with Mediterranean-themed tapas like chargrilled lamb chops and blistered Padrón peppers.

Mole Creek Karst National Park, along with the surrounding Tasmanian Wilderness World Heritage Area, offers subterranean streams and pools, plus at least 300 caves. At Marakoopa Cave, you’ll feel as though you’re in mother nature’s planetarium—the walls are lit up by Australia’s largest colony of glowworms. Caves like Honeycomb and Westmorland are best explored during a half- or full-day trip with Deb from Wild Cave Tours. Unlike most guides, she holds a PhD in speleology. But if one day is not enough, make it a wild caving weekend to progress from walking and wading to scrambling and squeezing through tight crevices. Local beer and wine await you at Mole Creek Guesthouse.

While it’s certainly not for the faint of heart, attending a bull fight at the Plaza de Toros Nuevo Progreso is a time-honored Sunday activity for many folks in Guadalajara. From the traje de luces (the matador’s flamboyant, ultra-formal outfit) to the porrón (the kidney-shaped leather flask passed between spectators), the experience is steeped in tradition. Expect mariachi music that matches the drama of the fight; vendors selling beer, micheladas, peanuts, and popcorn from coolers hoisted on their shoulders; and, of course, the presentation of the bull’s ear to the victorious matador. If the idea of man versus beast is too intense for you, you can always just people-watch from your spot in the gradas (stands).

To get to know the neighborhood and its daily life, nothing beats a stroll through Alfama’s streets. It is the oldest and one of the most typical neighborhoods in Lisbon. Here you might see two women chatting at the window (well, screaming) while hanging the laundry; people sitting outside on small wooden benches or the entrance steps to old houses; and, of course, people listening to fado. The sounds of fado can come from a fado restaurant or from an old tavern (here fado is called Fado Vadio since it is sung by nonprofessionals after drinking aguardiente). On the nights of June 12 and 13, Alfama celebrates Santos Populares, when the streets are adorned with colorful little flags, the air is aromatic with smoke and smell of sardines, the beer is flowing, and music is everywhere.

Bowens Island Restaurant has existed in one form or another since 1946. The original building, covered in Sharpie messages scrawled by diners over the years, burned to the ground in 2006. Owner Robert Barber rebuilt it almost immediately, all the while serving steamed oysters straight from the inlet beyond the dock. Today, the paper plates are modest but come piled high with fried seafood, fries, and hush puppies. Order the oysters, top them with cocktail sauce, and wash it all down with a local beer for one of the best dining experiences in town. Bowens may not have white linen tablecloths or awards hanging on the walls, but this is where you want to be eating in Charleston.

This unique concept store is crammed with distinctively Cambodian objects, from vintage shop signs typically found in rural Cambodia to hand-crafted wooden ox and buffalo carved by a farmer discovered by the owners of trunkh, art director and designer Douglas Gordon and Marianne Waller. Expect kitschy tea-towels featuring iconic symbols and sights, such as Angkor Wat, to quirky fish-printed travel pillows and Christmas stockings in the shape of elephant trunks. All the Cambodian made products are either found or designed by the owners or sourced locally. The shop is located on gritty albeit increasingly hip Hap Guan Street in an emerging shopping, drinking and eating area the local business owners have branded Kandal Village. It’s one of my favorite Siem Reap spots and despite its compact size you can while away hours here.

Tucked away beneath the Pike Place Market — halfway down the long staircase to the waterfront known as the Hill Climb — is the Zig Zag Cafe, a charming little cocktail bar with a distinctly speakeasy-esque atmosphere. The craft cocktail menu boasts obscure liqueurs and spirits you’ve never heard of, but their knowledgeable servers and bartenders are happy to explain and guide you to your ideal drink. During happy hour, cocktails are $4 off, and food discounts are offered. We loved the Pendennis, a sweet-tart drink with gin, apricot brandy, lime juice, and Peychaud’s bitters. The dinner menu is small but intriguing, with offerings such as braised rabbit and camel burgers.

The indigenous people welcomed the first European settlers in 1851. Soon reports reached Scandinavia, like Ostenson Stine’s: “When you throw your eye upon Puget Sound, and behold the fleet of fish barges, rolling upon her briny breast, a reminiscence of the coast of Norway steals into your soul.” It sparked a wave of immigration, now celebrated in a new $45-million landmark-building near the Ballard Locks. The sleek, sophisticated design has a central atrium evoking a fjord, crossed by bridges and pierced by contemporary stained-glass bird sculptures. While some of the exhibits honor Olde Worlde crafts and tools, expect interactive innovations as well. A fan favorite: pillows resembling giant stones, strewn under birch trunks. Cuddle up and watch gorgeous film footage that could easily inspire a trip—or several—to Europe.