Best hidden bar to impress your date

Winner: Backbar

Nothing submarines a date faster than dealing with a mixologist on a power trip, but that’s not something you need to worry about at Backbar: service at this Somerville cocktail lounge is genuinely hospitable. (The fact that it’s located through an unassuming red door down a Union Square alley earns it points in the “effortlessly cool” department, too.) Belly up close, ask the bartender for anything smokey and mezcal-based, then sit back and watch the show. –Dan Fogarty

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