thrillist

For bars, the Old World-theme's a risky one: taken too far and it'll feel like you're drinking in a Round Table Pizza, while undershooting means a coat of arms above the Megatouch 3000. For the right balance, check out The Griffin.

Decked out with domed brick ceilings and red leather booths, The Griffin's a polished European tavern that in true Continental fashion facilitates drinking no matter the occasion. Behind the walnut bar a healthy selection of whiskeys and single malts compliments the usual European tap beer suspects ranging from easy-drinking Peroni to rich, creamy Boddingtons -- sure to rekindle tender, semester-abroad memories of drifting to sleep trying to keep down a bellyful of Boddingtons. There's also a comfortable smoking room in back, where you're free to puff away, filling the air with that most worldly of decorative touches, a haze of secondhand smoke.

The Griffin's still working out its food menu, so for now you'll just have to drink your dinner -- then rage through the streets on the prowl for Erotic Photo Hunt and a King Arthur's Supreme.

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