SAINT sits on Second Avenue on the Lower East Side and operates on two levels that feel like two different moods. The street-side cafe and garden patio are casual enough, but the speakeasy that opens on Friday and Saturday nights starting at nine has a different energy entirely. It's intimate, the lighting is low, and the cocktails come from mixologist Ravi Thapa, whose drink list reflects the neighborhood's layered cultural history.

The space can hold up to 150 people but rarely feels crowded because of how it's divided. There's a commitment here to the idea that a place can be both a restaurant and something more interesting after hours, and SAINT generally delivers on that.