A date plan
Date · NoHo
A romantic East Village–NoHo crawl that moves from a low-lit wine bar through candlelit Italian to a French-Asian patisserie that's worth planning your whole night around.
NoHo · $$ · Wine bar
Rake is the kind of wine bar that feels like a secret even after you've been there twice — a former dry cleaner's converted into a snug, low-lit room with 25+ glasses on the list and bottles that won't make you wince at the check. Pull up two seats, let the staff talk you through something natural and orange, and take your time. Note: the entrance is on E 3rd Street, not 1st Ave — keep your eyes open or you'll walk right past it.
~6 min walk (0.3 mi). From Rake, head south a block and cut over toward Avenue B — the walk through Tompkins Square Park's edge at night has a certain unhurried energy. Let the conversation stretch.
NoHo · $$$ · Italian restaurant · Cocktail bar
Maretta arrived in late 2024 and already feels like it's been anchoring Avenue B forever — concrete walls softened by candlelight, a pizza oven crackling behind the bar, and an Italian menu that knows exactly what it wants to be. Start with the mussels, then let a Negroni Shakerato do the rest of the talking. It's a room that rewards lingering.
~9 min walk (0.5 mi). Maretta is on Avenue B, which puts you a few blocks east of the NoHo core — squarely in the East Village. The vibe is the same; the address just shifted. From Maretta, a short walk north on Avenue B and left on E 9th brings you to Lady Wong. Keep an eye out for the hand-painted signage.
NoHo · $$ · Pastry shop · Bakery
Lady Wong is the kind of place that makes you feel like you discovered something — a husband-and-wife team with resumes from Jean-Georges and the Four Seasons channeling Southeast Asian flavors into immaculate French pastry forms: think ube blackberry domes, pandan matcha tarts, black sesame passion fruit entremets. The seating is minimal (a handful of bar stools and a couple of outdoor chairs), so plan this as a pick-up-and-wander moment — grab your order and find a stoop on E 9th. Pre-order the good stuff or risk heartbreak at the counter.