Sweet Libertine
The Libertine Opens at Gild Hall

New rule: Surrounding yourself with books always makes drinking better.

Soft-opening tonight, The Libertine is the new bookbound restaurant and lounge that just may be your new Financial District happy hour and secret date spot.

Think of the Libertine as an old British gentleman's club—only coed and not really a club. It's the kind of place you could see Don Draper, Gordon Gekko or Keith Richards (the 1968 version) throwing back Old Fashioneds and slurping oysters. Which means it's perfect for your next after (or during) work drink or a quiet weekend date away from your usual haunts—better for unseen moments that may get a little frisky.

Embrace the lively downstairs—bedecked in honeywood and lorded over by a horse-and-carriage-themed mural—and grab some small plates from the bar menu (we like the Sturgeon Caviar Sliders and the Kobe Franks ‘n Jackets). Or head up the square spiral bookcase-staircase for a little more privacy and settle in at one of the cordovan leather banquettes. You'll be happily surrounded by vintage globes, old encyclopedias (raided from the nearby Strand) and gold fixtures.

But the prime upstairs real estate is the ten-person communal table, which you may also want to commandeer for your next offsite meeting or power breakfast.

Or other gentlemanly pursuits.