Best place to feel pajama-relaxed over swanky cocktails

At the West Side Lounge, the lighting is dim, the simple food artfully prepared, the music and conversation levels low. In every sense, it is the perfect place for a first date. However, absent are the stomach butterflies that usually accompany a new romance. First, the potent and irresistible cocktails -- such as the rum-and-ginger-beer Dark and Stormy or the SweeTart-tasting Sara Sweet -- quickly put you at ease. But a warm buzz also emanates from the wait staff, who are so solicitous and unpretentious that you'll feel like one of the bar's many neighborhood regulars.

West Side Lounge, 1680 Mass Ave, Cambridge, (617) 441-5566.