i recently went to Alta in the village. if you like tapas then this place was absolutely phenomenal. it's on 10th street between 5th avenue and 14th street. set us back about $100/person with wine. 100% worth it though. the ambiance and atmosphere is absolutely A+++. kind of expensive for a couple of nyu students but i guess that is why i play poker
http://www.yelp.com/biz/alta-new-york
obviously this is the yelp link and as you can see it got stellar reviews.
to the poster above: i am not really a fan of fat cat. the live music was bad the few times i was there, it was too crowded and hot, there was a long wait time for getting pool/ping pong and the crowd is a really eclectic mix which can be good and bad. it was almost impossible to hear myself think the last time i was there.
lastly, can anyone recommend good places for my friends and i to go out during the week? some places that still have people or whatever. we are all 21 year old nyu students. (weekend suggestions are good too because we don't seem to diversify past noho, soho and east village that much, in particular recommendations on 3rd ave would be awesome considering i have heard good things tangentially)