We imagine Bettie Page—a sweet girl with a sinister side—would have hung out at this brothel-inspired bar, where tattooed girls in their prettiest cocktail dresses make the scene with greaser dudes outfitted in top hats, garage jackets and rolled-up jeans.

Located in a desolate, sketchy Downtown stretch, Bordello's Moroccan-style exterior still looks like Little Pedro's, its former incarnation. But inside, the grungy "decor" has been replaced with unexpected opulence. There are lipstick-red walls, black chandeliers, Venetian mirrors, antique love seats, giant vases of flowers, and an ornate stage with gold walls taken from a 19th-century church in India. But it's still edgy, and not just because the floors are concrete. We're especially fond of the debauched parlor room, an intimate sitting area cloaked by curtains. Co-owner Dana Hollister, who designed the interior, claims Bordello would be the result if Davids Lynch and LaChapelle opened a bar together. We were with her until she described the bar as "voluptuous," which lost us—though the menu options (fish and chips, fried calamari, barbecue ribs, pizza, hot dogs) will certainly add some curves. Every night is a time-warp experience, from mellow swing to punched-up rockabilly to African beat to the '60s dance party put on by Club Satisfaction the first Saturday of each month.—Alexandra Le Tellier