Alicia Wagner Calzada | 210SA Contributor Soho Wine and Martini Bar, in the former San Antonio Loan & Trust Co. building, has transformed the former bank vault into a wine cellar. Originally built in 1901, the vault was kept during restoration to maintain status on the National Register of Historical Places.

WHAT: SoHo Wine & Martini Bar

WHERE: 214 W. Crockett St.

THE DIGITS: (210) 444-1000

GET YOUR DRINK ON: 2 p.m.-2 a.m. daily

HOTTIES QUOTIENT: High. SoHo attracts mostly a well-dressed crowd of young urban professionals. You'll also see downtown workers, some conventioneers and a few tourists who have wandered up from the River Walk. Besides a central bar, sleek furniture is arranged into cozy groups in case you want to get to know someone over a bottle of wine and a flickering candle.

WALLET HANGOVER: Medium to high. SoHo has an extensive drink menu, including some fun specialty house martinis such as the Ginger Tini, the Espresso Tini and the Caramel Apple Tini. Most drinks cost $6-$10, but you can definitely drop a lot of dough on the fancier wines and champagnes (a bottle of 1999 Louis Roederer Cristal Brut Reims for $350, anybody?). The beers range in price from $3 for a Miller Lite to $3.75 for Stella Artois, Sam Adams and the like.

THE 210 TAKE: SoHo, which opened in April, is the perfect bar to go to when you want to be downtown but you don't want to be trampled by tourists at a cheesy-themed bar. It's a beautiful place, too: The building once housed the San Antonio Loan & Trust Co., and the wine is now stored in the huge vault that dominates the space. The floors are glossy wood, local art is displayed behind glass and the lights are always perfectly dimmed. Smoking is allowed in the front rooms but not the back room, which has its own bar. It's elegant but not snooty, and the huge plasma TV is ideal for Spurs viewing. Head there for happy hour (4-7 p.m.) with colleagues or to impress a date.

Jessica Belasco | 210SA Contributor