12 Sexiest Places in Brooklyn

Hotel Delmano is not a hotel at all. It's an artfully decorated, low-key bar in Williamsburg that resembles a stage set from the early 1900s. Settle down at a rough-hewn wooden table tucked in a dark corner and fritter away the hours. Raw bar, wine, cocktails, absinthe, and small plates of nibblies make for a moody, intimate experience.

Hotel Delmano, 82 Berry Street at North 9th Street in Williamsburg, Brooklyn. (718)387-1945. http://www.hoteldelmano.com/

New York Magazine calls it "a candy store of hotter-than-hot shoes." Chuckies was a Brooklyn institution long before it took the giant step of opening in Manhattan. Check out Chuckie’s original store on Kings Highway in Flatbush, Brooklyn.

Chuckie’s Designer Shoes LTD, 1304 Kings Hwy, Midwood, Brooklyn. (718) 376- 1003.

The vintage Playboy pinups and old romance magazine covers plastered all over the bathroom walls of Toby’s Public House in Greenwood Heights read like a history of mid-century American ideas of sexiness. Bar bathrooms can be gross, functional, and in some hip Brooklyn venues, overdone. Here, you're in a room with about 200 images of gorgeous gals in a wall-to-wall collage of decollage, done with more taste and humor than most frat boys could muster. Come for the great pizza, beer, and neighborhood vibe — and don't forget to go to the bathroom.

Toby’s Public House, 686 6th Avenue, Brooklyn. (718) 788-1186. http://www.tobyspublichouse.com

DUMBO's twilight spaces, unexpected corners, and hulking old buildings are mysterious yet charming. Even in daytime, DUMBO surprises; turn a corner and suddenly you're standing alone, drinking in a spectacular view from an unlikely spot. (For instance, the photo shown here captures a peek-a-boo view of the Empire State Building, seen nestled below the arch of the Brooklyn Bridge.)

It's picture book romantic, in a New York-y kind of way, too. Indeed, bridal parties in full regalia arrive regularly in white stretch limos, then pile out to take wedding photos from airy Fulton’s Landing nearby, framed against the backdrop of the Brooklyn and Manhattan Bridges and Manhattan skyline.

More about DUMBO.

Argentine tango has got to be the sexiest dance of all, a mating tease. Some tango experts say tango, with its exaggerated, dramatic movements, was created by drunken dockworkers who, while waiting their turn at bordellos, found it hilarious to act out both the male and female roles in a war-of-the-sexes dance of seduction. In Brooklyn, you can find tango classes not in milongas but, where else in the land of Travolta, at Dance Fever Studios.

Dance Fever Studios, (2 locations): 159 20th Street and 3009 Avenue J, Brooklyn. (718) 718-637-3216. http://www.dancefeverstudios.com.

WILL THEY RE-OPEN IN TIME FOR VALENTINE'S DAY? The River Cafe, located on the East River, has been closed for months, due to the impact of Hurricane Sandy on October 29, 2013. Since, they've been under repair and renovation. We have inquired as to whether they will open for 2/14/2013.

Yes, it’s expensive. Yes, it’s exclusive. Yes, men must wear a jacket to dinner. And yes, the River Café in DUMBO offers the sexiest dining experience in Brooklyn. The food is excellent, the service impeccable, the people-watching excellent, and the wine list is very, very fine. Ask for a window-side table to max out your views of the twinkling strings of lights on the Manhattan Bridge, Manhattan’s skyline across the river, and the water of the East River right below.

River Cafe, 1 Water Street in DUMBO, Brooklyn. (718) 522-5200. http://www.rivercafe.com. (NOTE:

Babeland's boggling array of sex toys — and the staff's frank, open approach — makes this little adult store, nestled on a picturesque block on Bergen Street in Park Slope, about the sexiest sex shop in Brooklyn. Nothing's hidden, nothing's embarrassing, nothing's too out there. Decorated in teenage sorbet colors — peach, raspberry, lemon — this store front could be selling candy. And, in a way, it is. One of Babeland's Valentine's Day best sellers is the $150 Sex and Romance Kit which includes a 3-oz. massage candle, satin bondage kit, black lace underwear "with custom vibe pocket," and Babeland Edible Body Chocolate.

Babeland, 462 Bergen St. (near Flatbush and 5th Avenues) in Park Slope, Brooklyn. (718) 638-3820. http://www.babeland.com

Tucked away near a historic Brooklyn bluff, Vinegar Hill House has just the right recipe of carefully prepared foods, tasteful rustic decor and cool attitude. Add a hip crowd, good drinks, and dim lighting on a languorous Sunday afternoon — voila, you've got one of Brooklyn's most intimate brunch experiences.

Vinegar Hill House, 72 Hudson Avenue, Vinegar Hill, Brooklyn. (718) 522-1018. http://vinegarhillhouse.com

It's the cozy boudoir ambiance here, plus a delicious selection of panties, teddies, camisoles, bras and pretty sheer, silk, and lacy things to put on (and take off), that make Williamsburg's highly regarded Brooklyn Fox lingerie shop sexy. You can find pristine white bridal wear, seductive black bustiers, a dozen different garter belts, and the briefest of briefs here.

Brooklyn Fox, 132 North 5th Street, Williamsburg, Brooklyn. (718) 599-1555. http://brooklynfox.com

After 911, the NYFD raised funds with a calendar of some of their buff guys, and for the 10th anniversary, they re-released an updated 2013 edition. Pictures speak a thousand words ... Buy from Amazon.

Some places are inadvertently sexy. And while foreign car repair places are by definition magnets for men who like to tinker, women who like cute, competent guys — you know, guy guys sporting a little dirt under their fingernails — can be drawn to them, too. And the ladies seem to keep finding reasons to bring their Lexus SUVs to Lorenzutti’s for repair.

Lorenzutti Motors Inc., 330 Douglass Street, Gowanus, Brooklyn. (718) 875-1254

The barely-clad mermaids and mermen who throng to Brooklyn's Mermaid Parade in Coney Island every June are hardly model-svelte. If the Mermaid Parade is about anything, it’s about fleshiness and (literally) letting it all hang out. Sexy? You bet. It takes all kinds!