In the East Village, this brand new ethnic bar is a more than welcome addition. Klimat is a dark, old-world style Eastern-European pub that attracts an eclectic clientele. With its wooden chairs, picnic tables, and a glass garage door that opens to the street, this East 7th Street beer and wine bar almost evokes a suburban backyard, though it substitutes sidewalk for grass.

Its ambitious Eastern European-influenced drink menu includes unpronounceable draughts and bottles from breweries in Poland (Zywiec) and Czech (Krusuvice), and intriguing Eastern European vintages, many from Georgia. It's turnabout as fair play when the East Village's young beer and wine connoisseurs get thrown for an old-school imbibing loop.

Despite the theme, there’s no hipster-based irony or aspiring cultural elitism here – this is the real deal, and there is even a steady crew of euro ex-pats who frequent this bar. The park-bench style seating and picnic table booths create a relaxed atmosphere. There is a smorgasbord of beers from the greater Central European area, and an equally impressive wine list. So sure are the owners that you’ve never heard of the Czech pilsners on tap that they let you sample a flight of them before you commit to a 16.9-ounce mug. Same with the Eastern European wines available by the bottle or glass (Bear’s Blood, anyone?). There are also sixteen-ounce bottles from dozens of vowel-challenged breweries in Russia, the Ukraine, and Poland, with Slovakian and Slovenian brews on their way.

Klimat has a decent selection of small plates to go with your drinks, but the focus here is definitely on the alcohol. Homemade perogies and Polish sausage are the favored accompaniments to that frothy mug of beer, and a full menu is also available, featuring items like smoked salmon, fillet of sole, and grilled shrimp. Each dish is made from scratch, so be prepared to wait up to 35 minutes for your dinner.

Seven days a week from 4pm to 7pm, bottles of beer and glasses of wine are $4 and draughts are $5.