Best of Boston

Quick with the drink recommendation and the flourished bottle, Shawn Ahern is a professional in a trade too full of aspirant talk-show hosts. He pours a finely tuned martini and is brisk and responsive to eye contact, yet his friendliness never turns obtrusive. And unlike many barmen of fashion, he’s utterly free of snootiness, so even the most fatuous of requests (“I’ll take a chardonnay and a glass of ice”) is met with elegant service, graciously delivered.