The Loft   We didn't know we wanted a place like the Loft until we got it. The second-floor space above Japanese nabe restaurant Ichiriki is the recent home of the restaurant's late-night counterpart. The Loft is our favorite kind of nightspot: modern, ambient, tranquil and sophisticated without being stuffy. The signature drinks (like the shiso mojito) and the püpü (they serve everything from fish and chips, to pipi kaula to rib-eye steak) make The Loft our favorite place to go after dark. And just a few months into its life, The Loft is wildly popular, making us worry that we won't ever get a table again. Displaced so soon after finding our nighttime destiny? We hope not. We already can't live without it.  510 Pi'ikoi St. 591-5638. 5 p.m. 2 a.m. daily. AX, DC, DS, JCB, MC, VS. No checks. $$.