Ask me to describe my ideal wine bar and the key words you would get are: exposed-brick, rustic, French, candlelight, and nibbles that include goat cheese tarts and ricotta drizzled in honey. Bonus points for Mason jars on the table filled with mini daisies…or Mason jars that actually serve as wine glasses. (What can I say? I’m a Southern girl at heart!)
However, I know that’s not all New Yorkers’ glass of wine, so I asked readers and people what their favorite spots were to drink wine in New York City. The bar that got mentioned the most times was a little gem tucked away on 50th Street between 2nd and 3rd Avenues, Sofia Wine Bar — here’s what some of you said about it:
Sofia Wine Bar…it’s so cozy!
LOVE @SofiaWineBar…island of hospitality in midtowneast. Superb service, wine list, homemade lasagna.
I bundled up and headed over to experience this cozy island of hospitality myself. Here’s the verdict:
Pros:
-It was 8pm on a Thursday night and the place was packed. I didn’t have the foresight to make a rezzie, but the host/waiter was awesome enough to separate two tables and get us seated immediately. I do love speedy service.
-The decor was right up my alley. In lieu of daisies they had mini-poinsettias on the table (tis the season, eh?), but the candlelight, exposed brick, and French linen napkins were all there. Even the outside of the building was strung with twinkle lights, which I’m a fan of, Christmas season or not.
-The food and wine: perfecto. My favorite dishes were the Bruschetta Trio and the Tartufo Chocolate Lava Cake. And the bottle of La Gerla Brunello di Montalcino, of course. From dark raspberries to French oak, this medium body wine is one that would make any wine lover’s mouth happy.
Cons:
-It was LOUD. Seriously, with the amount of noise going on, I felt more like I was dining at an Irish pub than a cozy wine bar. The music was blasting, and it was more of the genre you’d expect to hear at a Chelsea club rather than an intimate wine bar. Granted, we were seated in the front of the restaurant near the bar, so maybe the back dining room is a bit more my volume. Regardless, I’d definitely return to find out for sure.
Spots in Manhattan:
In Brooklyn:
In Queens:
Jessica Tiare Bowen lives in the juicy Big Apple with her adorable pink-nosed chihuahua, Gillman. He’s the inspiration for her first published children’s book, “Park Avenue Pound Puppy.” The book is the combined result of her two greatest passions: pooches and penning stories.
Her passions include art, urban hikes through Manhattan, drinking coffee with 3 creams and 6 sugars, making extremely detailed itineraries and traveling to far away places, singing along to Broadway shows, Netflix movie nights, discovering incredible treasures at Goodwill and thrift stores, and listening to stories from little people under 7 and big people over 70.
She started her career as New York City Teaching Fellow, teaching elementary school and theater arts at a special education school in the South Bronx for 6 years. She is now a Special Education School Improvement Specialist working in public schools throughout New York City. She is the Editor-In-Chief of the online New York City travel magazine, Used York City. The magazine focuses on finding the best of New York…as used by New Yorkers. She is a member of the Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators, and an ASPCA Ambassador.
