Upper East Side Wine Bars

International

1728 2nd Ave. 10128
Cross Streets: 89th & 90th
212-426-0919

Hours: Mon-Thu 5pm-Midnight Fri 5pm-1am Sat Noon-1am Sun Noon-11pm

The first installment of the Cavatappo wine bar group is a COZY wine hang out for Upper East Siders who want a chill experience. Chalkboard menus offer the specials for snacks and wine.

Join strangers at the communal table or vie for one of the few outdoor tables in the warm weather months. Sunday nights they host half-price specials. 60 wines by the glass!?

Word is they have an awesome happy hour special: Two appetizers (i.e., prosciutto, goat cheese and kalamata on toast, or fresh bruschetta, or warm hummus, etc.) and a bottle of wine for $35….!

Lower East Side Wine Bars

French/ Spanish

25 Canal St. 10002
Cross Streets: Division & Rutgers St.
212-475-5505

Hours: Daily 7pm-4am

Listed by NY Magazine as one of the top 5 casual wine bars in NYC in 2008.  It’s a neighborhood spot with a full bar, though it has a modest, yet potent selection of French and Spanish wines that take center stage at this tiny, under-the-radar destination on the edge of Chinatown.

Nibble on some French cheese with a friend or a special someone; the good news is that you can actually have a conversation here at a normal volume. Keep in mind there is no clear signage, so unless you’re up for a healthy jaunt, bring the address.  Amid the neighborhood’s karaoke bars and underground lounges, Clandestino is a quiet breath of fresh air.

Brooklyn Heights Wine Bars

127 Atlantic Ave.  11201
Cross Streets:  Henry & Clinton St.
718-855-7500

Hours: tbd

In an area on the side of Atlantic Avenue where previous choices were basically fish & chips, falafel and pizza, Brooklyn Heights will welcome a seasonal restaurant with a wine bar in the Winter of 2010.  (Funds to make this all happen were raised from using the help of online crowdfunding website, Kickstart.)

Expect there to be a focus on the trend of the times: “local, seasonal American cuisine with a definite bias to all things gastronomically Brooklyn” and a wine list that will be “unique yet super approachable and affordable.”

Chef Alex Sorenson, formerly of Mas (Farmhouse), cooks oysters Rockefeller, black risotto with crisp mushrooms and rabbit lasagna. And you probably should check out their adventurous dessert: foie gras doughnuts.

The space is bright and airy with high ceilings and lots of exposed brick… warm, comfortable and interesting.  As if sitting at a kitchen table, the chef prepares your meal right in front of you.  The owners, hailing from PUBLIC, believe that “watching the art of cooking while you dine is like a new kind of theater and can be truly inspirational, changing the way you think about the food you eat.”

As other’s have mused: maybe they’ll have help from former Monday Room sommelier Ruben to design their wine list. (Updated wine list information to come.)