Murray Hill Wine Bars

Thai

407 Third Avenue 10016
Cross Streets: 28th & 29th St.
212-679-7772

Hours: Daily: 11:30am-Midnight

Reserve, a newly opened Thai-inspired tapas and wine bar, hopes to assist you with your spicy food and wine pairing abilities.  In fact, the owners’ (a brother/ sister team along with a wine connoisseur friend) aim is to help you easily pair anything from a robust cabernet sauvignon to a crisp chardonnay that complements the sweet, spicy, salty and sour flavors of Thai cuisine.  According to the website: “The wines at Reserve have been personally palate-picked to complement and, at times, challenge the complexities of Thai flavors. In fact, every bottle of wine, wedge of cheese and pour of beer – although produced in different pockets of the world – embody a Thai essence: the intermingling of notes, aromas, tastes.”

The wine list features 17 wines sold by glass and an international wine list including wines from Spain, Italy, France, Slovenia, Germany, Austria, South Africa, Australia, Oregon, Chile, Argentina. Those frustrated by low-end labels at other Thai spots will be happy to know that there isn’t a Pinot Grigio in sight. On the red side, there’s a Malbec from Argentina ($8 a glass) and an Italian Lacrima ($10). If you like white, try the Slovenian Tocai ($9). If you’re in the mood to do some more heavy-duty tippling, bottles range $28–$35.  They also have a good beer list featuring craft beers like Troegs and authentic Thai beers.

Reserve offers charcuterie and cheese platters in addition to its diverse Thai and tapas menus. The menu is filled with French, Italian and Spanish influences on the Thai dishes. A crab cake appetizer ($6) is served with a sweet, spicy vanilla sauce; a basil chicken empanada ($3.50) is paired with a cucumber salad. Panang curry beef ($6) and som thum salad ($5) are still on the menu as well as green-curry pizza topped with chicken, fontina, and salami (~$10) and smoked salmon deviled eggs with Thai spices ($4).

For the otherwise nutty Kips Bay places, Reserve seems to be a good place for a date or three/four friends to chat comfortably over wine/small plates while enjoying mellow music and flat-screen TV viewing.

Word is they have a WTF happy hour (Wednesday, Thursday, Friday) from 4-8 p.m. – $5 wines by the glass and $6 cocktails.  Sunday and Monday (all day), they will take 30% off any bottle of wine and Tuesday 20% off. And to be confirmed, but also a current deal is a special 3-course tapas prix fixe dinner menu that comes with a glass of wine for only $19 (available every day).