Lelabar

Lelabar is the ultimate West Village bar for legit winos and a great first-date(s) spot. It ticks all the wine bar boxes: it’s classy but unpretentious, casual but romantic, quaint but minimalist, and has an impressive wine list of carefully selected bottles for every budget.

Oval bar – www.lelabar.com

As soon as you step in, you’ll notice the alluring interior, with its unique large oval-shaped bar. Albeit the minimal decor, Lelabar’s s setting is super cozy and inviting, with warm tones, tin ceilings, and evening candles that perfectly highlight the custom iron work and design. The U-shape bar seating, the dim lighting and the jazz soundtracks set the mood for a perfectly orchestrated date night.

Lelabar during off-peak hours

You can sit by the window for some people watching, but the whole point is to sit around the U-bar in front of the sommeliers and the food-prep area.

Although Lelabar does serve craft beer, this is a place for true wine enthusiasts (duh!). You’ll get to choose from an extensive and almost intimidating list of over 300 wines from all regions and of all price ranges. They ingeniously organize the wine menu by ranking bottles geographically, then by varietal, then by price. If you still can’t make up your mind, the super friendly sommeliers are always on-point and give the best advice. Honestly, hats off to them, it’s not that easy to find such constantly helpful and knowledgeable bartenders. The selection of red wines is particularly impressive.

Great deals for happy hour every day until 7:30pm!

And as one shall not drink on an empty stomach, Lelabar’s quality wines are nicely paired with their shared plates, which include charcuterie and artisanal cheese boards, pressed sandwiches and tasty small bites. Everything is prepared at the bar in front of you. Make sure to also check out their central chalkboard for their daily wine and food specials.

Charcuterie – www.lelabar.com

The best part about your wine sampling is that their entire wine list is available by the glass with a purchase of two glasses!

Lelabar’s extensive wine selection – www.lelabar.com

And the second best part is their awesome happy hour specials. Lelabar offers the best deals in the area: normally pricey wine bottles are $28 (which is borderline retail price #winning!) and glasses are $8-$10. Cheese plates are $12, and they have great $1.5 oysters on Wednesdays and Saturdays. The bar fills up quickly for happy hour so come early!

Oyster Happy Hour specials on Wednesdays and Saturdays!

Keep an eye for their hosted events – Lelabar offers guided sommelier tastings for all wine lovers, whether they be oenophile or novice.

Like every popular West Village wine bar, this place can get pretty busy, but I feel like you can always manage to get a spot within a limited wait time. Lelabar has everything you could ask for from a wine bar. It’s the perfect place for a date, to meet up with a friend or two, or to just grab a glass of wine before or after dinner at one of the many great nearby restaurants.

Open Mon-Thurs 5pm-midnight / Fri-Sat 5pm-2am / Sun 4pm-11:30pm