ABV Wine Bar

Great food, great drink selections, great service. Overall had a really positive experience. The menu is eclectic and tasty, I split dishes with friends and everything we had was great. The waitstaff is friendly and prompt. It does get very busy weekend nights (thurs-sat) so it's hard to find a seat sometimes (been back because it was great!). If you want a chill environment with good food, or just a few drinks, this is a real gem on the UES!

Great place. Eclectic menu. Big wine list, international beer list with a decent number of small producers and hard to find bottles. Had a great time and will be back.

Having lived in the neighborhood of ABV for the last 8 years, I initially was very excited that a new wine bar was coming to the area. That is, until I actually visited this establishment. Although the wine selections are fairly decent, I was absolutely appalled by the way ABV is managed and the by way we were treated by the staff. We were made to feel as if WE were lucky to be there and to have a seat--as opposed to the way it should be, where the establishment should feel lucky to have our patronage. Not only was the waitstaff rude and unaccommodating, the food was quite possibly the most overrated I have ever experienced at a restaurant in NYC. If you like all your food to be fried and you don't mind it being overpriced, then maybe this is the restaurant for you. Every single item on the menu is deep fried and prepared in one of these new age, hipster-style kitchens which is so small that it does not afford itself the space for proper appliances that should be required in a restaurant that charges as much for its food as ABV does. No grill, and maybe a conventional oven the size of a microwave at best. The food is absolutely awful, not to mention, limited. This neighborhood was desperate for a decent wine bar and restaurant, and unfortunately it still is. For as beautiful as this neighborhood has become the last few years, it certainly didn't need a Williamburg-style restaurant that is too cool for its own good. The people who go to this restaurant are clearly not from the area and seem to not respect the diversity and pulse that make this community so wonderful to live in.

Very good brunch and always poppin at night. They have a great late night happy hour as well.

Went there last night with a 30 minute wait, but got lucky w a couple of seats at the bar. Started with the fried pickles, which was so amazing but so much we shared with our neighbors at the bar, then moved onto the fish taco's and gnocchi, both of which were the perfect size and absolutely amazing... but it was the Foie Gras Fluffernutter that I had to order two of. Peanut butter, fluffernutter, hazelnut crumbles, apple jelly, with a piece of caramelized toast and seared to perfection Foie Gras on top? I've never had anything better. Perfect combination of sweet and salty. Not to mention the staff was nice and accommodating Can't wait to come back.

Agree with the other reviews; this is exactly what the neighborhood needed. Excellent very well thought-out food without the pretense; a similar approach to the atmosphere as well. We had the scallops and tartare pizza, both excellent and paired them with wine and beer. Beer was actually better than the wine. We went back for brunch a short time later and found the same high-quality standards.

All three of the "medium" plates we tried were great, especially the grilled octopus and gnocchi with spring vegetables. The place has a laid back vibe yet offers a pretty impressive and reasonably priced wine list. Both times I've gone (weeknights) I was able to get a seat but it was full enough to seem fun and energetic.