I visited The Other Room last week at 143 Perry St in the West Village, completing my “Room” series. One of my best friend’s was visiting me along with her hubby, so we had ourselves a little double date here after dinner.
The Other Room is on a quiet street, which was so calm and silent that I wasn’t even sure that I had the correct address for the bar. But alas, as we made our way down the block, I spotted its sign and when we approached the unassuming exterior of the bar, we saw that it was actually really busy inside! It’s a bit far from the subways, so when people venture out to go to a bar, it’s very telling of how great the place should be.
I have to say, that this is my favorite of the “Room” wine bars. The atmosphere is just perfect; the music isn’t loud at all, the place is somewhat spacious, it's dimly lit and romantic, and just all around very friendly. If The Room and Anotheroom had a baby wine bar, it would be this place. The best features of the other two were used to create The Other Room: most of the walls were brick, they used the same dark colors that added to the cave-like environment in Anotheroom, and the lighting was very cozy. There was even enough space for us to grab some seats in the corner and have room to move around a bit. Similar to the layout of The Room, there was a seating area in the back of the bar with low profile leather couches surrounding a little coffee table. It would be a great space for a party. However, the place did have a gross factor - the bathroom smelled like a litter box that hadn't been cleaned in weeks.
The wines fell into a similar price range as the other bars with glasses being between $10 and $15. There was a pretty good variety of wines and we decided to order a bottle of easy to drink red wine. The Ribera del Duero sounded good, since it’s hard not to like the Tempranillo grape, which is the most widely used grape in Spain. This one, however, was a little disappointing. It smelled like currant and blackberry and a little earthy. It was on the sweeter side and tasted like berries and was a bit herbaceous as well. The wine was good with the first couple of sips, but meh…it wasn’t anything special. I’m a huge fan of Spanish wine and this just wasn’t what I would have expected.
I have noticed, unfortunately, that the “Rooms” all have one thing in common; underwhelming wine. While the atmosphere is very pleasant and relaxing, the wine list leaves something to be desired. I tried a different red wine at each of the bars and neither was a good example of what that style of wine should taste like. Maybe their selection of white wines is better. Despite this, the atmosphere at The Other Room was just so wonderful aside from the stinky bathroom that I really would like to go back and give the wines a second try. I give this place a rating of 4 out of 5 glasses.
Tucked away in a quiet neighborhood
Dark and cozy (and busy!)
Cheers!