Bin 71

I sipped at Bin 71 tonight, which is on the Upper West Side at 237 Columbus Ave. The bar is very tiny and it was packed, even at pre-6pm. Yes! I wouldn’t be the weirdo that walks in first! Several people were also by themselves and looked like they came straight from work.

There were a few tables in their outdoor café area in front of the bar and upon entering the bar, I was surprised to find that it’s much smaller than I was expecting. The décor makes up for the size though! There is a beautiful marble-top bar in the center with cool hanging lamps above it, a tall wooden table with stools, and small wooden counters lining the wall that serve as tables. Extra bonus: they used unscented candles for table decoration! Thanks, Bin 71 :)

The décor brought the outdoors in; there were large vases of flowers on the tables and bar and little potted plants on the windowsills. It was a very open concept space, which makes it a good place for a glass of wine or a light meal in the summer.

The staff was pleasant and friendly and I was called “love” a few times (cute!). Not only were they very sweet, but they also knew when not to approach my table, as I was reading for a bit after I finished taking my notes for the review and probably looked like I didn’t want to be disturbed. Once I put away my book however, they quickly approached to see if I wanted anything else.

The wine list had a good selection of wines by the glass. They weren’t too expensive at $9 to $14 and bottles of these same wines were $30 to $60 with just a handful over $100. The bottle list offered many bottles under $50 and all were from Europe or the US. I did notice a typo on the bottle menu though. The menu lists the red wines, but the title for the white wine section is missing, so it fails to designate which ones are white. Whoops!

I ordered the 2009 L. Miguel Nordic Sud Viognier from Languedoc, France. I think I found one of my new favorite white wines! This was delicious. I couldn’t quite nail the aroma of the wine, but it smelled very sweet, almost like berries. It was very crisp and tasted lightly of dried apricot and had a nice, mild acidity.

My wine became a casualty of outdoor seating when a fly careened into it. This can’t be avoided in the summer though. Even in my apartment I find fruit flies floating in my glass with no idea where they came from! I guess not even bugs can resist the allure of a tasty vino.

Bin 71 was a very cool place. It has a busy city-like atmosphere and it’s a very true New York café-style bar. It was casual enough to feel like I could chill there with a couple glasses of wine for hours. I rate this place 4 out of 5 glasses.

Bin 71's outdoor seating area

Ahh, Viognier!