Bar Veloce

I visited Bar Veloce last night at 176 7^th Ave. It is very, very popular! I actually had trouble finding a seat when I walked in. Clearly this must be a great place, right? We shall see…after checking in on foursquare, I found that for every third check in at Bar Veloce you get a free glass of Prosecco! Sweet :)

The bar was decorated nicely and had an old black and white film playing on a tv in the back of the bar. Wine bottles are on display behind the bar in a seemingly endless neck rack along the wall. The walls are exposed brick and one wall was lined with mirrors. It looks like it could be a chic place.

I can’t say much for the service because all of the tables were bar service only, as indicated by a friendly card placed on each of the tables. So, you have to go to the bartender to order your wine. This is the first time I’ve been to a wine bar that didn’t have any wait staff. Not quite as relaxing as I would have hoped.

I grabbed a menu from the bar and took a look at what wines they had to offer. I have to say that while the selection was small, all of the wines were from Italy and they were very unique. Many of the wines I hadn’t heard of or had never tried before. Each of the wines also has a description of its body, flavors, and tannins which I thought was a really great touch, especially if you’re not familiar with wine. Glasses started at $9 with the most expensive being $17 and bottles were on average between $40 and $50 and up to $120.

After reviewing the menu, I decided that I wanted a white wine on the sweeter side, so I tried to order the Moscato, but they were sold out. The bartender recommended the Müller-Thurgau that they had on special. I asked how it compared to the Moscato and he told me that it was a little less sweet, but very aromatic and floral. He really seemed to know what he was talking about. I chose the Müller-Thurgau and headed back to my table. The wine smelled grassy and fresh. It had a great acidity and tasted pleasantly of apricot and had a touch of a white pepper, but it had a short finish. It was a good way to cool off on a muggy evening.

Overall, Bar Veloce isn’t anything to go crazy over. I felt that because it was bar service only it took away from what should be a relaxing wine bar experience and turned it into a no frills, potentially standy, midtown after-work bar. Adding to the bar’s “midtowny” atmosphere, the bathroom was gross and the toilet wouldn’t flush. Lovely and sanitary!

I wasn’t very impressed with Bar Veloce, nor was I appalled except for the bathroom situation. But, in all honesty, I’ve had better. I don’t really even want to come back here two more times to get that free glass of Prosecco. I give Bar Veloce a rating of 2.5 out of 5 glasses.

Cool wine bottle display

Getting standy...

Müller-Thurgau

This stick man will not be coming to your table.