Pil Pil

I went to Pil Pil on Friday, which is located at 265 E 78^th St. I’ve walked by it several times and it always looked like it had a fun interior. Plus, the name is kind of cute. While writing this, I googled what “pil pil” means and it actually has nothing to do with wine or even tapas. It’s a type of spicy fish sauce…definitely random.

Anyway, the interior is indeed fun and visually interesting. Vines are entwined in the ceiling, which appears to be made to look like a pergola. The brick walls have little alcoves cut into them that have seen many, many candles melt within them. It creates a cool, almost gothic effect. The stand out part of the décor, however, is an array of bottles with brightly colored lights behind them that serves as the backdrop to the beautiful marble top bar.

Pil Pil is a Spanish wine bar, which I was pleased to see when I arrived because I adore wines from this country. There is a good selection of both red and white wines and the menu shows the grape variety for each wine, as most Spanish wines are named after the region and can be a little confusing. Glasses of wine are actually sold as a “mini carafe” which is 8 oz of wine. The average pour for a glass is around 6 oz, so this is a good value as it wasn’t priced any higher than most wine bars that I’ve been to. The mini carafes started at $11 and were priced up to $17 and bottles were $38 to $69. They also have some happy hour specials on beer and sangria. However, on Sundays and Mondays, all bottles of wine are half off! Since their bottles aren’t overpriced, this is a great deal.

I selected a mid-range priced wine and ordered the 2007 Valserrano Crianza Rioja. I may have mentioned this in previous reviews involving Spanish wine, but it’s worth repeating: Spain has labeling requirements in regards to how long a wine must be aged before release. Crianza is the term used for the minimum time: 2 years of ageing with at least 6 months spent in oak barrels; Reserva is aged for 3 years with 1 year in oak; Gran Reserva is aged 5 years with at least 18 months spent in oak.

This Rioja smelled of sweet dried strawberries and was very aromatic. It tasted very similar on the palate, plus a little hint of plum. The tannins were a little harsh, but it was enjoyable. It would have been really, really good with the lamb sliders they serve here, which are topped with Manchego cheese….yum. It seriously took every effort to save my appetite for dinner and not order them.

Pil Pil has a really nice, pleasant atmosphere. The service was quick and polite and the place was busy, but just enough to create a background buzz of conversation. It was filled with groups of girlfriends catching up, as well as a couple of dates. It started to get busier after 7, so get here a little early to grab a table if you plan on hanging out for a while.

It took me a while to see this, but I eventually noticed that there’s a super creepy skeleton hanging from the wall, shrouded in some brown cloth. Forgotten Halloween decoration? The bar’s founder? The world may never know. It’s also clutching a champagne glass in one of its boney hands. In the timeless words of Sawyer from Lost, “Cheers, Skeletor!”

Pil Pil is a trendy, yet casual place and boasts a very cool setting. I really don’t have anything negative to say about this bar. It’s one of the better Spanish wine bars I’ve been to, if not the best so far. Stop by to have a glass and discover why I love Spanish wine so much :) And please, order those lamb sliders for me! I give Pil Pil a rating of 4.2 out of 5 glasses.

The vines that cover the ceiling of the bar

My mini carafe of Rioja

The cool bottle display behind the bar

There was a rack of wine bottles at the end of each row of tables

look closely...it's Skeletor!