My dear readers, I have to apologize for my lack of frequent reviews. It’s been one heck of a busy summer! Last week I was able to visit ‘inoteca (no, that’s not a typo) at the bustling intersection of Rivington and Ludlow in the Lower East Side.
The atmosphere here is pretty hip. It has an open layout and is one of the larger wine bars I’ve been to. It was bright inside since most of the walls were covered with large windows, there were faux exposed beams on the ceiling as well as a sweet rectangular light fixture hanging above one of the larger wooden tables. Some popular songs from the 60s were playing and it gave the bar a fun and somewhat lighthearted feel. The back of the bar had a cool, masculine vibe going on with fully stocked wooden wine and liquor racks covering the walls, and a solid metal bar with glasses hanging above it. At first impression, I was liking the place.
Glasses were between $9 and $16 and bottles were between $33 and $73. What appears to be a half carafe of wine, although it wasn’t labeled, starts at $17 and is no more than $37. All of the wines were Italian and I decided on a glass of the 2010 Andrew Felici Verdicchio dei Castelli di Jesi Classico Superiore. Say that three times fast. Once I ordered, the waiter brought a wine glass out, set it on my table, and walked away. Invisible wine? Just as I was about to start swirling air, he came back and poured a small amount of real wine into my glass for me to try. I approved, and he poured me a full glass. He then asked if I was going to order food or if all I was going to have was one glass of wine. I said that for now, it would just be the wine. He had a slightly annoyed look on his face , said “….ok” and walked away. Never to be seen again. The service was a little off-putting.
On to the wine. The Verdicchio had a great, full aroma of grass and lemon and even a little bit like hay. It tasted like green apple and the lemon came through on the palette as well. It had a refreshing acidity and developed in the finish to a honeysuckle flavor. It was a very yummy wine.
The crowd was a mix of youngins such as myself, several middle aged couples, and an older couple that I hope to be as cool as someday. It’s definitely an eclectic customer base, at least on an early Friday evening. There is plenty of nightlife nearby, as well as shopping, so ‘inoteca would be a great spot to stop in before or after either of these.
Now, I'm serious about that waiter never being seen again. I’m assuming service was poor because I was allegedly having only one glass of wine, but shouldn’t every customer be given the same experience regardless of how much money they’re about to spend? Once my glass was poured, my table must have evaporated into thin air until the universe sensed my need to pay the bill, and I was once again relevant to the wine bar. Another waiter saw this miraculous act unfolding before his eyes and he was actually friendly when he asked me if I was ready for another glass of wine or the check.
‘inoteca has great wines for the price, a chill atmosphere, and a space that is well laid out. It is lacking in the service area, at least from my experience there. I give ‘inoteca a rating of 3.6 out of 5 glasses, its saving grace being the last impression I had, which was the one friendly waiter.
The outside of 'inoteca
my glass of Verdicchio
The solid bar area in the back