Ardesia
“The place was fairly busy, but the noise level was low and intimate- perfect for conversation.”
“We had a variety of bites throughout the evening, but I would highly recommend the burrata, ricotta crostini, and the sugar snap peas.”
“I'll definitely be back, especially when the weather warms up to enjoy their lovely outdoor seating!”
Ardesia
Takes Reservations: Yes
Take-out: Yes
Accepts Credit Cards: Yes
Bike Parking: Yes
Wheelchair Accessible: Yes
Good for Groups: Yes
Happy Hour: Yes
Coat Check: Yes
Outdoor Seating: Yes
Waiter Service: Yes
Price range.
$$ Price range $11-30
8 reviews
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My husband and I found Ardesia on Yelp when looking for someplace to have a light bite before a concert at Terminal 5.
It was early on a Sunday, so the place wasn't crowded and we were able to sit outside which was lovely – the restaurant is on a nice quiet street so sitting outside was very pleasant. Inside looked nice too, but was empty when we were there.
I admit, for a wine bar, I wasn't super impressed with the wine list – I ordered a Pinot Noir, and my husband had the Tempranillo. Both were only ok.
The food, however, was very good. We ordered Ricotta Crostini – they were nicely seasoned, very light, and very nice. Pretzels – also very good. And burrata with bacon bourbon jam that was just amazing.
Overall, Ardesia served up exactly what we were looking for and we were very pleased.
Able to score a table for two on a whim, we were seated at a high table with stools. Most of the seating along the windows were set up this way.
What we ate:
Deviled Eggs, came with 3 (pickled jalapeno, pork rind- ($6)
Too much mayo base, all I could taste.
Burrata (bacon-bourbon jam & toasted Amy's bread- $14)
the BEST item of the night, of my YEAR. milky cheese with stellar bread and salty/sweet jam. the perfect mouthful.
Garlic Shrimp Skewers GF ($8)
pretty standard, but still good
Pulled Pork Sliders, came with 2 (pickled cipollini onions- $11)
over-salted; could not do without the bread. meat was tender and easy to eat.
Ice Cream Sandwich (ronnybrook ice cream, homemade chocolate cake- $6)
the strawberry flavor is a favorite here; they run out of this fast. the only other choice was a mint chocolate chip so we decided to split the only strawberry one left! The ice cream was so good; wish there had been more. The chocolate cake to ice cream ratio was off- should be reversed. But honestly, even the cake was baked well.
S'Mores (homemade cinnamon graham crackers, toasted marshmallow, chocolate sauce- $6)
the crackers were a tad stale, didn't want any S'more.
——
total pts: 3.75- bumped to 4 because of the staff and the alluring, romantic ambiance.
Love how close this spot is to our apartment so we have been frequenting, and had an amazing evening one night outside when it was nice out!! We also spent our NYE here as a party so we have had a range of experiences – all wonderful though!
It's a very quaint, intimate wine bar and doesn't get too busy as far as I have seen. Their wine list, as you'd expect, is extensive with a great selection (hello rosé season!) but also priced pretty reasonably and their bottles are priced well also. They have a lot of local NY choices which is great, like Wolffer Estates for example. They have a large range of charcuterie which is a decent size, as well as another page of lighter food items to share.
They also have a large tv above the bar and have a number of events there. Their NYE celebration was great and very reasonable! And I loved not trying to kill someone to get a drink – it was busy but not obnoxious, exactly what we were going for.
As I said before, now that it's nicer outside they have an outdoor area that's great for a drink before/after a dinner out. We love it!
I considered an extra star for atmosphere, because I loved both the service and the overall feel of the place–rootsy music and a choice of beautiful indoor or outdoor spaces.
the food, unfortunately, fell completely flat, alternately too salty and too bland. I had a summer salad, some crostinis, and a cheese plate. none impressed. my friend had a meat plate and wasn't impressed, either. the crostini are essentially just bread and cream cheese, and the bean sprouts in the salad were salted way too heavily.
The best thing I had was the cheese plate. the cheese itself was really good. unfortunately their signature bread was nearly inedible so I could've saved myself the time and bought cheese at the grocery store. I'm honestly baffled by the good reviews. I really wanted to like this place!
Great wine bar hidden away on the west side. The ambience is comfortable and warm and a perfect date spot. We ordered the beet salad with goat cheese and the pretzels, which were delicious. Though a wine bar, the place also serves creative cocktails. The place is packed on the weekends but we arrived at 7pm on a Friday and were seated right away. Close to home so can't wait to go back!
2.5 stars for…good drinks, OK food, bad service.
The good: the drinks. We all tried a lillet spritzer with amazing flavor. It was light, fresh, and refreshing. It had a good complex flavor of lemony bitters. The atmosphere is also great. We sat on the patio and I love the lights.
The OK: we ordered two cheeses and one charcuterie. Dang, these were overpriced. We kind of expected…a quantity of cheese and meat for more than one person? As opposed to 3 bites worth of cheese and four slices of sausage. That's ridiculous. The cheeses were great but they need to step up their portion game.
The bad: we met our waitress, we ordered with our waitress, we didn't see her again for over an hour. Even as she passed us by and we called out "excuse me! Miss!" repeatedly. We has ordered cookies and an hour later they still had not shown up. When we asked about them (after a lot of waving our hands and eventually literally running after her through the restaurant) she goes "oh they'll be out in 15." Really?? Just say you forgot about them. And please learn to check up on your tables. A table with three empty drinks and three empty plates should be checked in on. If she hadn't disappeared for so long, I probably would have ordered another drink. It was not busy enough for the innatentiveness to be even remotely acceptable.
Came here for a fabulous birthday dinner last night! Note to self: This isn't traditional Spanish tapas but rather that all their dishes are small plates. Nonetheless, the food and drinks were definitely one of the best tapas in NYC I've had so far. The restaurant handled a big group (about 20-25 people) pretty well. Other than the champagne and drinks that were flowing, we ordered multiple orders of the deviled eggs (with pickled jalapeño and pork rind), ricotta crostini, garlic shrimp skewers, burrata (with bacon-bourbon jam), beet salad (with fresh goat cheese, citrus, walnuts, and vinaigrette), arugula salad (with Pecorino Romano and lemon vinaigrette) and seared flank steak with salsa verde. Everything was pretty amazing. But the standouts of the night were the garlic shrimp skewers, flank steak, and my personal favorite, the burrata. Oh my G! Words cannot even describe the burrata. I think if given the option, I could just eat the burrata over and over again.
Overall, highly recommended for a date night or night out with friends!
My quest to find all the great small plates restaurants in the world is now one restaurant closer to being completed, and this is not just another check on the list, it is definitely a jewel to which I will return again and again! The setting is beautiful and fun, the drinks are varied and probably all delicious, and the service is calm and friendly. Even with all of these great attributes, what is truly remarkable about this place is the food. I've been having dreams about it for the past two days since I ate there, and yesterday my mouth started watering as I walked past!
The small plates here are truly small plates. They are perfect if you just want a snack, but they also work well for dinner.
We started off with the soft pretzels, which were incredible. A dressed-up take on the typical New York street food, these pretzels are a little smaller than what you normally find-with an outer layer that is perfectly crispy and a soft, doughy inside-and they're accompanied by dijon and a killer house-made cheese sauce (don't worry about what it's doing to your arteries: it must be healthy for you if you're eating it at a chic/hipster wine bar, right?).
After the pretzels came some delicious sugar snap peas with some sort of a zesty ricotta/lemon festival on top. Along with the peas came a plate of asparagus with balsamic glaze and fried egg. These plates were both delightful and combined some wonderful spring flavors.
My boyfriend and I had almost forgotten that we had ordered one more plate, and like anyone who knows they're the real star of the party, the Pulled Pork Sliders showed up last. Now, pulled pork is really a great food; I don't think I've ever had a bad pulled pork dish. But just as it is really hard to mess up, I think it's equally hard to make it truly exceptional. These sliders were truly exceptional. The plate came with two sliders, which were about two to three inches in diamiter. The buns were light and fluffy, with just a little bit of garlic butter brushed on them as they were toasted, and the pulled pork inside was unbelievable. Tangy, spicy, sweet, juicy, and delicious. It was a really perfect end to the meal. I wanted to keep the flavor in my mouth so much that I passed on dessert!
All-in-all the bill came to $65 for two people (including one drink each) before the tip. Not exactly cheap, but a great price for a nice date!