Bar Prima
“This place has a great atmosphere – warm and welcoming, a great place to go with friends or a date.”
“Very friendly and unpretentious staff that either know what their talking about or are good enough to BS someone like myself.”
“I had the mushroom pizza and the filet crostini, both were amazing.”
Bar Prima
Takes Reservations: Yes
Accepts Credit Cards: Yes
Good for Groups: Yes
Happy Hour: Yes
Has TV: Yes
Waiter Service: Yes
Price range.
$$ Price range $11-30
8 reviews
Rate and write a review Cancel reply
You must be logged in to post a comment.
I hesitate to write this review because I'd like for this wine bar it to remain low key. But, I'm bad at keeping secrets, so here:
Candle lit, exposed brick walls, bar/high chairs throughout. Not to mention a greatly curated wine list makes this place as charming as you'd want a wine bar to be.
I had Barbera, my go-to red. , which is what I'd recommend to anyone breaking into red wine. The server (although I don't know if that's the proper term given this isn't an eating establishment?) was genuine and nice. And good service goes a lot way in a quiet-ish bar.
It's a fine, romantic establishment and I cannot wait to return time and time again.
Bar Prima is so unassuming that you'd actually miss it unless you were looking for it. Tucked away on a quiet block of East 81st Street, the only reason I noticed it was that I live down the block and my good friend lives next door, so it seemed like a natural spot for us to meet.
Prima's wine selection is primarily (only?) Italian which may be good or bad, depending on how you look at it. Alongside their wine and beer selection, they have some small plates on the menu which are a good bet when stopping in for a drink. Glasses of wine seem to average about $12 and you can do a flight of three for $18 which is a nice way to taste some different things.
I've been to Prima a couple of times and I think what makes it a good place (at least for me) is the approachability and friendliness of the staff, and their effort to really be a neighborhood place. The space is stylish and warmly lit which lends itself to being a good date spot (!). The bartenders are chatty and it's a comfortable place to hang out which is what keeps us coming back!
I understand that even in the name of this establishment, it says 'Bar', but talk about disappointment. We walk in, the two bartenders see us and continue on with their current conversations with the patrons at the actual bar. We just decide to seat ourselves. I mean, there rly werent many to choose from anyways… Eventually one of the 2 workers come with the menus and bounces away.
I didn't rly come here to drink, i thought itd be more of a full kitchen kind of place and was excited to try out the tapas. So it was a huge letdown that the food wasn't rly "a thing". As in more customers are only there for wine and maybe a snack here or there.
Even so, I came all this way and wanted to try many things. We ordered the hummus, honey crostini, trinidad pizza, & the corn & crab ravioli. Pretty much half their dishes. The only dish I liked was the pizza. Everything was a letdown. If you say on your menu that you have your own blend of spicy honey, I expect that to be on the crostini already. Basically honey and red chili flakes were 2 sides that came with the copocolla crostinis. It was annoying to eat. This is a complete misnomer.
Ravioli, let me just say; not fresh. There's crab in it that tastes so funky. I feel like it was at least a week past its expiration date.
The hummus… nothing much to say. It wasn't delicious but it wasn't terrible.
Then the bill. Do you rly have to make us wait for you to serve everyone first just to give us the check?! I mean, it's a rly tiny place. Is it because we didn't order many drinks?
Besides, I was freezing the whole time bc they had the door open. It's 630 pm. It aint summer yet. It's dark and chilly.
Charming neighborhood wine bar.
I had this bookmarked from a Yelp review and passed it even having the address, as it is on a quiet neighborhood side street and is easy to miss even looking for it.
Dimly lit, romantic feeling with brick walls and small candles throughout. An interesting charming view out the front windows.
Bartender / server was very friendly and attentive. Montopicianno was very good.
Highly recommend as a date spot or quiet place to have wine and conversation with a friend.
Such a cute wine bar – definitely has an east village vibe to it. Not terribly large but has high top tables for groups of 4. We just had wine, no food, but would recommend if you're in the area and looking for a cute wine bar, different than a lot of places around the hood!
Great date spot, girls night, or relaxing vino experience! Wonderful menu of cheese, meats, small plates, etc. Last night myself and two friends split the cheese/meat plate and it was fantastic! Paired Gorgonzola Creamificatto, Castelrosso and Calabrese- all great! The honey truffle is UNREAL. We will be back!
The bartenders are awesome. The wine is fantastic. Great place to bring a date after dinner. It's really nice inside and out. They offer wine flights and do a great job at explaining each wine. I can't wait to come back!
With so many 4 and 5 star review you would think this a decent place!
Let me first start off saying: This place is just mediocre! It was dark, simple, unassuming and easy to get a drink, but probably too noisy to be relaxing. Our bartender was nice and responsive but he overcharged everyone of our drinks by 1-3 dollars and our bar food by 2 bucks. I didn't make a fuss just paid the damn bill without complaining. I will never come here again!
Seriously check your bill!