Bar Birba
Wine bar · Bedford-Stuyvesant
340 Franklin Ave, Brooklyn, NY 11238
Highlights
Pizza, natural wine, arancini, and mortadella panino
Pizza, natural wine, arancini, and mortadella panino
"A bar in Bed Stuy owned by Matt Diaz, who is also dealing with the economic impact of tariffs on imported goods." - Erika Adams
"A dreamy, dimly-lit, casual café in Bed-Stuy with fairly priced food, known for its caponata, meatballs, and a novella of a wine list."
"Is it possible to write objectively about something you’ve fallen head over heels in love with? In writing about Bar Birba, I will try. Located just around the corner from my apartment on the far-west frontier of Bed-Stuy—Franklin Avenue, just below Greene—this place is the dreamy, dimly-lit, casual café of my dreams. Everyone deserves one in their neighborhood—not least of all because the food is fairly priced. Over the course of several visits, I’ve enjoyed the pitch-perfect caponata ($8) atop plush fornarina (pizza crust, no toppings, $4) as my starter, twice making annoying “mm” sounds while eating to express my pleasure. Also not to be missed are the Polpette dell’Alessandra, meatballs of beef and pork in bright red sauce ($8), and an 8-inch quarter pan portion of pizza—dealer’s choice, ranging from $8 to $10. There’s a novella of a wine list, with by-the-glass options obscurely scrawled on a mirror above the bar. That’s intentional—the owner would rather you chat with your server to land on an option." - Charlie Hobbs
"Bar Birba opened across the street from the original location of For All Things Good, a Mexican all-day cafe from the same team. Here, it’s a departure from masa: Bar Birba instead operates as an aperitivo bar with arancini, various pizza al taglio (rectangular slices served in eight-inch sheet pans), and a mortadella and pistachio sandwich. There’s plenty of amaro to choose from as well as a very stocked wine list." - Eater Staff
"According to our calculations, at least one wine bar opens every hour, and at least half of them serve pizza, and some type of green olive. But none of them come from the masa experts behind For All Things Good—until now. Bar Birba pours Italian natural wines in a former pizza parlor in Bed-Stuy, and the pizza slices are deeply charred, with simple toppings—try the margherita, or the bianca, with ricotta and crispy rosemary. Bring someone who also can’t resist a Brooklyn pizza-and-natural-wine spot, and dream about returning here when it’s summer again, to lounge outside for several spritz-filled hours, wearing barely any clothing and eating olives. " - Will Hartman, Willa Moore, Neha Talreja, Sonal Shah, Tiffany Yannetta
