Bar Oliver
Restaurant · Civic Center ·
Spanish-inspired wine bar with pintxos, vermouth on tap, and dinner
Spanish-inspired wine bar with pintxos, vermouth on tap, and dinner
"Positioned as a cafe-bar with an all-day, linger-friendly format that’s surprisingly hard to come by in New York, this place serves a standout bikini, its take on the beloved Spanish ham-and-cheese sandwich found all over Barcelona. The bikini, priced at $12, arrives as four petite triangles that look delicate but deliver a full hit of buttery, ham-and-cheesy payoff, with butter and salt feeling like listed ingredients. Paired with a nonalcoholic kalimotxo on a freezing early January night, it briefly transported me somewhere else entirely." - Melissa McCart
"This is the latest see-and-be-seen bar to hit Lower Manhattan, this one from a group of partners that includes the owner of the wine bar Casetta, and the restaurant Casino, alongside Daniel and Evan Bennett of Babs and Mimi, and Jonas Lafortezza. Bar Oliver has a drink menu of French and Spanish wines, brews, and a compelling collection of vermouth. Gildas, grilled eggplant, Montauk shrimp, tortillas, and mushrooms are listed among pinxtos and small plates. Walk-ins encouraged." - Emma Orlow
"“Bar Oliver is a really cool, lowkey spot, with beer and wine and good Spanish tapas. The same people do Casino and Casetta as well—all their food is really good. It’s in such a cute little corner, and they've got great outdoor seating for when the sun finally doesn't play games with us and stays around. I get an Estrella Galicia beer and the tortilla española. Their mushrooms were really good the last time I went. And of course, the croqueta. Splitting my time between here and Miami, you can never go wrong with a croqueta.”" - molly fitzpatrick
"“I’ll be honest: I was heavily swayed here by the fact that this bar is located at the intersection of Oliver and Henry Streets (which happen to be the names of two central characters in my book). That aside, this bar is also incredibly fun. I drank a delicious Kalimotxo there, and it did truly feel like I was in Europe, which I mean as an extreme compliment. This would also be an excellent first date spot.”" - brennan carley
"This Basque-style spot in Chinatown works well for any first date scenario that calls for vermouth on tap and chunky tortilla española heaped onto a little white plate. Reservations aren't tough to snag, but there are also plenty of bar seats for walk-ins if that's more your style." - will hartman, bryan kim, willa moore, neha talreja