Ruffian

"Ruffian is a 19-seat wine bar, but it has as much going on as places 10 times its size. All of the food on the rotating Mediterranean menu is cooked behind the bar in full view of everyone, and the small room quickly fills up with smells of toasting bread and frying bacon. They also blast old-school hip-hop from the speakers, making the usually-packed space even louder. You can’t make reservations, so this place is great for last-second dates, or a solo meal where you break the ice with strangers by asking which of the 250 natural wines they’re currently drinking." - matt tervooren

"“This is the place to check out if you are interested in skin-contact wines from lesser-known places and rare grapes,” Goler says. “The team is super fun and friendly without any pretentiousness and will let you try anything. Plus, all the food is made in-house and right in front of you.” Goler recommends Ruffian for date night and to share a selection of small plates. For more of a full-service restaurant feel with a wine list hailing from northern Italy and eastern Europe, Goler also recommends Ruffian’s sister restaurant Kindred right around the corner." - amber gibson

"A perfect wine bar for those with dietary restrictions, offering a variety of vegetarian, vegan, and gluten-free options alongside a selection of over 250 natural wines."

"This tight space East Village space packs in plenty of atmosphere. The wine list here traverses but places emphasis on Eastern and Central Europe. These days the menu is vegetarian and sometimes vegan and gluten-free — something harder to find in top-tier wine bars." - Eater Staff, Melissa McCart

"The Ruffian list makes a conscious display of diversity, where guests will find mead from Denmark, regular orange wine features, and plenty from Greece on offer. The list is also a testament to the inroads that Georgia, Hungary, and Croatia are making on wine programs around the city. It isn’t all natural, and the tiny place is more on the hip spectrum than on the natural spectrum. Ruffian is a good option for pre-gaming a night in the Village, where it’s easy to find something unusual to drink by the glass." - Eater Staff