Ayza Wine & Chocolate Bar

I took my aunt here last year and let me tell you those chocolate martinis are the bomb! My aunt had strawberry and I believe I had raspberry. Then we had cheese and may platter to start out! That duck paté is the truth! We couldn’t get enough. The cheese and bread were also amazing. Then we order these chicken lollipops that were also really good and a pizza. The pizza was just ok. The food was so good that I forgot to take a pic and by the time I thought about it there were only scraps left. So only pic I captured was of our martinis (b/​c we had those first) and the chocolates we got at the end.
My aunt loved her martini, she is not a big drinker, (very much a light weight), but she was drinking it so fast she had to catch herself and said ‘it’s so good I need to slow down’. Lol she was pretty tipsy afterwards.
The ambiance was great. It’s cool for a date night or girls night out! I love that they took old record covers and put the menus inside. So cool right!?! The music wasn’t too loud and the lights were just right. We sat in a corner table at the window which was great to be able to ppl watch. Saw quite a few interesting things happening outside, it made for great conversation with me and my aunt. We laughed and had a merry ol time.
The staff/​manager were really nice. I had a Groupon and didn’t realize it expired the day b4, I asked nicely if they could honor the deal and at first they wouldn’t and said that I could just put what I paid for the Groupon towards the meal, but then he decided to honor my Groupon and I was so thankful to him for doing that b/​c he didn’t have to, that’s why it always pays to be polite.
I don’t know why I didn’t write this review before, but on the way home tonight from another spot we past this area, and I thought about it and wanted to share my experience. I have to make my way back there. Im starting to crave that chocolate martini just by thinking about it!.. Lol

Went for girls’ night and it was perfect. We used a Groupon, $ 25 per person for 4 of us. We got a giant cheese platter, meat platter, and 6 plates, plus chocolate martinis and truffles for dessert!
The truffle pizza and the short rib sliders are amazing but, honestly everything we ate was SO good. Definitely recommend for date nights or girls night out. Better for small groups.
Plus shout out to our server Lionel who was the only server in the whole place and still super fun and attentive

The BEST chocolate martini I have ever had! My husband and I stopped in during Happy Hour, and we both ordered the Classic Chocolate Martini ($ 5 normally $ 15). This drink was made of Ketel One and cocoa di vine. The shaved chocolate on the top was wonderful, as it melts in your mouth with each sip. The drink was also served with a truffle candy which was delectable! During happy hour, there was a table set up of complimentary appetizers (hummus, crackers, veggies). One of the best happy hours I’ve been to price wise and AMAZING chocolate martinis… I may have had more than one!

Great restaurant! My girlfriends and I bought the date night groupon package, well worth it. Food was spectacular, martinis were on point, and service was impeccable. One waiter (you ma boy Lionel) and he still managed to make sure our table had everything we needed.
Would definitely recommend, and can’t wait to come back!

When a cute little sign at your table states the following: Trust Me You Can Dance ~~~ Wine, you bet I will be sitting my butt down and trying out this awesome place.
This restaurant is perfect of a cute date night or hang out with friends. I think there may have even been an all girls birthday party the night I was there.
We were greeted nice and warmly by a tall handsome waiter who sat us down and brought us these super rad menus. They basically took old record covers and placed the menu inside. I LOVE THAT! Nice music played in the background too.
We ordered a bunch of foods. Couple of apps, mains and desserts. Food was pretty good. Everything was tasty and fresh. I recommend the wild mushroom pita tart as an app. It was amazing.
I’m definitely a fan of the vibe and food here and have recommended it to plenty of friends.

What a great choice for girls night! This place is great for girls night or date night. Very intimate and not loud.
On a Saturday night I booked a table for 4 and reserved group dining in advanced. We were so glad we did the group dining deal. It was 2 hours of open bar with a bunch of table sharing foods for $ 60 plus tax/​tip. Im happy I reserved at the west village location instead of the midtown location. There was plenty of room.
We got to our table and a plate of cheeses/​meats, hummus, and olives was on the table with rose peddles. The hummus was all of our favorites!!! Then came out champagne with a strawberry in it which was perfect for a toast. We had an eggplant dip with pita. We got a dumpling dish which we liked but the sauce on the chicken lollipops was kind of too spicy for us. Then came out two mini pizzas (kale mushroom one and a white pizza one). The white pizza was my favorite of the dishes. Finally we got a plate of truffles for dessert. It was plenty of food for all of us.
The chocolate martinis were unfortunately not included in the group dining but we got them on after our 2hour open bar ($ 15 each). I got the raspberry one which was delicious. My sister got an almond one which was good but a little on the stronger side.
Overall we had a great time and I look forward to coming back :)

Ambiance: romantic: good for date night, girls night
Prices: expensive but acceptable
Service: excellent
Con: not really good for large groups, small space, 1 bathroom
I absolutely loved Ayza, everything about our night was fantastic! My friend planned a girls night for four here and we decided to go all out and do the 4 course meal with two hour open bar (wine and beers).
Once we arrived we were seated promptly and the waiter came over right away and brought us water and a small warm sweet red wine which tasted amazing. They immediately brought out the olives, hummus and cheese board. As a middle easterner I am very picky with my hummus and I was extremely impressed with their hummus, it was delicious!
Once our whole party arrived they brought over our champagne. The waiter constantly came over and checked on us and not once were we left waiting for drinks or food. The food was all delicious, I loved the chicken lollipops and shrimp dumplings. Everything was phenomenal! Even though the portions were small it was perfect for four people, it felt like tapas style. When the flatbread truffle and mushroom pizzas and panini came I was so full by then I couldn’t even handle it but the other ladies loved them. The night ended with a plate filled with truffles of chocolatey goodness.
Overall it was an amazing experience. The bill was about $ 80 each which I thought was reasonable for the tapas style meals and open bar (I got to sample quite a few wines from the special menu). I definitely will be back!

We came here an hour before the kitchen closed and I placed an order for Wild mushroom pita tart and the White truffle pizza. We were extremely hungry after shooting zombies. We also received free shots which was awesome!
The negative: after waiting 30 minutes, the waiter told us our order didn’t go through (system malfunction) and the kitchen closed. We were hangry.
I’ll probably come back to try what I wanted to order.

The atmosphere here is really cozy, girly/​cute, and french. The complimentary shot of spiked cider at the beginning of the meal was a nice touch. My sister-​in-​law I love the cheesy artichoke dip with pita bread. I was literally wanting to lick the bowl. Both of our salads were a disappointment however. The salmon on my salad seemed canned, as it had a really unpleasant fishy taste. Her mediterranean salad was more tomatoes than anything else.
The highlight of our meals were the chocolate martinis. She got the chocolate raspberry martini and I, the house chocolate vodka martini. I didn’t know the vodka was straight vodka, but being so chocolate infused I had no problem downing it — warning it is a bit strong though. And they give you a complimentary piece of Jacques Torres chocolate (to die for!).
The service was pretty bad though and also awkward. After seating us in the back, it seemed as though they kind of forgot about us. They would often come by and glance in our direction, but they wouldn’t really ask if we needed anything… weird
Overall, I would come back to this place because it serves my favorite goodies and is so inviting.

I wasn’t particularly psyched to try Ayza given the many critical reviews, but it was one of two spots distributing this year’s Wine Week wrist bands — and Wine Week is the best week — so Ayza it was. Loved the wine, did not enjoy the restaurant.
We came around 7:30 on a Wednesday and snagged an outdoor table since the inside was packed with other vino enthusiasts. (They offer blankets on chilly nights so outdoor seating during the fall is no problem).
What was a problem was the service and chocolate selection. It took so long to get each glass of wine and we must have waited over a half hour for fondue. The waiter knew the wait was crazy so he gave us some chocolate shots on the house, which was nice, but the situation still sucked. The staff as a whole just seemed disorganized and confused.
The fondue itself was good but I don’t understand how a wine and chocolate bar can only offer one type of chocolate fondue. That’s like a cheese shop only offering one type of cheese.
Anyway, can’t say I’ll be back.

Wine + Chocolate? Say no more — I’m in there like swimwear.
Came in on a Thursday night before a show at SOB’s a couple of blocks away. I got there at 6:40, and the doors opened at 7:30. I thought it’d be cutting it close, but luckily the service was prompt!
I was the first of four to arrive, but they let me be seated anyway. They immediately gave me water and a sample of mulled wine (which reminded me of an apple chai) when I sat down. I ordered the white truffle pizza and a sangria to start. My drink came out pretty quickly, but the pizza took a while. It was well worth the wait! I could smell the truffle as it came to my table. The slices are perfect for sharing! I loved the beef bresola on there — gave the pizza some much-​needed texture. The sangria was good, though not as sweet as I normally would’ve liked. I did enjoy the pineapple in there!
Also ordered:
— mushroom tart, which looked more like a pizza than a tart. Had lots of kale and mushroom on it, so order if that’s your kind of thing
— Chocolate strawberry martini, which got a lot of compliments from Unilocal.It reminded my friend of Tequila Rose. Also came with a Jacque Torres truffle!
As for the ambiance? It has a relaxed, intimate vibe to it. They also decorated for Halloween so it was festive but not too I your face about it. Definitely a place for a GNO or date night.

Ayza has been on my to-​do list for a while and to be honest, I was kind of disappointed! I made a reservation for myself and two girlfriends for 7:30 on a Saturday night. The Friday before they called to confirm, and I also got a call Saturday around 5pm to re-​confirm and the girl on the phone told me they will only hold my reservation for a maximum of 10 minutes and everyone in my party had to be there on time because Saturdays are their busy nights. Fine. We all arrived by 7:30 on the dot and still had to wait almost 20 minutes for our table. Ayza made up for it by getting us a few rounds of free «magic» shots, which were actually pretty good.
Anyway, the restaurant is super cramped and the three of us were seated at a table that could barely seat two comfortably. We ordered a bottle of wine which was good, and we decided to order a few things we can all share. We got the smoked eggplant dip, which tasted no better than store-​bought babaganouj, the octopus carpaccio which barely had any octopus, lamb meatballs which were decent, and the ever so popular white truffle pizza. I don’t get the hype about it. It’s bread, cheese, bacon, and some truffle oil. It wasn’t AMAZING, it was fine. For dessert we got chocolate fondue which was also decent, but I wish they had flavors to choose from, especially coming from a place that claims to be a chocolate bar… it tasted like cheaper melted milk chocolate, but on the plus side, they gave us a large assortment of things to dip in it. I suggest getting the brownies and bananas, but skip the shortbread.
Anyway, I get why this place is popular. The prices are really good and it’s a really cute spot. We had a great time but that’s because of the company, not the food, but I do understand that this isn’t the place to come for a culinary experience.

This place looked pretty interesting and tempting and I heard great things about the chocolate Martinis but since I was sick I decided to get a meal to go as the rest of my group stayed to eat. I’m sorry but an inch thick piece of salmon and a few leaves of kale do not an entrée make. It did taste good though.

There are lots of really incredible restaurants in this area in the West Village.
With that being said, my decision to eat here was a regrettable one. A couple of things that really ticked me off:
–5 minutes left of happy hour and they didn’t let us order two dranks. Urgghhhh. #alcoholicproblems. But, all kidding aside, this always bums me out a bit. I’m asking to pay for something that is on your menu. If it’s going to be double the cost in literally five minutes then cut me a break!
–Mad slow service! We ordered a couple of apps and a cheese plate, and the cheese plate came out long after we had finished eating everything else.
–Overpriced and small portions. The shrimp dumplings came with an order of four teeny dumplings for 10 dollars and the seaweed salad that was promised to come alongside it had a teeny spoonful of seaweed.
Ayza is definitely a cute concept. cheese, chocolate, wine. Maybe I’d come in for dessert or just a quick drink and snack but I don’t think that I’ll be returning when I’m hungry for dinner.

Came here on a weekday night and there was plenty of seating. We opted to sit outside because it was a beautiful night. It was nice and peaceful since Ayza sits on a quiet part of 7^th Avenue.
We used a Groupon and were amazed at how much food came with it. We started off with the espresso chocolate martinis, which came with complimentary Jacques Torres chocolate. It tasted very similar to Bailey’s. For our cheese platter we chose raclette, gorgonzola, French brie, prosciutto di parma, and sopressata. It came with bread and guava paste. So good! The bread was a bit hard, but other than that everything was delicious. Would recommend any of the options we got. We also had the option to select any 3 plates from the Starters, Salads, or Easy to Share section. We ordered the white truffle pizza, short rib beef sliders, and Mediterranean panini. The white truffle pizza was my favorite! However, they were all good.
We left super full and satisfied. Such a great meal.

I actually… was not terribly impressed by the wine or chocolate. Which is kind of a problem if wine and chocolate are the namesake of this restaurant. I had less problems with the wine (it all goes down the same, to be honest) than I did with the chocolate and food. I really like options and variety, and a restaurant is going to explicitly say they specialize in a certain thing, I expect options and variety. Which Ayza does not have. It seems almost lazy to call yourself a chocolate & wine bar and only offer two brands of chocolate.
They also have these confusing cacti on the table that me and my friend pricked our hands on multiple times (design fail, why would you put a cactus on a small dining table???).

If I could guzzle down another chocolate martini, I would. When I dwell on my favorite spots during my most recent trip to NYC… Ayza was definitely one of them. The cool outdoor patio, the small plates, the opporunity to make new friends and meet old ones, are all good things that came out of dining here.
The check in deal is so worth it! Whatever house wine they offered, I approve. The truffle pizza was also fantastic. Add to that pretty nice service and a sweet happy hour? Desserts for the taking? Yes and yes and four stars.

I. Freaking. Love. This. Place.
I’m contemplating moving in. That would be cool, right? I’ve been here before for a wine flight at the end of a night, but this is definitely a fun place to bring friends, significant others, anyone! If you plan on sitting inside you’d better make a res, otherwise you can sit outside in the nice weather!
Service was so good. So good, attentive, fantastic. I can’t attest to their entrees; I think the shared plates are where it’s at. Get the Hot Artichoke Hearts, the Smoked Eggplant, the Angry Chicken Lollipops, the White Truffle Pizza (OMG!) the duck pâté and cheeses. They had zero issues whatsoever with refilling our pita bread. The choice of 6 items for the chocolate fondue was plenty. almost too much for four people. but so damn tasty. Jacques Torres truffles, because I need them with my red wine at the end of the night…
…and then our waiter brought us some complimentary dessert drinks. Before the meal, we got a sample of their spicy sangria. After the meal, the ladies got a chocolate flavored wine referred to as «Tootsie Roll» and the guy got a chocolate whiskey. Both were delish! If sweet wine and chocolate martinis aren’t your thing, fear not — they have an extensive list of whites and reds and you can even build flights. Oh, and their happy hour sounds amazing! Also, don’t forget to check in on the Unilocal app for a free glass of wine with purchase of an appetizer!
How did I live so long without this place? I’m already looking forward to my next visit!

The west village streets confuse me. Every. Single. Time.
To get here, you can actually walk straight down from the subway station to Ayza… instead of making ridiculous geometric shapes around the neighborhood for an hour like my friends did.
Happy hour till 6:30? Don’t mind if I do. Chocolate martinis are great, especially with a generous amount of chocolate shavings on top.
Food here is decent. Not memorable except for the Twenty-​Layer Crêpes Cake Brûlée, which is reminiscent of a Lady M mille crêpe cake.
Everything else: cheese fondue, chocolate fondue, chicken lollipops, octopus, pita things… were good but nothing to rave about.
Wine flights are great if you want a sample of different things. You can never go wrong with moscato and ice wine.

We got a groupon for getting two chocolate martini, three pieces of appetizer and a huge cheese/​salami platter for only 45 dollars. It was a good try, feeding both me and my friend pretty full.
The bar itself is not that relaxing in a sense that it was crowded with tables and people. Yet the minute you stepped into it, you felt the fragrance of sweetness, yep that’s the taste of chocolate. Personally I liked the raspberry martini better.
Cheese platter is definitely one of the must you should get. Offered cheese ranging from Swiss, French, Italian, combined with salami and preserved beef/​pork, the platter did provide a genuine feeling of cheese kingdom.
Enough said, I enjoyed here as essentially everything I got here was pretty hard core, so by the end of my meal, I cannot really tell which one was the best. The groupon indeed made it even more worthwhile!

Versteht mich nicht falsch — wer von Namen angelockt hier für Wein und Schokogerichte kommt, erlebt eine der besten Bars in dieser Hinsicht!
Wir hatten diese Bar allerdings aufgrund ihres Specials für Valentinstag ausgewählt. Das waren für zwei Personen 120 $. Dafür geliefert bekam man 1 Glas Champagner, 1 Entrée, 1 Main, 1 Dessert und 1 Glas Schokowein. So weit, so gut.
Mein Entrée, eine Tomaten-​Cheddar Suppe war einmalig. Würde dafür töten. Der Champagner war auch ok. Der Salat meines Freundes allerdings eher unterer Durchschnitt.
Größtes Problem bildete der Hauptgang. Nur eine einzige Speise war vegetarisch und das waren prinzipiell Nudeln mit Tomatensoße. Doof wenn man Nudeln mit Tomatensoße hasst, wie ich und die Nudeln darum relativ unangerührt lässt. Das Steak meines Freundes war wiederum auch nur unterdurchscnittlich.
Mein Dessert, Schokofondue mit Schokowein, war ein Traum! Wahrscheinlich eine meiner besten Erinnerungen an New York! Die Früchte waren top, die Pretzels und Marshmallows hätte man aber weglassen können (ist wohl Geschmackssache). Die Trüffel meines Freundes waren auch gut, aber nur 4 Stück. Zudem war das Restaurant total überfüllt und laut, wenn auch süß ausgeschmückt.
Fazit: Zu teuer für was man geliefert bekommen hatte. Für Chocolate & Wine würde ich aber jederzeit wieder hinpilgern;)

Versteht mich nicht falsch wer von Namen angelockt hier für Wein und Schokogerichte kommt, erlebt eine der besten Bars in dieser Hinsicht!
Wir hatten diese Bar allerdings aufgrund ihres Specials für Valentinstag ausgewählt. Das waren für zwei Personen 120 $. Dafür geliefert bekam man 1 Glas Champagner, 1 Entrée, 1 Main, 1 Dessert und 1 Glas Schokowein. So weit, so gut.
Mein Entrée, eine Tomaten-​Cheddar Suppe war einmalig. Würde dafür töten. Der Champagner war auch ok. Der Salat meines Freundes allerdings eher unterer Durchschnitt.
Größtes Problem bildete der Hauptgang. Nur eine einzige Speise war vegetarisch und das waren prinzipiell Nudeln mit Tomatensoße. Doof wenn man Nudeln mit Tomatensoße hasst, wie ich und die Nudeln darum relativ unangerührt lässt. Das Steak meines Freundes war wiederum auch nur unterdurchscnittlich.
Mein Dessert, Schokofondue mit Schokowein, war ein Traum! Wahrscheinlich eine meiner besten Erinnerungen an New York! Die Früchte waren top, die Pretzels und Marshmallows hätte man aber weglassen können (ist wohl Geschmackssache). Die Trüffel meines Freundes waren auch gut, aber nur 4 Stück. Zudem war das Restaurant total überfüllt und laut, wenn auch süß ausgeschmückt.
Fazit: Zu teuer für was man geliefert bekommen hatte. Für Chocolate & Wine würde ich aber jederzeit wieder hinpilgern;)