Bar Prima

Tea, snacks and brunch — very cool intimate surrounds. The perfect place for friends to get caught up and enjoy winding down — have to try the rich menu and off the charts coffee.

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!

I love this place. The staff really know the wines, the food is tasty and the vibe is nice.

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!

I went here last night with my boyfriend after having dinner at Poke. I was very excited about trying this wine bar. It has more of a downtown feel and could be a great addition to the upper east side, if the staff was more attentive.
The place was crowded but we were directed to two seats at the middle of the bar. Both bartenders saw us sit down and neither of them greeted us, offered us menus or spoke to us. We waited about 15 minutes, giving them the benefit of the doubt, before I reached over the bar to grab us menus.
After deciding what we wanted, we then asked if we could please order wine. The bartender seemed annoyed at this request. We ordered two glasses of red. They were tasty but nothing special. When we were done no one asked us if we wanted more or even looked in our direction.
Again it took us 10 minutes to get a bartender’s attention for the check. They were standing in the corner talking to each other and unloading the dishwasher completely ignoring all of the patrons.
After receiving the check we noticed it was the wrong one, we had been charged $ 70 for things we never ordered and again had to hunt down the bartender to get this corrected. The service was deplorable. When you’re spending $ 15+ on a glass of wine, you expect the bartender to be polite and acknowledge you at the very least.
We left feeling very disappointed.

I love restaurants and bars on the streets vs the avenues.
They always feel more quiet and intimate.
This place is super cute and romantic.
Awesome wine list and good bites.
Really awesome wine bar on the UES.

Nice selection of delicious wines, great atmosphere, quality food… By day it’s a pleasant café type of environment, perfect for sitting alone with a laptop or for meeting with friends or business contacts. By night it’s the prime Upper East option for an intimate date or a relaxed glass of well-​chosen wine. It’s my daily neighborhood haunt. I’ve also attended special events in this location, by day or at night, and the bar was well equipped for delivering presentations or showing videos on a retractable screen and the tables and chairs were easily configured to our needs. It’s a very cozy and adaptable location. During one of these private events I was served a slice of the best carrot cake this side of Germany, although I’m not certain as to whether it was part of the daily menu. The pizza is fantastic too.

I came here in the morning/​early afternoon. Nice and quiet, great music and a place to bring your laptop. They have pastries in the morning. I look forward to coming here at night.

Me and my husband came in a Sunday night and couldn’t eat! Beginning for a wine bar with no sparkling water… We asked for the filet mignon and the nice (the bar guy is the waiter as well) waiter sad that’s a few items that they were out… The filet mignon crostini, all pizzas, … I’m pregnant and almost all that I could eat they were out… Ufffff… No way to even try!!!

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.

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!

I came here for a quick drink and bites. Was stung all over by mosquitos.
Wine was fine, but I decided to order some food. They don’t have a proper kitchen so the staff has to run in and out to grab bites. Just makes the place seem messy and unkempt.
I guess come here if you’re only in the mood to drink wine, but don’t order food here. Just doesn’t seem like it’s very sanitary. The food isn’t covered or anything.
I am going to have to look for another wine nook!

High quality, great atmosphere, very knowledgable staff. Discrete wine bar also stocking great, well establish beers and high quality small plates.
Perfect for dates or small groups.

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 81^st 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’ve been to Bar Prima a few times now, usually to kill some time before dinner plans. Every time I come, the bartenders are so friendly and nice, and I drink some great wine. It’s such a relaxing, cool, neighborhood atmosphere, I really feel lucky to have this place near my apartment.

Excellent little wine bar. I wish they had a full menu instead of just some small apps and dessert, but they don’t have a full kitchen. There is a pretty good happy hour as well.

This restaurant is close to perfection. I came here during one of the recent snowstorms (it’s a pity there have been so many) and with the exposed wood beams an candlelight, felt like I was in a cozy cabin in Aspen. The ambience is ⁵⁄₅. Would be perfect to catch up with close friends, for date night, or girl talk.
While I was here my group ordered a few wine flights, which were superb and great recommendations, some small plates, and additional glasses of wine. The food was overall delicious. We ordered a cheese and charcuterie plate, which was served with tasty accompaniments, the mushroom bruschetta, and the apple-​walnut bruschetta. The mushroom variety was to die for. Perfectly flavored shrooms and crisp bread. We ordered seconds. The apple version was a good treat, almost desert like, but I could do without.
Disappointingly they were out of a few options. With a menu as small as theirs is this was disappointing, but we ordered was more than satisfying.
I will undoubtedly return with more friends

I came here with a co-​worker after a long day. It’s a small wine bar located on a quiet street, equipped with a classy, relaxing ambiance. It’s nice to able to have a conversation at a bar without having to scream. I’m not a big wine drinker, but the staff here are helpful and will let you try something before you order it.
Order a small bite to eat while you sip on your wine. My co-​worker and I really enjoyed their prosciutto. I was contemplating ordering another plate. I thought I had experienced the best of the best when I spent a month in Italy, but it’s pretty darn delicious here (it wasn’t overly chewy at all). We were craving something sweet and crunchy for whatever reason, so we ordered the pear and walnut bruschetta. I wasn’t too impressed; I would skip it and go for the cheese plate instead!
Bar Prima has only been open for several months, and it seems to have already racked up quite a list of regulars. It’s definitely an ideal place to go for a date, to catch up with a friend, or to have some alone time with a glass of wine. I hope this place stays the way it currently is; it’d be a shame if it becomes overcrowded and obnoxious.

Such an adorable wine bar and glad it finally opened and minutes away from my apartment! Came here last night (Sunday) with some friends & really enjoyed my experience. Just having opened a few weeks ago, I learned that they started serving a few food items just that evening. The staff was superb; personal handshakes from the owner & manager and the rest of the staff offered excellent service.
A whole menu dedicated to wines! And an extensive list might I add. I was far beyond content with my $ 11 glass Prosecco, which quickly turned into 4 more glasses that I ordered throughout the night :)
We ordered the cheese plate (clearly) & this was delish. Don’t remember the types of cheeses but there were 3 generously sized cheese triangles served with honey, some grapes & bread basket. The Tony Awards were on last night and the manager had asked the clientele individually if they preferred the TV stay on or off and if we preferred the bar music playing in background or if we wanted to hear Hugh Jackman host the entire event! I thought it was so considerate they even asked … The TV stayed on and by the end of the night, with only a handful of people left at the bar, we watched the final few minutes of the awards together like one big happy Bar Prima family :) awww…
Nicely designed bar, very clean cut, modern bar chairs and high top tables. The bathroom was super spacious & clean. For a Sunday night, it wasn’t too crowded — great spot to catch up with a friend or go on a date. Can’t wait for them to add more food items. I hope this place gets crowded on the weekend as it would be a fun place to mingle…
Will be back soon, ‘olé neighbor!