Imagine a Friday night spent outside the Columbia bubble, away from the Cannons and 1020s. Instead, find a candlelit haunt full of people sipping, not chugging, selections from international wine and beer lists.
There is so much more to going out than getting belligerent, and West Village destinations Wine Spot and Vol de Nuit definitely understand this. Hopstop.com estimates a 35-minute trip on the 1-train from Columbia to the West Village, a small price to pay for a night of new experiences in an area known for doing nightlife proud.
Start off at Wine Spot, a perfect date destination. Located beneath Tea Spot on MacDougal Street, a perfectly respectable institution in its own right, Wine Spot will immediately draw students in even if it can be easy to miss from the street.
Open the wooden door, and the cozy ambience immediately puts patrons at ease. Wooden tables and chairs litter the small space while a fireplace and sofa chair give the impression that this was once someone’s studio apartment. Adding to the decor are Snow White-esque mirrors and copious candles.
The menu consists of nearly 20 different types of wine and a plethora of tapas. While the food looks rich on first glance, the portions are small enough to make the flavors wonderfully manageable. Try splitting a couple of different dishes. The truffle mac ‘n cheese with chicken skewers and peanut sauce is a staff favorite.
Customers can sit for as long as they like, enjoying the ‘80s and ‘90s music and sipping on wine served in glasses so big they could be used as fishbowls. While this place may be a bit pricey (glasses of wine generally range from $9-12 and the tapas from $10-15), isn’t that ideal for a classy date? It’s also a good excuse to relax after a long week of CC reading and calculus problem sets.
For fans of the less calm and less expensive, there is Belgian beer garden Vol de Nuit. Just a few blocks away from Wine Spot, at the corner of 4th Street and Sixth Ave., this NYU hangout is perfect for any beer lover. Vol de Nuit offers a menu of over 40 different beers, the largest selection in New York City. Each is served in the very particular glass for which it was meant. This place will not disappoint.
Hidden beneath a one-square-foot handwritten sign, and just as unnoticeable from the street as Wine Spot, Vol de Nuit opens up into a courtyard of smoking NYU-sters. Inside is a spacious yet cozy room full of tables, bar stools, and sofas. A mostly after-work crowd can be found here on weeknights, but on weekends the place is packed with people of all ages.
The bartenders here possess a wealth of knowledge about their drinks. Each one knows all of the beers in and out and will help patrons find just what they’re looking for. Plus, prices here are slightly lower than those at Wine Bar, with most beers costing $6-8.
In addition to beer, Vol de Nuit offers the traditional Belgian fare of moules frites, or mussels and fries. Enjoy this with one of the eleven homemade sauces while chatting with an old friend or meeting a new love on one of the comfy red couches. Either way, with the expansive list of delicious Belgian beers, Vol de Nuit is a solid bet for filling empty weekend calendars.
At the very least, either destination beats hard liquor in sweaty bars and Natty Light in sweaty frats.
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